debastet Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Hi all - quick summary: I'm 26 y/o professional with a decent job (good salary, benefits, car allowance, phone, etc) and no HCE, but I'm planning on a drastic lifestyle change by means of quitting said job to move back home, finish all 8 (ugh) of my pre-reqs, and try to somehow get some hands on healthcare experience (I've been trying to find a practice in Richmond, VA that will train me as an MA... not going so well so far... advice on that is appreciated too). Can anyone give me some perspective as to how daunting student loans really are? Are they holding you back after graduating and finding a job or are they manageable in regards to paying them off? I'm currently paying off about $6k worth of undergrad loans right now. If I quit this full time job so I can go back to school full time and eventually apply to PA school before I'm 30, I'll have to borrow about $12k more on top of however much PA school will cost. Anybody have a similar experience or advice on how this works in general? I guess I'm just trying to prepare myself for being broke for the next 4-5 years of my life and I'm stressing out about how I'm going to do this... I need some hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PM2PA Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Don't quit your job. Do EMT at night if you can. Finish that, work part time/volunteer and then take your remaining classes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loliz Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Paying off $6K within 5 years is not that daunting. 8 prereqs over 5 years is also not that bad, time consuming or expensive (maybe I missed something- why do you need to go to school full time for 8 classes over 5 years?) Since you asked for someone who has done it...or something similar.. I worked full time in undergrad, while volunteering, shadowing and doing undergrad research. Paid off student loans early by living within my means and paying much more than the feds said I was required to pay on a monthly basis. Reestablished life goals to include PA school, went to part time at my money job, part time in healthcare and took my remaining prereqs in between. I was busy. I wasn't as broke as you'd think because I lived within my means. That means cheap apartment, no car loans, no vacations and I allowed my wine palette to suffer a bit. Honestly- if I were you... why wait 4 years? Get working on classes, paying down debt and your HCE and get on it!! Some schools allow classes to "expire" so I would check with the schools that you are interested in to be sure you will be in a good position in 5 years. Also- don't be fooled into paying tuition for post bacc classes at a university, you will not be eligible for financial aid and it is way too expensive. Find a community college, it will save you thousands!! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 With living expensies, I'm looking at 140k in loans from PA school alone. I'd imagine its only going to continue to become more expensive. Is this loan payment doable? I'm assuming to be in the 1k/yr a month club for 25 years unless I go with income based repayment. I find it insane that these payments may keep me from being a home owner in the foreseeable future, when Joe Walmart, who filed bankruptcy 2 years ago can qualify for a mortgage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FfIghter23 Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Honestly, student loans are what you make of them. Yes, you will have a bunch... But you will also make enough to pay them back in a reasonable amount of time. I'll graduate with around $80K, but have a plan to pay them off within 4 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debastet Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Paying off $6K within 5 years is not that daunting. 8 prereqs over 5 years is also not that bad, time consuming or expensive (maybe I missed something- why do you need to go to school full time for 8 classes over 5 years?) !Sorry I meant the next 4-5 years of my life as including 2-3 years of pre reqs and 2 years of PA school. I feel like with a full time job I can only do 1 class a semester so it may take longer than that, not to mention squeezing in HCE with EMT work. How did you manage to do it all??! You must have had a crazy schedule.In regards to community college courses vs. University courses: I see some programs require pre reqs like human anatomy and physiology to be taken at a 4 year. I simply can't afford that. Should I just pass on applying to those programs??Thanks for all the advice so far, everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moiraine57 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Out of curiosity, have you considered enlisting in the military and becoming a medic? You'll get your HCE, plus the post 9/11 GI Bill. And you won't have to live with your parents... :heheh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loliz Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Sorry I meant the next 4-5 years of my life as including 2-3 years of pre reqs and 2 years of PA school. Oh... sorry, I definitely misunderstood that! When I was getting my prereqs done I took two at a time. On the days I had class I worked evening shift at the hospital. On the days I didn't have class I worked at my other job (my money job) and did studying afterwards. It was seriously exhausting and not a whole lot of fun to be honest with you!!!l (2 PT jobs) Any classes I took post bacc I took at a comunity college. I was going to take them at the school I got my degree, but the cost difference was literally thousands of dollars a semester. I think two classes at the CC cost something like $500. If you are lucky, you may be able to get your EMT job to pay for some of the tuition since it is to further your healthcare career. I called around to different schools and nobody seemed to care that those classes were from a CC. I guess if there is a school that feels differently you should decide based on how much you want to go that particular school. Send an email to admissions and get straight answers, that way you can keep a paper trail and its easier to remember which school said what. As for PA school, I am swimming in debt as I go through this. I look at as an investment that will be paying me back year after year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debastet Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share Posted February 2, 2013 Oh... sorry, I definitely misunderstood that!When I was getting my prereqs done I took two at a time. On the days I had class I worked evening shift at the hospital. On the days I didn't have class I worked at my other job (my money job) and did studying afterwards. It was seriously exhausting and not a whole lot of fun to be honest with you!!!l (2 PT jobs) Any classes I took post bacc I took at a comunity college. I was going to take them at the school I got my degree, but the cost difference was literally thousands of dollars a semester. I think two classes at the CC cost something like $500. If you are lucky, you may be able to get your EMT job to pay for some of the tuition since it is to further your healthcare career. I called around to different schools and nobody seemed to care that those classes were from a CC. I guess if there is a school that feels differently you should decide based on how much you want to go that particular school. Send an email to admissions and get straight answers, that way you can keep a paper trail and its easier to remember which school said what. As for PA school, I am swimming in debt as I go through this. I look at as an investment that will be paying me back year after year. Thank you for your response - this definitely helps give me a better perspective! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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