How did you finance your post bac? Is paying back med school debt possible?

Hello there! I’m thirty years young and accepted to the post bac program at Mills. I have an art history undergrad (3.8 GPA) from a competitive liberal arts degree and received my MSW from an ivy (3.9 GPA). I was a social worker at a Psych ER and fell in love with medicine and decided to change my path in hope of becoming an OB/GYN. I’m accepted at Mills for my post bac and will start this fall, but I have to take out private loans to fund it. I know this is the best choice for me, but taking out that much in loans (I’m looking at 400k total) is pretty scary and overwhelming.

This decision to pursue my passion is an emotional one, but I need to take stock of all factors. I’ve crunched the numbers and I think I can everything back in five years if I live like a resident, but I’d love to hear from people how they paid back or plan to pay off their debt.

Your plan sounds doable, and you’re young enough to pay everything off. The way I see it, med school loans are like having a second mortgage, which isn’t unheard of.

I’m doing loans for my post-bacc (2nd bachelor’s). Luckily I had some remaining federal loans, which are covering this year. My husband covers living expenses. Residency will almost double our current income (husband is a pastor), so we could enjoy a slight lifestyle bump while making a good dent in the loans. I think that we could pay them off pretty quickly. I’m 35 and have no interest in carrying debt for longer than possible. We already live like residents and want to be done with that lol.

Way to go rkatz! Your conviction and passion inspires me, as I am in a similar position and trying to size things up.

I found this recent podcast really, really informative:
https://medicalschoolhq.net/pmy-286-common-mistakes-and-more-about-financing-medical-school/

(Thanks for the great resources, Dr. G!)

Thank you! This podcast is exactly what I needed. Great to hear that private loans aren’t the devil.