is $400k in student loan worth it?

[Dancing Fire]

my friend's daughter owes 400K in student loan after graduating from pharmacy school. is that possible 400k in 7 yrs?.. maybe the parents are B.Sing. i know many pharmacists who doesn't owe that much in student loan.

 

[iheartscience]

I'm sure it's possible depending on where she went. A private school in an expensive area could cost that much including living expenses.

And depending on a pharmacist's earning potential it could be worth it, I would imagine.

 

[04diamond<3]

holy cow!!!!!!!!!!! That's a lot!!! I know medical school here in Chicago is about 60k a year...so 400k seems like a lot!

 

[TooPatient]

I'd believe 400k is possible. If she took out the maximum federal student loans and additional private loans to cover all of her tuition, books, and living expenses for 7 years that would add up to a fair amount.

Is it worth it? I don't know what pharmacists make so I can't say if it is worth it or not. I did have someone mention that there is a high demand so they can get jobs reasonably quickly so it might be worth it.

 

[sonnyjane]

Entirely possible. Ridiculous, but possible. If it's a private school with tuition in the $40k-$50k range for undergrad and even more for the pharmacy stuff...$400k would seem on par. That's means minimum payments of about $3,500-$4,000 a month, and with compounding interest... Eek!

 

[madelise]

Out of state + private school tuition? Sure. It's a doctorate program, so they charge doctorate fees. Add to the fact that while they're in school, they can't make money for living expenses and rent, so you have to tack that on to their loans, too.

Is it worth it? Yes. Pharmacists START OFF making (near or already) 6 figure salaries, while many other professions take seniority to grow their salary. If they make $100K a year, they can pay off their loans within 5-6 years if they live frugally. Some doctors can't do that, since their salary is horrendous during their resident years.

You may know people who are pharmacists w/o that debt, but they could have gone to other schools.



I always think health care profession programs should stop charging so much $$$. I always wonder how many people out there that are smart enough to "make it", don't, because they can't afford these programs.

 

[madelise]

Entirely possible. Ridiculous, but possible. If it's a private school with tuition in the $40k-$50k range for undergrad and even more for the pharmacy stuff...$400k would seem on par. That's means minimum payments of about $3,500-$4,000 a month, and with compounding interest... Eek!

A lot of student loans do not have that high of an interest rate, and they usually don't make you pay that high of a % of them every month.

 

[ponder]

Entirely possible. Ridiculous, but possible. If it's a private school with tuition in the $40k-$50k range for undergrad and even more for the pharmacy stuff...$400k would seem on par. That's means minimum payments of about $3,500-$4,000 a month, and with compounding interest... Eek!

A lot of student loans do not have that high of an interest rate, and they usually don't make you pay that high of a % of them every month.

if the student loan is unconsolidated, then it is probably financed for 10 years and you are definitely looking at 3-4k a month. If consolidated for a 30 year loan, the the payment each month would be considerably less. Worth it, maybe. Responsible way to loan, not really.

 

[sonnyjane]

Well I'm speaking from my experience, which was $80,000 on a 6.8%, with minimum payments around $900 a month. My friend is a lawyer and owes $180,000 and her payments are about $1,600 a month.

 

[iheartscience]

Well I'm speaking from my experience, which was $80,000 on a 6.8%, with minimum payments around $900 a month. My friend is a lawyer and owes $180,000 and her payments are about $1,600 a month.

YIKES. I'm not sure making $100k (at least according to glassdoor.com) is worth the $400k in loans.

 

[madelise]

Scholarships?



I'm personally in the waiting period of hearing from graduate programs, and costs (tuition, cost of living, etc) are my biggest concern. Bigger than how prestigious a program/school is.


Don't these big name schools give a lot of $$$ in scholarships? I remember reading an article about how attending an Ivy league can be cheaper than attending a UC, because Ivies have a lot of $$$ for scholarships from all their donations from alumni.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I'm sure it's possible depending on where she went. A private school in an expensive area could cost that much including living expenses.

And depending on a pharmacist's earning potential it could be worth it, I would imagine.

yes,University of the Pacific.

 

[madelise]

Well I'm speaking from my experience, which was $80,000 on a 6.8%, with minimum payments around $900 a month. My friend is a lawyer and owes $180,000 and her payments are about $1,600 a month.

Hm.. that's right. But if a person makes 8K+ per month, and pays 3-4K a month, it isn't that bad? They still have another 4-5K to use/save?I mean, it sure as heck sucks to pay that much, but it beats NOT going to school at all, and making less than 3-4K per month.. eventually after the loans are paid off, they'll be having 8K+ paychecks. Or if they're more frugal, and can manage to live off 2-3K, they can apply more towards their loans and pay it off quicker?

Don't get me wrong, I would advise anyone to choose a cheaper school, but if someone had the means and can *only* get accepted into an expensive school, go ahead! More "worth it" than nothing at all, IMO.


I'm just curious if DF's friend also pays for his daughter's tuition… hence him mentioning the topic to DF (maybe complaining?).

 

[madelise]

I'm sure it's possible depending on where she went. A private school in an expensive area could cost that much including living expenses.

And depending on a pharmacist's earning potential it could be worth it, I would imagine.

yes,University of the Pacific.

UOP's tuition IS expensive, but cost of living in that area shouldn't be that bad? The area's scary. I didn't apply there purely for those reasons. But UOP does offer scholarships and assistantships (at least for my program)?

http://www.pacific.edu/About-Pacifi...nancial-Aid/Estimated-Cost-of-Attendance.html

$55K estimated cost per year of attendance for undergrad years.
I can only imagine how much $$$ a doctorate program costs! Yikes!


ETA: http://www.pacific.edu/Admission/Graduate-Professional/Pharmacy/Pharm-DTuition-and-Fees.html

$200K for 3 years of the PharmD program.
+ 220K for 4 years of undergraduate school
= $440K total education cost.

 

[sonnyjane]

Well I'm speaking from my experience, which was $80,000 on a 6.8%, with minimum payments around $900 a month. My friend is a lawyer and owes $180,000 and her payments are about $1,600 a month.

Hm.. that's right. But if a person makes 8K+ per month, and pays 3-4K a month, it isn't that bad? They still have another 4-5K to use/save?I mean, it sure as heck sucks to pay that much, but it beats NOT going to school at all, and making less than 3-4K per month.. eventually after the loans are paid off, they'll be having 8K+ paychecks. Or if they're more frugal, and can manage to live off 2-3K, they can apply more towards their loans and pay it off quicker?

Don't get me wrong, I would advise anyone to choose a cheaper school, but if someone had the means and can *only* get accepted into an expensive school, go ahead! More "worth it" than nothing at all, IMO.


I'm just curious if DF's friend also pays for his daughter's tuition… hence him mentioning the topic to DF (maybe complaining?).

Lots of factors. Is it $8,000 before or after taxes? Where do they live? For example my rent and utilities cost $2,250 a month and we just have a 2 bedroom apartment - nothing fancy. Do they have a car payment? A very reasonable car is still $350 a month. Car insurance? Another $100. Groceries? A few more hundred a month. Gas? Etc. etc. And again, this is when they get a job. I certainly hope they get one right out of college!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Out of state + private school tuition? Sure. It's a doctorate program, so they charge doctorate fees. Add to the fact that while they're in school, they can't make money for living expenses and rent, so you have to tack that on to their loans, too.

Is it worth it? Yes. Pharmacists START OFF making (near or already) 6 figure salaries, while many other professions take seniority to grow their salary. If they make $100K a year, they can pay off their loans within 5-6 years if they live frugally. Some doctors can't do that, since their salary is horrendous during their resident years.

You may know people who are pharmacists w/o that debt, but they could have gone to other schools.

my nephew and his wife are both pharmacists and if they do owe 800K in student loan, then i'd feel sorry for them.i have no idea on how much they owe in student loans,but he did graduated from UOP and his wife graduated from USC.

 

[Dancing Fire]

[quote="madelise|1363580125

I'm just curious if DF's friend also pays for his daughter's tuition… hence him mentioning the topic to DF (maybe complaining?).[/quote][/quote]


nope,zero $$$. the parents told their daughter that they have no money.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I'm sure it's possible depending on where she went. A private school in an expensive area could cost that much including living expenses.

And depending on a pharmacist's earning potential it could be worth it, I would imagine.

yes,University of the Pacific.

UOP's tuition IS expensive, but cost of living in that area shouldn't be that bad? The area's scary. I didn't apply there purely for those reasons. But UOP does offer scholarships and assistantships (at least for my program)?

http://www.pacific.edu/About-Pacifi...nancial-Aid/Estimated-Cost-of-Attendance.html

$55K estimated cost per year of attendance for undergrad years.
I can only imagine how much $$$ a doctorate program costs! Yikes!


ETA: http://www.pacific.edu/Admission/Graduate-Professional/Pharmacy/Pharm-DTuition-and-Fees.html

$200K for 3 years of the PharmD program.
+ 220K for 4 years of undergraduate school
= $440K total education cost.

my niece got lucky five yrs ago when she received a full scholarship into UOP pharmacy school. no wonder my sister said... it felt like hitting a mini lotto when she heard the news.

 

[madelise]

Well I'm speaking from my experience, which was $80,000 on a 6.8%, with minimum payments around $900 a month. My friend is a lawyer and owes $180,000 and her payments are about $1,600 a month.

Hm.. that's right. But if a person makes 8K+ per month, and pays 3-4K a month, it isn't that bad? They still have another 4-5K to use/save?I mean, it sure as heck sucks to pay that much, but it beats NOT going to school at all, and making less than 3-4K per month.. eventually after the loans are paid off, they'll be having 8K+ paychecks. Or if they're more frugal, and can manage to live off 2-3K, they can apply more towards their loans and pay it off quicker?

Don't get me wrong, I would advise anyone to choose a cheaper school, but if someone had the means and can *only* get accepted into an expensive school, go ahead! More "worth it" than nothing at all, IMO.


I'm just curious if DF's friend also pays for his daughter's tuition… hence him mentioning the topic to DF (maybe complaining?).

Lots of factors. Is it $8,000 before or after taxes? Where do they live? For example my rent and utilities cost $2,250 a month and we just have a 2 bedroom apartment - nothing fancy. Do they have a car payment? A very reasonable car is still $350 a month. Car insurance? Another $100. Groceries? A few more hundred a month. Gas? Etc. etc. And again, this is when they get a job. I certainly hope they get one right out of college!

I still think it's a decent situation. My program will run me ~$60K just in tuition (I'm awaiting results from cheaper options at the moment). I have ~$10K from undergraduate loans. I'm guestimating ~15K/year x 2 years for cost of living expenses, flights & rent.. so 100K. I'll probably make $4K/month before taxes. So…. roughly 900$ per month, if spread over 10 years? Take home pay $4K minus $1K to pay tuition loans = $3K to live off of.. While DF's friend's daughter has $4K to live off of. And after those 10 years, I'll be lucky if I can make $6K/month if I get pay increases, whereas she would be making $8K/month. I still think it's worth it

Truly, I'd do a pharm program if I could. I just aint that schmart!

Out of state + private school tuition? Sure. It's a doctorate program, so they charge doctorate fees. Add to the fact that while they're in school, they can't make money for living expenses and rent, so you have to tack that on to their loans, too.

Is it worth it? Yes. Pharmacists START OFF making (near or already) 6 figure salaries, while many other professions take seniority to grow their salary. If they make $100K a year, they can pay off their loans within 5-6 years if they live frugally. Some doctors can't do that, since their salary is horrendous during their resident years.

You may know people who are pharmacists w/o that debt, but they could have gone to other schools.

my nephew and his wife are both pharmacists and if they do owe 800K in student loan, then i'd feel sorry for them.i have no idea on how much they owe in student loans,but he did graduated from UOP and his wife graduated from USC.

USC's program is 4 years. Tuition is posted here: http://pharmacyschool.usc.edu/programs/pharmd/pharmdprogram/cost/
Almost $300K for those 4 years. Add on undergraduate fees, wherever she went to school.


Think of all the diamonds, cars, and watches you could have purchased! haha.

 

[madelise]

my niece got lucky five yrs ago when she received a full scholarship into UOP pharmacy school. no wonder my sister said... it felt like hitting a mini lotto when she heard the news.

Legitimate excitement. It is the equivalent to a lotto, for sure!

 

[Dancing Fire]

my niece got lucky five yrs ago when she received a full scholarship into UOP pharmacy school. no wonder my sister said... it felt like hitting a mini lotto when she heard the news.

Legitimate excitement. It is the equivalent to a lotto, for sure!

my sister and her husband been putting money aside for the daughter's education, then they received news that their daughter can choose b/t UC Berkely, USC or UOP on a full scholarship. the scholarship covers everything, even down to her pencils,so zero $$$ out of my sister's pocket...

 

[makemepretty]

We have three pharmacists in my family, no one came anywhere close to owing that after 6 years of college! Heck, the doctor in our family didn't owe that.

 

[rosetta]

I never had any student loans, so this sum seems utterly outrageous to me.

 

[SB621]

I had a 6 figure loan out from college,just my undergrad-my grad was paid for by the company I was working for at the time. It wasn't 400k but still well over 100k. After school I paid it off within 5 years living frugally. It wasn't a big deal at all.

 

[justginger]

I don't have the mental disposition to be able to have that kind of debt for seemingly no item of value (so no way to recoup that money if I hit a rough patch, like I'd be able to sell a house or investment property). I would fret RELENTLESSLY about it. I wouldn't be able to enjoy life until it was paid back. No movies, no new clothes, no meals out. Nothing.

So to me, no, it would not be worth it. I find that amount INSANE - down here I think the most doctors walk out owing is around $9000/year for their 6 year programs. $400k would never happen (the government caps the university fees), even over $50k would likely be someone with two full degrees (accounting and law, for example).

 

[wildcat03]

400k in student loans is quite possible. I am 4 years out of medical school and I owe 330,000 after interest, etc. I have made payments for the last 3 years, but they don't even make a dent in the interest.

I ended up going to a private medical school. I would have happily gone to a public school, but I was waitlisted. Unfortunately, my private school was in a very expensive area, so my expenses during med school were fairly high. My apartment alone was $900/month, and that is about as affordable a studio apartment as you could find in that area.

 

[chrono]

That is simply insane on all levels. There is no guarantee of making $100K right off the bat, government taxes nearly 35% of your salary, there will be little to no savings for the first few years, and I don't know how I would afford decent housing and transportation. To me, it's not worth it. My life will constantly be stressful wondering when I'll finally be free of the debt.

 

[wildcat03]

I forgot to say that for me, the debt is 100% worth it. Painful, yes, but I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. It has also made me more conscientious regarding financial planning. I have generous life and disability insurance policies. I have been aggressively saving for retirement while paying down the debt that I can. My only consumer debt is my car loan, which I'm also paying down quickly.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Entirely possible. Ridiculous, but possible. If it's a private school with tuition in the $40k-$50k range for undergrad and even more for the pharmacy stuff...$400k would seem on par. That's means minimum payments of about $3,500-$4,000 a month, and with compounding interest... Eek!

A lot of student loans do not have that high of an interest rate, and they usually don't make you pay that high of a % of them every month.

but still 400k is 400k that you'll need to pay back no matter how long it takes,and how about buying a nice house? add another 400k in debt?... + don't forget a nice brand new BMW..

 

[nkarma]

Well I'm speaking from my experience, which was $80,000 on a 6.8%, with minimum payments around $900 a month. My friend is a lawyer and owes $180,000 and her payments are about $1,600 a month.

YIKES. I'm not sure making $100k (at least according to glassdoor.com) is worth the $400k in loans.

Really, I think it is totally worth it. His or her gross in 4 years will pay that off. I know obv, she can't reasonably do that with taxes, living expenses, etc....

And not sure if you looked at the state for Glassdoor but since this person went to UOP and lives in CA, her/his pay could be 20%+ more.

Starting off at six figures and then the raises that compound on top of that for a 35-40+ year career will pay off her student loans and then some in no time. I think it's a great investment!

As to whether in 7 years, 400K is possible, I think it's easy at UOP. Her living expenses a year if living frugally are prob in the 25-30K range and tuition at private schools is about 30-40K or more per year. I know parents that have paid close to that much for their kids to get a B.A. in forensic science or sociology. So again that much for a graduate degree in pharmacy, I think they will be laughing to the bank quite soon.