choco86 Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 First of all, I want to say that I am very thrilled to have gotten into PA school. I can't wait till July when I start school. Now, I figured I come back to reality and really see how much I will owe. Yesterday I sat down and after punching in some numbers, I got a lot more than I expected. I got into a school in NYC (27 months). The tuition with fees, books, and supplies, the total was around 88k. As for the living expenses, with rent, utilities, transportation, and food, I figured $2000 per month (is this too little?). After 27 months, the total will be 142k!! Is this reasonable? I was expecting 100k total but I guess I was wrong. I have 25k from undergrad so with everything together, I will be in lots of debt. Is this the norm? For those of you in school, did you take out 100% of tuition and living expenses in loans? Help!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NathanLe Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I'm starting in June this year and did the same number crunching recently. My tuition is less than yours so my bottom line number is a bit smaller (but still intimidating). I'll be busting my butt to find a loan repayment job after school. There are some fortunate people who have a ton in savings, a sugar momma/daddy, trust funds, wealthy parents, the right lottery ticket, etc. I'm not one of them so loans it is. "It'll be worth it... It'll be worth it... It'll be worth it..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choco86 Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 I am not one of those "fortunate" people as well. Although I am so happy I got in, the thought of being in so much debt scares me. Everyday I tell myself too, it will be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z PA-C Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Just to make sure my logic is sound. If I have a savings/scholarship I will be pulling from to pay for PA school and I will still need an additional 40K to pay for the program. Isn't it best to take out that 40K during Year 2 vs taking out 20K Year 1 and 20K Year 2 because interest will be accruing for longer with the second option? I have never taken out any loans so am really unfamiliar with this whole thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amina Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I will be in the same boat as you. Even with using the rest of my post 9/11 GI Bill, I'm still looking at over 120k for my 30 month long program. I will be applying for every scholarship I can get! Living as frugally as possible should help some. Are you from NYC? I'm from Queens, so I know that a lot of rentals can go for about $2000 a month and more. It depends on where exactly you are living. There are definitely cheaper options but you have to know where to look. If your program is right in Manhattan, then it would probably be best to look at commuting from the other boroughs. I would start looking for a place asap so you can have an accurate buget. Will you be driving or using public transportation? Those are things to consider in your NYC budget. We are not alone in this situation. There are many PAs out there who used loans to finance their entire education and living expenses. Some were able to get loan repayment after and some didn't but the general consensus is that it is doable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDrunner11 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 This post reminds me of how much I am freaking out myself. I am so terrified to take out over 100k for school but I agree we must believe it is doable!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taotaox1 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 i would take out perkins and subsidized year one, as those will not accrue interest and have lower rates. you can only take out so much per year of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planteater Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 You can't do Perkins or subsidized for grad school- only unsubsidized stafford, grad plus, or private loans. Aiviphung- Yes, if you wait to take out loans in year two- they will accrue less interest by the time you are done. However, there will be a maximum you can take out per year, so make sure you will have enough if you only take out that maximum in year two. BTW, the interest on grad plus is a bit higher than stafford. If you only take 20k each year, you will get the slightly lower (right now anyway) rate of stafford for the total loan amount. If you take it all out year two, you will have a bit higher interest rate on the grad plus portion, but I think you will still come out ahead interest-wise. I hope that all makes sense. To the OP- yep it costs a lot. Makes me nervous every time I think about it (I'm a 2nd year). My husband works, so I don't have to borrow all our living expenses, but we will still be approaching $100k by the end. I hope I land a great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z PA-C Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 You can't do Perkins or subsidized for grad school- only unsubsidized stafford, grad plus, or private loans. Aiviphung- Yes, if you wait to take out loans in year two- they will accrue less interest by the time you are done. However, there will be a maximum you can take out per year, so make sure you will have enough if you only take out that maximum in year two. BTW, the interest on grad plus is a bit higher than stafford. If you only take 20k each year, you will get the slightly lower (right now anyway) rate of stafford for the total loan amount. If you take it all out year two, you will have a bit higher interest rate on the grad plus portion, but I think you will still come out ahead interest-wise. I hope that all makes sense. To the OP- yep it costs a lot. Makes me nervous every time I think about it (I'm a 2nd year). My husband works, so I don't have to borrow all our living expenses, but we will still be approaching $100k by the end. I hope I land a great job! Actually, you can get Perkins Loans for grad school but not the subsidized Stafford. The amount you can get is limited and is based off of financial need and whether or not your university offers it. Also the other bad thing about the grad plus loan is that lame 4.288% origination fee. http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/perkins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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