Will filing Ch 13 make me put Med School on hold

[snowedunder]

I am married w/ 3 kids, one in college. I also work and am a pre-med student. I plan to attend med school in Aug of 08. If I file Bk 13 will I still be able to attend? I was planning on using my med school loans to assist my husband with living expenses.- before it looked like we would have to file Ch 13 to save our home. We have only spoken to one "unliked" attorney and he said I would not be able to go, unless I file a Ch 7.????

[lrprn]

I am married w/ 3 kids, one in college. I also work and am a pre-med student. I plan to attend med school in Aug of 08. If I file Bk 13 will I still be able to attend? I was planning on using my med school loans to assist my husband with living expenses.- before it looked like we would have to file Ch 13 to save our home. We have only spoken to one "unliked" attorney and he said I would not be able to go, unless I file a Ch 7.????

Sorry to hear about your troubles, snowedunder. Glad you found us though!

If you plan to use federal loans for school, then they aren't allowed to discriminate against you just because you filed bankruptcy. The 'unliked' lawyer likely is referring to the fact that you are not allowed to take on new debt during a Ch 13 unless** you have your trustee's permission first.

Even though you didn't like laywer #1, you should still make appointments for free consultations with 2-3 more. You will learn a great deal each time you meet with another lawyer - it's well worth the time, and you might find the perfect lawyer for the two of you along the way

Good luck - keep us posted about what you find out. Come back with questions or just to vent any time - that's why we're here!

[macsen]

Currently working out a 13 and a grad. student. No problem getting loans so far. What was said earlier however is true, you need trustee permission to accrue new student loan debt.

[HHM]

Going to med school is an admirable goal...and I don't want to be a downer, but I think if you are to be realistic, you should find away to meet your living expenses WITHOUT school loans. You will incur plenty of debt for just tuition, books and supplies...and you have 3 kids and you are in the midst of a chapter 13. I would also suppose you probably have existing student loan debt, correct? (loans you have to pay back).

Granted, I don't have all the information about you, but Med school is giant commitment, in time, money, and resources. And from the looks of it, you don't have enough of any of those to go to Med School. Also, from the day you enter med school it will take you at least eight years before you start making the "real" money of Doctors. I hope you can make it work, and go on to be a fine Dr., but I think you need to realistic and start seriously thinking about what it is going to take and whether it is truly feasible.

[snowedunder]

HHM,

I wanted to make sure the trustee/courts could not forbid me to go to Med school, and I got my answer. They cannot.

As for as taking on new debt: med school $14500 per year (govt. program)
after four years. I will do my residency in a underserved community in lieu of paying back my med school loans.

As for time. Dreams can only be deferred for so long and then they die. So other than my God, and my family, Medicine is what I live for. I take the MCAT in May.

Speaking of the family, we plan to downsize, I just want to make sure if the home is sold in short sale or not we don't have it's ARM haunting us for ever. I lost my job several years back and although I have been back to work for 2 years now at lower income-we must let it go!

Peace,

Snowedunder

[Frank]

If it's a government program, how can you get extra money to cover expenses while you're going to school? It sounds like a pretty sweet deal. But I don't think you're gonna make much money while you're working in an under-served community. How will you guys support yourselves while you're doing all this?

I'm all for dreams and going after them. In this case, you just gotta be careful. You're already in bankruptcy, and you're looking at quite a few years with little to no income, from you at least.

Does your husband make enough money to cover everything until you start making the "big bucks"?

[JollyGG]

Actually the program snowedunder is refering to is very common and well know. Few doctors end up actually paying back their student loans. Typically they work in an underserved communitee, the government takes over their loans, and the hospital pays their typical salary. Or the hospital takes over their loans as part of their contract when they start the job. Kind of like a signing bonus.
I've often wondered why any doctory would pay back their student loans their are litterally hundreads of programs available to new doctors. I've often though that those who toil under those huge loans aren't as smart as their med school admitance would lead you belive.

You said that you plan to go to medical school in 08. How have you been excepted if you haven't completed your MCAT? If worse comes to worse with the bankruptcy - once accepted many medical schools will let you defer admissions for 1 year if you need to.

Do you have an income right now that will be figured into the plan which would disapear once medical schools starts? I could see that being a problem.

[Frank]

If the program is that great why wouldn't every doctor do it? I didn't think anyone could get through med school without hundreds of thousands in loans. If it's really possible to get through it for less than half that and not have to pay anything back I can't think of a reason why every doctor wouldn't do it. There's gotta be a catch here somewhere.

Anyway I was really only wondering how snowedunder was going to get extra money out of this program to cover living expense.

[HHM]

I am guessing you are planning on using the Public Health Service scholarships, Correct?

[JollyGG]

Please delete this response

[JollyGG]

If the program is that great why wouldn't every doctor do it? I didn't think anyone could get through med school without hundreds of thousands in loans. If it's really possible to get through it for less than half that and not have to pay anything back I can't think of a reason why every doctor wouldn't do it. There's gotta be a catch here somewhere.

Anyway I was really only wondering how snowedunder was going to get extra money out of this program to cover living expense.

Working during medical school is definatelly frowned on so it is expected that financial aid will cover living expenses. However it is strongly recomended that a student keep living expenses to the minimum.

Why doesn't every doctor go into practice with programs that pay your loans off?
Some don't want to sign a 3-5 year contract at their first job out of medical school, some don't want to work in an underserved area, some want to work at a highly prestigeous hospital or clinic that doesn't have problems with recrutment and therefore no need to use that particular recrutiment technique, some want to live in a particular town or region.
I'm just pointing out that with flexability upon graduation you can usually get your loans paid off for you and still make a very nice salary. No doctor actually HAS to have tons of student loan debt once they are done.

[SamanthaJones]

I beg to differ.

Most phsyicians I know (and, well- I'm Samantha Jones, so the number is not in the single digits~) are overburdened with college costs, like most graduates. The payback to work underserved areas may sound simple- but a lot of those that try that get cabin fever and can't finish. If you are accustomed to Manhattan, and you are sent to the Navajo nation and are basically isolated...well, you can see how that may get old? The burden of college is going to have a bad impact on the intellectual status of the U.S.- more kids will simply be unable to afford to access a degree.

[HHM]

I think that since we weren't to supportive of this persons idea, she is not coming back

But in any event, we have had a few recently graduated doctors post in this forum and are lamenting the $120,000 worth of students loans that they can never discharge in BK. Sure, there are programs, but like you said, those programs don't always meet the lifestyle requirements of the person who might benefit from them.

Moreover, regarding the following of dreams, if you hang around this forum long enough, you realize that BK is the waste land of broken dreams. Easily 25% of the members of this forum are in their BK situation because of a failed business (dream). The reason most fail is a lack of planning or a lack of resources. IMO, this person has not really thought through the time commitment. She is in the middle of a chapter 13, and has 3 kids and her husband doesn't seem to make enough money to support the family independently, this is a recipe for a family melt-down. And as someone else has pointed out, working during med school is a big no no. As much as we encourage people to follow their dreams, sometimes it is simply not in the cards that we were dealt or we have made decisions in our lives that have eliminated certain paths we might have otherwise took. I am sure many people have "dreamed" of being the President of the U.S., but so far, that honor has been bestowed on only 43 individuals over the last 200 years.

I am certainly not advocating capitulating, but I am stressing the importance of being realistic and the importance of planning.

[SamanthaJones]

Quite the eloquent response HHM~

Kudos for your insight.

[JollyGG]

Most phsyicians I know (and, well- I'm Samantha Jones, so the number is not in the single digits~) are overburdened with college costs, like most graduates. The payback to work underserved areas may sound simple- but a lot of those that try that get cabin fever and can't finish. If you are accustomed to Manhattan, and you are sent to the Navajo nation and are basically isolated...well, you can see how that may get old? The burden of college is going to have a bad impact on the intellectual status of the U.S.- more kids will simply be unable to afford to access a degree.

Actually I live near the Lakota nation not the Navajo nation and the number of physicians I know is not in the single digits either. Most people who live here seem to enjoy it and we have no problems with recruitment. The reservations do have problems with recruitment but they also have a great need and a great satisfaction can be found in making a difference there
However the doctor with the Manhattan lifestyle doesn't need to go to a rural area to find an underserved population. All they need to do is look a few miles away to some poorer neighborhoods and they would find the same type of programs.
Would I want to work there - probably not? But I like my rural lifestyle.
If I want to live a certain place and work at a certain type of place I can do so and continue to pay student loans. If I want to have my student debt forgiven and compromise on where I live or work I have that option as well.
We all make choices in life. The programs exist and are an excellent choice for some. As I mentioned in a previous post they are not an option everyone chooses or wants but they work well for others.
No I am not a doctor - I do medical research and am affiliated with a medical school and hospital.

The problem snowedunder has is that student loans are not going to pay living expenses and fund a Chapter 13. Student aid is normally only going to support one person not a family of 5.