Paval Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Hi all, I am wondering what options are available to pay for PA school. I live in a high COL (Bay Area), the PA programs are relatively steep when it comes to tuition. I would love to stay and attend a program here but the cost of programs is really intense and have been thinking about my loans after graduating. Ive compared east coast programs and they are around 80-90k so not too much of a difference. The cheapest school in Wichita would cost me 86k versus 50k for instate resident. I could claim residency in the state after my first year but it would only average out to somewhere around 64k and thats if I would be accepted. The interest rates for loans are alarming at 5-6% and the average tuition cost of a program here is $110k, (does not included COL). I have no debt from undergraduate and my car is paid off. I have no children, not married, and good credit. I am also thinking about my future as I wish to have kids and buy a home, I am 26 years old. I have looked at grants but they usually do not cover professional programs ultimately it boils down to loans or the loan forgiveness program. I have searched this option as well it is a very strict program that must be followed and have not deviations. If a mistake occurs there is no guarantee that your loan will be forgiven after 10 years of repayment plans (horror stories from this forum)???!!! So I guess what am looking for is how have PA students managed their finances, what do the repayment plans look like in terms of their salaries for new grads. I resorted to the forum due to I speaking with the PAs I work with, many of them said its best to pursue nursing in terms of lifestyle (3-12 hour shifts versus 14-8 hour shifts, they get a week long break after) and $$$. I think they may be relatively burnt out and unhappy; probably the schedules the culprit. The difference between the PAs and nursing salaries are not much. The PAs make slightly more but the nurses can work OT and it balances out. I have been asked and offered a position if I attend a BSN program the hospital I currently work for would retain me, and offer tuition assistance, (but none for PA school since I would have to resign my position). I really have my heart set out to become a PA and I know I will always have some kind of regret not pursing what I really want, but the debt terrifies me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mly3025 Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 following Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicoleJo Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Paval said: Hi all, I am wondering what options are available to pay for PA school. I live in a high COL (Bay Area), the PA programs are relatively steep when it comes to tuition. I would love to stay and attend a program here but the cost of programs is really intense and have been thinking about my loans after graduating. Ive compared east coast programs and they are around 80-90k so not too much of a difference. The cheapest school in Wichita would cost me 86k versus 50k for instate resident. I could claim residency in the state after my first year but it would only average out to somewhere around 64k and thats if I would be accepted. The interest rates for loans are alarming at 5-6% and the average tuition cost of a program here is $110k, (does not included COL). I have no debt from undergraduate and my car is paid off. I have no children, not married, and good credit. I am also thinking about my future as I wish to have kids and buy a home, I am 26 years old. I have looked at grants but they usually do not cover professional programs ultimately it boils down to loans or the loan forgiveness program. I have searched this option as well it is a very strict program that must be followed and have not deviations. If a mistake occurs there is no guarantee that your loan will be forgiven after 10 years of repayment plans (horror stories from this forum)???!!! So I guess what am looking for is how have PA students managed their finances, what do the repayment plans look like in terms of their salaries for new grads. I resorted to the forum due to I speaking with the PAs I work with, many of them said its best to pursue nursing in terms of lifestyle (3-12 hour shifts versus 14-8 hour shifts, they get a week long break after) and $$$. I think they may be relatively burnt out and unhappy; probably the schedules the culprit. The difference between the PAs and nursing salaries are not much. The PAs make slightly more but the nurses can work OT and it balances out. I have been asked and offered a position if I attend a BSN program the hospital I currently work for would retain me, and offer tuition assistance, (but none for PA school since I would have to resign my position). I really have my heart set out to become a PA and I know I will always have some kind of regret not pursing what I really want, but the debt terrifies me. Hello! I am 25 years old and will be starting PA school this September in the Bay Area! I applied to 11 programs last cycle but was ultimately only accepted here. While this program was the most expensive “option” of the schools I applied to (I stayed West coast only to be close to family/boyfriend) BUT, I truly felt encouraged after meeting the faculty and my potential classmates at this school so even though it’s expensive I’m happy with where I’ll be. I owe around $25,000 from my undergrad and that is growing thanks to interest and after crunching numbers for my two year program I will owe between $142,000-$152,000 (depending on if I do rotations in the bay or back home) after calculating both direct (tuition, student health insurance,etc.) and indirect costs (rent, gas, groceries, etc). This cost is relatively low compared to what it would have been if I chose to live nearer to campus (I’m living in Vallejo and will be commuting every day to Oakland to save ~$15,000 per year). All in all, I’ll owe close to $180,000 when I’m done with the program (probably more) but I’ve come to the realization that I just need to accept the debt and use it as a driving force to be successful in my career! Things to think about for paying the loans back: Dual income if you have a spouse or end up having a spouse down the line they can help significantly and yes, the first few years might suck living in a crappy apartment but the debt will slowly start disappearing. Per diem shifts to make some extra money and hammer out the debt. If a family member can help pay the interest payments when you’re in school that would be a big help in the long run! I personally hope to live with my boyfriends parents once I get my first job so the majority of my paycheck can go to loans (we live with them now for free). If you don’t plan on applying until next cycle then get two jobs and just save as much as you can! If I could go back, I would have moved in with my boyfriends parents much sooner to start saving (some people have thousands saved that they put towards the program which would have been extremely helpful). I’ve looked into some of the loan repayment options and I’m not a huge fan of all the regulations but if you are willing to relocate and or not be picky about your specialty you should be able to find a good paying job to start paying your loans back. Obviously I can’t predict the future or what it entails but, I FEEL YOU. Debt sucks, but being a PA will not! Edited July 16, 2019 by NicoleJo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Debt is real. Go to studentloans.gov - they have really good repayment estimator calculators that can show you what payments would look like on various repayment plans based on how much you estimate borrowing (and selecting an average interest rate - once you actually have loans they use your real information). Loans and repayment plans. NHSC scholarship or repayments. Military. Have independently wealthy family members. Those are the ways to pay for PA school. You're getting bad information about the schedules. PAs can do shift work and can be paid overtime if they are paid hourly. Sounds like you have more information gathering to do. Only you can decide ultimately what is best for you and aligns with your goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeA Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 The debt thing is very really, and interest is bad. Work as much as you can to take out the smallest loan you can manage, otherwise you spend $20 for every $10 you borrow. And get out of the Bay area. Too expensive for a place with poop and needles on every street. You can live like royalty on a PA salary most other places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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