Thread: To gamble, or to be trapped?

I am slated to be in SGU this coming spring, and am currently undergoing a crisis of commitment. My wife would love to go to Grenada for a couple of years (she is only 21, and while she has not yet begun college she claims she would be comfortable waiting 2yrs -- until I start my clinical rotations stateside -- to begin). However, I am trying to decide if SGU is worth it for us. I am considering passing on my SGU admission and moving to Seattle. *IF* I can gain admission to UWSOM, it would be $100,000-$130,000 CHEAPER to attend there than get an SGU MD; basically paying for my wife's education.

What I am getting at is this: are the loans so steep that I might have to tell my wife some day "Hon, I got my MD, but you cannot start school for a number of years because we cannot afford more student loans"? $250k-$300k is a huge amount of money, and yes, it means realizing my dreams of MD life much more quickly, but I don't want my family to suffer for my impatience. Will the debt tie us up too much to realize OTHER dreams? Can we finance a stateside B.S. and PhD for her with my debt already so steep, as well as afford a home, some furniture, and a car?

Advice from alumns, esp. those who are/were married would be appreciated. Thanks!

im not an alum but am married with a family. we as a couple both left comfortable jobs with good incomes. had to sell everything we owned to get here so we could realize a dream. house, cars, everything is gone. living out of a couple of suitcases each.

its tough on a relationship. wont lie to you about that. its even tougher convincing your significant other that there is a light at the end of the tunnel after all this debt.

you can replace cash my friend but you cant replace relationships. fortunately for me my relationship became stronger because we both shared the same dream.

coming back to money? its a lot of debt. i contacted many alumni who were in their 2nd and 3rd years of residency. they were having a tough time but it was manageable. depends on your standard of living you are comfortable with. the ones with family seemed to be doing better overall than the ones without family.

every year you put off getting into med school you are that much less closer to your peak salary.

Originally Posted by bobdole

I am slated to be in SGU this coming spring, and am currently undergoing a crisis of commitment. My wife would love to go to Grenada for a couple of years (she is only 21, and while she has not yet begun college she claims she would be comfortable waiting 2yrs -- until I start my clinical rotations stateside -- to begin). However, I am trying to decide if SGU is worth it for us. I am considering passing on my SGU admission and moving to Seattle. *IF* I can gain admission to UWSOM, it would be $100,000-$130,000 CHEAPER to attend there than get an SGU MD; basically paying for my wife's education.

What I am getting at is this: are the loans so steep that I might have to tell my wife some day "Hon, I got my MD, but you cannot start school for a number of years because we cannot afford more student loans"? $250k-$300k is a huge amount of money, and yes, it means realizing my dreams of MD life much more quickly, but I don't want my family to suffer for my impatience. Will the debt tie us up too much to realize OTHER dreams? Can we finance a stateside B.S. and PhD for her with my debt already so steep, as well as afford a home, some furniture, and a car?

Advice from alumns, esp. those who are/were married would be appreciated. Thanks!

I'm just an regular med student with a spouse but I was just wondering if you have a shot at UWSOM then I'm pretty sure you shouldn't have a problem with getting into a lower tier US med school. I'm from Seattle and there was really no shot for me as there are only 150 slots for the 5 states that are considered as residents for admin puposes(Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Idaho, Montana). It was easier to get looked at from other schools like Chicago Med school or others. The tuition at UW is dirt cheap for a top 10 med school.

Originally Posted by microphage

I'm just an regular med student with a spouse but I was just wondering if you have a shot at UWSOM then I'm pretty sure you shouldn't have a problem with getting into a lower tier US med school. I'm from Seattle and there was really no shot for me as there are only 150 slots for the 5 states that are considered as residents for admin puposes(Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Idaho, Montana). It was easier to get looked at from other schools like Chicago Med school or others. The tuition at UW is dirt cheap for a top 10 med school.

Well, that's the "gamble" part. My MCATs are right on UW's average, and I published research and volunteered in the ER while working in the department of Neurology at UW, so I am ok there; it is my undergraduate GPA that is the concern. I am debating whether or not to gamble that some post-bacc or master's level work will sway the committee to give me one of those 150 spots. Helluva gamble methinks, but it would ensure that my wife can get her education -- I am afraid that her matriculation will be delayed because of the cost of SGU if I go there before she chooses and completes her schooling; and that she'll be so bored and homesick that I will have a mutiny on my hands.