anu-la-1979, sorry, didn’t mean to imply your sister was not smart. I, however, didn’t hang out with that type of premed student. Yes, I do know how hard it is to get in, many of my friends tried repeatedly, some eventually succeeding.
I’m not sure her living expenses are fair to count in your analysis, though. It sounds like she is living in a high-cost area because of her marriage, not just because of school.
I was answering your presumption that 250K is what people rack up over 8 years worth of education. It’s not. If you attend a private medical university you will almost certainly rack up 120-150K in tuition ALONE. If you go elect to go to school out of the boonies, you rack up another hefty sum in living costs. Even if she had gone out to the boonies, that’s what? 50K less? Did you read the cite I provided for Columbia Medical School? Calculate the tuition alone (outside the living expenses).
My point about her marriage was not about the cost of living but about the larger point that one must be an idiot to rack up such debt or there are ways to get out of said debt. Sure there are, but they’re not palatable. It usually requires you to commit to a post-graduate assignment in a field you may not like, or in an isolated/rural/downtrodden inner city area practicing in a field you may not want to go into long-term.
Finally, if you read the initial thread you might have seen that I (among other people) said that when they’re in this situation, their earning potential is so high that many really don’t give a crap about their debt. My sister isn’t concerned at all about the debt, nor does she complain about it. Why should she be? She’s looking at 300K starting salaries in her field.
Knuckle under.
There are ways to “dodge” the debt (get it removed or forgiven), but most of those require the degree.
Also, there is a strange point where a person can make too much to qualify for many of the repayment programs, but owe so much that they really need them.
Isn’t that the typical definition of every single college student in the world, “buying their way to the next level”?
I remember once sitting in the student union eating a sandwich before going to the library to do research and write four papers at the same time when I heard some tour leader telling a bunch of students that college really wasn’t all about the books. There was just so much more. I wanted to scream over “Hey, what’s your GPA. I bet your profs just love you.”
I have no sympathy for slackers. I do have sympathy for someone who really busts their ass and does well or at least passes. But at least they are trying. (I remember a little French class that I got a C in. I really did try but the final just screwed me. My heart beats fast just thinking about it. I have no one to blame but myself>)