queenofhearts Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 What is the appropriate amount of debt to come out of PA school? It boggles my mind how many graduate programs offer scholarships, stipends, etc but PA programs don't. I don't want to be up to my eyes in debt after graduating and paying a huge chunk of my paycheck to the government after its all said and done. I know most of you are now those who are now paying off your loans, so I ask-what is reasonable and completely doable to live a comfortably with all the basic necessities? Thank you for the feedback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68W2PA Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 A good rule I have heard is that the total education debt should be around a full year's gross salary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted September 27, 2012 Administrator Share Posted September 27, 2012 I'm down $17k, and that seems a bit too much for me... but I'm a debt-adverse person. I hope to have it mostly paid off before the interest starts accruing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christopherjmu Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I'm down $250,000 with undergrad. I just graduated last month. Hello loan pay-back programs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neuro1 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I'm not sure what the "appropriate" amount of debt would be, others can answer that, if there IS such a thing. It took me 10 years to pay off my loans, but I didn't consider the payments brutal or anything. That being said, I was an "older" grad and already accustomed to CC debt, mortgages, car payments, insurance payments etc etc already. Life (at least, for me) is all about owing, tough to get around it. Keeping good credit is more important. Although it's probably a good idea to think about and plan for eventual debt, I think it might be a more appropriate question to ask if your concern about debt would potentially change your career path? Really??? Then maybe PA isn't the right profession for you to consider at this time in your life.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgl003 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 There are a few opportunities for physician assistant students and current providers to receive scholarships or loan repayment. I am currently a PA student receiving the national health service corps scholarship. I receive a monthy stipend and all of my educational costs are taken care of. All that I have to do is work at an approved site in an underserved area for the number of years that I receive assistance (will be about 3 years because they round up). So, there are options other than loans out there if you want to minimize the amount of debt that you leave school with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauraadora Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I would just like to point out that as far as National Health Service Corps goes, you should know that the scholarship is EXTREMELY competitive. There are levels of priority for scholarship recipients and top priority is if you come from an underserved area/ financial need. However, there is a loan repayment program which is less competitive (or so I have heard) and there are no priority levels (as far as I know). Definitely look into that and certain states also have loan repayment programs, so look into that too. I wouldn't let the debt freak you out... The way I see it, there are tons of PAs out there who did it before us and they seem to be doing just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostrike1 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 there is also National Health Service Corps loan repayment to consider. You have to work in primary care and a designated area. It is also quite competitive and no guarantee that once you have a job in an NHSC approved site you will even get the loan repayment. I am going to be finishing my first 2 year contract where I got 60K tax free sent to my bank account. I will be applying for year 3 (an additional 30K) in January and hope they approve it. Really helps a lot, as I was 150K in debt after school. Watch how much you take out in loans...if you can live more frugally, do it! I think the job is worth it, so debt is just part of the equation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68W2PA Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 You could join the Army National Guard for 6 years. They pay off $75k of student loans over the first three years of service. Then for the second three years, you get a $20k/year bonus. Not bad for what is one weekend a month. It comes out to roughly $30k a year for around 36 days of service (11 months of 2 day weekends + 14 days summer annual training - which can be conference and CE opportunities.) It can be a nice supplement to whatever job you do get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Over 160K+. Worked full time through school + 60K PA program + 1.5 yr community college. Oh well, gonna hustle right off the bat and knock it out then sit back and enjoy life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Join the Army (or other branch). Odds are you can still get upwards of $125-150k in loan repayment. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsfelder0417 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 You could join the Army National Guard for 6 years. They pay off $75k of student loans over the first three years of service. Then for the second three years, you get a $20k/year bonus. Not bad for what is one weekend a month. It comes out to roughly $30k a year for around 36 days of service (11 months of 2 day weekends + 14 days summer annual training - which can be conference and CE opportunities.) It can be a nice supplement to whatever job you do get. Definitely a good route. Just remember that this is the MINIMUM service that one has to put in. One can be called for natural disasters, civil unrest, deployments etc. I'm not trying to be a wet blanket, but when I was down range I often heard Reservists/Guardsmen lamenting about the 'one weekend/month' deal while they were deployed for 12-15 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted September 28, 2012 Administrator Share Posted September 28, 2012 Definitely a good route. Just remember that this is the MINIMUM service that one has to put in. One can be called for natural disasters, civil unrest, deployments etc. I'm not trying to be a wet blanket, but when I was down range I often heard Reservists/Guardsmen lamenting about the 'one weekend/month' deal while they were deployed for 12-15 months. Indeed, I heard on one of my rotations (from a U.S. Army PA) that PAs were deployed more often than physicians or nurses, and I have no reason to doubt him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 There's a big difference between Guard/Reserve deployments and active duty deployments, especially post 2006/2007. In addition, your deployment length will depend on branch of service. Finally, depending on your area of specialty, the conditions you work in will greatly vary. Typical deployments: Army (active): 12 months (bonus for every month after 12) Army (Guard/Reserve): 6-9 months in country, 3-6 months pre/post deployment readiness (away from home, but still CONUS) Air Force: 4-6 monhts Navy/Marines: 6/12 months (varies with duty and if on/off ship) Typical assignments for Army PA's (since it's what I know): - Flight Surgeons = can pull flight missions, but ours mostly sat in an aid station, on a major base and worked 5-6 12 hour shifts per week + every other day on-call - Primary Care/ER = Working at a CSH (Combat Surgical Hospital; full hospital, generally minus MRI, on a major base, has real walls, cable TV, internet, etc.) or a FST (Forward Surgical Team; just what it sounds like, generally minus neuro) - On a FOB (Forward Operating Base) = A medical team that I did a lot of pickups for (I was MEDEVAC) were heavily engaged in '07 and the PA was reassigned to the infantry along with his 12 medics once the shooting started. Translation: Screw your non-combatant status and start shooting Mr. I. Hate Americans. Is it horrible duty? Nope. Deployments (did 3) are pretty fun in the end. Yeah, the fighting sucks and all that, but at the end of the day, you're doing medicine and you make a rough situation what it is. Your pay is tax free, you get a ton of bonuses and our PA's always timed their deployments for when they were to receive their bonuses (i.e. making them tax free as well). Myth of stop loss. It was pretty much the norm until about 2007/2008. Now, due to the bad PR that comes with it and the massive down-sizing of the military this is far from the norm. What about medical personnel? Yeah, there's always a need for more, especially with the growing retiree/medically discharged, but there's also a lot of graduates that need loans paid off quickly. Once you complete your MSO (mandatory service obligation), you are done and they cannot call you back. You signed a contract before you raised your right hand, so honor it or don't sign it. My meaning? We had 65% of our brigade (~3500 soldiers) stop loss'ed before one of my deployments. There was a lot of grumbling, but the reality is that when you enlist, you sign an 8 year contract, even if only 2-6 years of that is active, you belong to the Army for 8 years. The money doesn't come for free and the check cleared when it hit your bank (meaning you were paid). So...hold up your end of the deal too. I did my time and when my MSO was done, held a party (I was on inactive reserve at the time). However, I miss practicing medicine in the military and will consider going back in once I'm done. If I do, the first stop will be the Flight Surgeon's course at Ft. Rucker and return to DUSTOFF, 'cause simply put...the worst day of flying is still better than the best day on the ground. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsfelder0417 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 I'm IRR right now as well. Got off Active Duty in April. My MSO is up 4 Nov 2012. I am glad I did it, and I think it made me a better person, but I am also glad that it is over. We had a rough deployment, and I have buried enough friends to last me a lifetime... Now I just want to live the rest of my life in peace with my family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Amen to that brother. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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