The right price : how to pay for medical school and feel good about it PDF
Preview The right price : how to pay for medical school and feel good about it
THE RIGHT PRICE THE CHRISTINE WIEBE HGHT РИСЕ How to Pay for Medical School and Feel Good About It Sage Publications, Inc. <§ International Educational and Professional Publisher Thousand Oaks ■ London ■ New Delhi Copyright © 2000 by Sage Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information: Sage Publications, Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 E-mail: [email protected] Sage Publications Ltd. 6 Bonhill Street London EC2A 4PU United Kingdom Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd. M-32 Market Greater Kailash I New Delhi 110 048 India Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wiebe, Christine. The right price: How to pay for medical school and feel good about it / by Christine Wiebe. p. cm. — (Surviving medical school) Includes index. ISBN 0-7619-1777-2 (acid-free paper) 1. Medical education—United States—Finance. I. Title. II. Series. R745.W538 1999 610'.7Π73—dc21 99-6521 This book is printed on acid-free paper. 00 01 02 03 04 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Acquiring Editor: Jim Nageotte Editorial Assistant: Heidi Van Middlesworth Production Editor: Wendy Westgate Editorial Assistant: Nevair Kabakian Copy Editor: Linda Gray Designer/Typesetter: Janelle LeMaster Cover Designer: Ravi Balasuriya Contents Foreword vii 1. Realities and Myths 1 Avoiding Disillusionment 2 Reality Check 3 Pursuing Your Dreams 5 2. Tallying the Cost 7 Self-Diagnosis Questions 7 The School Budget 8 Debt Growth 13 School "Adjustments" 14 No Two Alike 14 3. Paying the Price 17 Self-Diagnosis Questions 17 Financial Aid 22 Gift Aid 23 Work Opportunities 25 Loans 27 4. Working It Off 33 Self-Diagnosis Questions 33 National Health Service Corps (NHSC) 34 National Institutes of Health (NIH) 36 Armed Forces 37 State and Other Programs 38 5. Living the Life 39 Self-Diagnosis Questions 39 Your Personal Budget 40 Realities of Residency 42 Life in Practice 44 6. A New Perspective 47 Self-Diagnosis Questions 47 Choose the Right School 48 Consider Service Programs 49 Work With Your Financial Aid Officer 50 Stay on a Budget 51 Manage Your Debt 53 Maintain Perspective 54 7. Resources at Your Fingertips 55 Appendix A: Sample of Free Application for Federal Student Aid 59 Appendix B: Countdown to Medical School: The Year Before You Start 65 Appendix C: Budget Worksheet 69 Appendix D: Student Loan Record 71 Index 73 About the Author 77 Foreword Eric, a fourth-year medical student, is a "poster-child" for medical school debt. Owing more than $100,000, he has limited his specialty choices to those with the shortest training period so that he can repay his debts sooner and start earning a decent salary. He shares an apart- ment with three other students, does not own a car, and often turns down social invitations for lack of funds. And yes, he's bitter about it. If this sounds like something you want to avoid, read on. Typically, the idealism of aspiring medical students collides with the harsh realities of financial indebtedness, which rises steadily for many students during their medical school training. Debt not only may influence their career choices, but it can create significant anxiety and disillusionment, particularly when students feel powerless over their financial destinies. What is the best way to finance your medical education? Are there alterna- tives to borrowing large sums of money? Most premed students have only sketchy information to answer these important questions, and misunderstand- ings often cloud the decisions they make. Unfortunately, much of the financial aid literature is so complicated that you may feel overwhelmed and unable to ask relevant questions. Moreover, individual medical schools' Websites can be difficult to navigate, and some provide misinformation or no information at all about financing your medical training. It's not surprising, then, that financial aid officials find many medical students seriously uninformed about their own financial situations. vii Vili THE RIGHT PRICE This book addresses these problems by bringing the discussion of finances to a level that can be readily understood. It will enable you to take charge of your finances and make the best decisions possible. Christine Wiebe, a freelance writer who has covered issues in medical training for nearly two decades, started out as a premed student herself. After graduating from Goshen College in Indiana with a degree in chemistry, she received a master's degree in journalism from Indiana University. She spent several years as a general reporter for a metropolitan newspaper and then worked as associate editor of The New Physician, a magazine published by the American Medical Student Association. In the course of gathering information and advice over the years from numerous experts on how to pay for medical school, Ms. Wiebe has become highly expert on this subject. She writes clearly and powerfully, and the information she provides will simplify your options. By mastering the con- tents of this book, you will be able to better plan your future and save yourself from ruinous financial entanglements. —Robert Holman Coombs Professor of Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA Series Editor Realities and Myths JB|L. Joe is a college senior majoring in biology, unsure of what to do with his life. He's always dreamed of becoming a doctor, and teachers have told him he's bright enough to pursue a medical career. He knows he wants to do something to help other people, and he has always thought that being a doctor would be especially rewarding. But when he looked into medical school, he learned that it might cost him $75,000 or more, so he dismissed the idea. His family simply doesn't have that kind of money, and the thought of borrowing it seemed risky and terribly uncomfortable. "I guess only rich people can be doctors nowadays," he figures. Sarah, on the other hand, is a premed student who has no concerns about becoming a doctor. She knows that medical school is expen- sive, but she's heard that students can borrow as much as they need to get through. After all, doctors earn a lot of money, and she figures her debts will disappear quickly enough. Then she will be able to lead a comfortable life. These examples illustrate common attitudes among young people consid- ering medical careers, even though they hinge on false assumptions. "Joe" 1
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