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Started By
Message
Medical School Expenses
Posted on 7/14/25 at 10:34 am
Posted on 7/14/25 at 10:34 am
I've got a kid who has been pretty consistently on the "i want to be a doctor" train for a while and he most likely has the ability - academically and personally - to do so.
He's currently in high school, so we've got a few years before actual med school, but we're trying to start planning and getting our minds wrapped around a strategy of how much debt might be a reasonable amount to begin his professional life. We're fine with him having skin in the game and carrying some of that burden, but we don't want it to cripple him financially.
All I've ever heard is how expensive med school is - looking at tuition alone (not including living expenses) for 4 years is going to run around 140-150K. Does that sound right?
Anyone been in this boat and want to share their experiences?
He's currently in high school, so we've got a few years before actual med school, but we're trying to start planning and getting our minds wrapped around a strategy of how much debt might be a reasonable amount to begin his professional life. We're fine with him having skin in the game and carrying some of that burden, but we don't want it to cripple him financially.
All I've ever heard is how expensive med school is - looking at tuition alone (not including living expenses) for 4 years is going to run around 140-150K. Does that sound right?
Anyone been in this boat and want to share their experiences?
This post was edited on 7/14/25 at 10:47 am
20
Posted on 7/14/25 at 10:56 am to meAnon
Just go to one of those Caribbean med schools.
Since he's still in HS, I would keep the focus on getting through college with good grades. Will college be paid for or will he have undergrad debt too?
He's looking at a significant amount of med school debt that he can't really put a dent in until after residency. As long as he understands to live frugally for the first few years once the real paychecks start coming in, he can knock it out quick.
Since he's still in HS, I would keep the focus on getting through college with good grades. Will college be paid for or will he have undergrad debt too?
He's looking at a significant amount of med school debt that he can't really put a dent in until after residency. As long as he understands to live frugally for the first few years once the real paychecks start coming in, he can knock it out quick.
Posted on 7/14/25 at 10:58 am to meAnon
Have him join the air force and go to school for free
Posted on 7/14/25 at 10:59 am to meAnon
Some schools have endowments that cover tuition for all students.
Posted on 7/14/25 at 11:24 am to meAnon
Has he talked to any doctors recently? Does he want to see 20 patients a day for about 15 minutes each just to do medical coding and prescribe pharmaceuticals to manage chronic illness?
Posted on 7/14/25 at 11:26 am to meAnon
quote:
All I've ever heard is how expensive med school is - looking at tuition alone (not including living expenses) for 4 years is going to run around 140-150K. Does that sound right?
Minimum. Seemed to be going up huge chunks every year, but seems to have stabilized as medicine has become a much less lucrative career than it used to be.
Carribean schools are even more expensive. In state is cheaper than out of state. The Air Force suggestion isn't a bad idea considering how expensive school and living expenses are. Physician reimbursement has been frozen in time for 20 years and the top end is much lower. Harder to pay that debt back than it used to be and if an employer does it for you, you just became an indentured servant for a decade.
Posted on 7/14/25 at 11:41 am to meAnon
1. Don’t have him go to a Caribbean school if he can get into a US school. Terrible advice.
2. In-state will be the most financially sound choice. Out of state fees tend to be fairly steep.
3. Looking at LSUHSC-Shreveport, estimated total cost of attendance is about $64,000/year. Looks like average loan debt at graduation is around $170,000.
4. As others have mentioned, military is an option with the HPSP (health professions scholarship program). I am actually about to start my 4 year active duty service commitment in August. I did HPSP through the Air Force. There are some important considerations for this route. If he is targeting a high earning specialty and state school, it is not a great deal financially. I went to a cheap school and am in a high-earning specialty so I will make FAR less than the national average for my specialty for 4 years. Also, I got lucky and was able to train straight through in my desired specialty and sub-specialty without incurring more time commitment; this isn’t common. So if he has interest in a competitive speciality or fellowshop, he will be at the mercy of the needs of his branch, and will likely end up owing more time.
2. In-state will be the most financially sound choice. Out of state fees tend to be fairly steep.
3. Looking at LSUHSC-Shreveport, estimated total cost of attendance is about $64,000/year. Looks like average loan debt at graduation is around $170,000.
4. As others have mentioned, military is an option with the HPSP (health professions scholarship program). I am actually about to start my 4 year active duty service commitment in August. I did HPSP through the Air Force. There are some important considerations for this route. If he is targeting a high earning specialty and state school, it is not a great deal financially. I went to a cheap school and am in a high-earning specialty so I will make FAR less than the national average for my specialty for 4 years. Also, I got lucky and was able to train straight through in my desired specialty and sub-specialty without incurring more time commitment; this isn’t common. So if he has interest in a competitive speciality or fellowshop, he will be at the mercy of the needs of his branch, and will likely end up owing more time.
This post was edited on 7/14/25 at 11:44 am
Posted on 7/14/25 at 11:50 am to meAnon
quote:
He's currently in high school
If he truly wants to go to med school, he needs to minimize debt in undergrad. He needs to go to LSU or Tech (a cheaper in-state) and not consider Duke or Vandy. While in college, he needs to do research and make good connections with faculty. He likely will need to take a gap year after college. Lining up a good research or hospital job (for that year) ahead of time helps.
quote:At least. It's going up 4%-5% annually.
All I've ever heard is how expensive med school is - looking at tuition alone (not including living expenses) for 4 years is going to run around 140-150K. Does that sound right?
Posted on 7/14/25 at 12:08 pm to tiger rag 93
quote:
1. Don’t have him go to a Caribbean school if he can get into a US school. Terrible advice.
It was a joke. Yes don’t follow that advice
Posted on 7/14/25 at 12:10 pm to meAnon
Start a GoFundMe. If people will pay for new cars and houses for murderers maybe they'll pay for someone else's med school.
Posted on 7/14/25 at 12:11 pm to tiger rag 93
Everything this guy said is absolutely spot on.
Posted on 7/14/25 at 12:14 pm to meAnon
He needs to have zero or close to zero undergrad debt however possible
Go to the cheapest US med school possible, usually that would be in state (especially if Louisiana) schools. Of course LSU-NO increased their tuition by record levels every year that I was there, but it was still relatively "cheap"
10 years ago I took out maximum federal cost of attendance loans each year and then stupidly put my loans in forbearance all through residency. Before I start paying back it got up to almost 300k, at one of the cheaper schools in the country. Just saying how it went. If that was Tulane, it would have been 600k. The loans are almost gone now after some tactical refinancing but I made it harder on myself for sure.
If you can help with any med school expenses it makes their financial life and ramp up after residency so much easier. Definitely need skin in the game to learn life lessons. Friends I had were years ahead of me in the money game with help because of it.
Go to the cheapest US med school possible, usually that would be in state (especially if Louisiana) schools. Of course LSU-NO increased their tuition by record levels every year that I was there, but it was still relatively "cheap"
10 years ago I took out maximum federal cost of attendance loans each year and then stupidly put my loans in forbearance all through residency. Before I start paying back it got up to almost 300k, at one of the cheaper schools in the country. Just saying how it went. If that was Tulane, it would have been 600k. The loans are almost gone now after some tactical refinancing but I made it harder on myself for sure.
If you can help with any med school expenses it makes their financial life and ramp up after residency so much easier. Definitely need skin in the game to learn life lessons. Friends I had were years ahead of me in the money game with help because of it.
Posted on 7/14/25 at 12:17 pm to meAnon
quote:
We're fine with him having skin in the game and carrying some of that burden, but we don't want it to cripple him financially.
Student loan debt is dumb in most situations, but there are few better ROIs than medical school tuition.
Pay for him to go to undergrad, let him graduate debt free, and then he can borrow the money for med school. You can help of course, maybe pay his rent or some other expenses.
Posted on 7/14/25 at 12:32 pm to meAnon
(no message)
This post was edited on 11/17/25 at 3:59 pm
Posted on 7/14/25 at 12:38 pm to meAnon
quote:
He's currently in high school
What everyone else said, but I'd put the brakes on any decision making until about sophomore year. There are many well intentioned students out there that in the end find out it's not for them one way or another.
Posted on 7/14/25 at 12:49 pm to MrSpock
Agreed with the above. Just be aware that there are some fields that don’t make a ton of sense to incur such a debt (peds, employed family med,etc). This is terrible life advice as I’d never want anyone to give up a passion to chase money, but I would be mindful of what high earning specialities are, and have him at least consider those. If he goes into a high earning sub speciality, I’d not do military nor pay for his school. He will be fine. Prestigious medical schools do tend to favor prestigious residency, but that is definitely not the end all be all. Not sure how that has changed with pass fail STEP test. Tell him to bust his arse with the goal in mind. Need as close to 4.0 in college as possible and volunteer/work experience (especially if white male, not political just a fact).
Posted on 7/14/25 at 12:58 pm to FortunateSon
quote:
He likely will need to take a gap year after college
Is this the norm?
Need to save money? Take a break after what will likely be a fairly rigorous undergrad?
Posted on 7/14/25 at 1:27 pm to meAnon
No piss poor advice, that guy is an idiot
Posted on 7/14/25 at 1:33 pm to SmackoverHawg
quote:
The Air Force suggestion isn't a bad idea
quote:Well...
if an employer does it for you, you just became an indentured servant for a decade
Posted on 7/14/25 at 1:33 pm to Craft
quote:
No piss poor advice, that guy is an idiot
No idea if that guy is an idiot or not, but currently, 71% of med school matriculants take a gap year before applying/getting accepted into med school.
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