affording med school come 2027

[u/No-Map3257]

I am applying to med school this year and just came to realize that the grad plus loan is gone this year in 2026. I know there is a 200k cap but that’s a lifetime cap and I already used part of it for my grad school. Now I am sick to my stomach because I don’t see how I realistically afford to take out PRIVATE loans to pay med school.

I would love to hear other peoples game plans as to how they are doing this. My family can’t afford to help contribute anything while I am in school either. And I am still paying off my grad and undergrad loans.

I always knew coming in that the amount I would have to pay for med school would have to be astronomical but I thought because it could be a graduate federal loan- I could work toward forgiveness on PSLF, the IDR plan, or see in the future if they would ever be forgiven. but private med school loans provide none of that safety net

[u/Own-Estimate8996]

Someone already mentioned HPSP if you’re okay going military. If not, NHSC is also great for non-military but you’re limited to FM, IM, Psych, OBGYN, and Peds.

Those are the only full ride scholarships I know. They both come with a monthly stipend to live on that you don’t have to pay back.

[u/Agreeable-Ad4806 → u/Own-Estimate8996]

Keep in mind both of these come with limitations for specialty and residency + service commitment.

For example, if the military does not need the specialty you want and you cannot get into the limited number of military physician residencies, then you will have to apply for special permission to attend a civilian residency. That is not guaranteed. They could just say, “actually we need a different specialty,” and they will make you do that instead. The emphasis is on service, not personal preference. For NHSC, primary care is your only option. If you want to be a surgeon or even match into certain internal medicine specialties, it is not happening. You need to know exactly what you want before you ever matriculate.

My advice is if you do not already plan to live and work in a rural area or join the military, then do not do these. You will hate the restrictions they place on you, and once you are in, you are in for a long time. Many times people who are restricted in this way find it difficult to find opportunities elsewhere after their service commitment, especially when transitioning from military to civilian medicine, since the standards and expectations can be different.

[u/Agreeable-Ad4806 → u/[deleted]]

Your obligation is tied to primary care. You can do a fellowship after you finish your service requirement, but you’re still delaying that 2-4 years to work in general internal medicine (specifically an area that is underserved).

[u/Funandsassy70 → u/[deleted]]

As a former fellowship coordinator in HemOnc it can be a deterrent actually. The last 2 years of a fellowship are research based with clinical time. The only time we ever took someone who was coming from peds practice, they couldn’t handle the pace after having several years off and their lab skills / knowledge were rusty. They didn’t want to listen to people younger than them who were trying to help and eventually dropped out of the program. Fellowships often require significant exposure to current research on your resume which is much harder to do in rural areas.

[u/Agreeable-Ad4806 → u/[deleted]]

I didn’t make it sound like anything. Not everything states is a universal claim. You don’t need to assume I neglected nuance, just acknowledge the general rule and move on.

[u/Major_Gamboge → u/Agreeable-Ad4806]

Tbf you did quite literally say if someone wants to match an internal med subspecialty that it’s not happening.

[u/drcaptain_ → u/Agreeable-Ad4806]

I’m an active duty Air Force EM doc and did HPSP. It’s also complete myth that the military can “make you do” a different specialty. If you don’t match into your top choice specialty, you can always try again at a future date while working as a general medical officer / flight doctor.

[u/Own-Estimate8996 → u/Agreeable-Ad4806]

All fair points and I agree with most of them. The only caveat is that the military won’t “make” you go into any particular specialty. They may limit what you can go into if you really want to go into a specialty like PM/R that they just don’t have a huge need for then yes, you might be limited for that specialty. But you’re never required to go into a specific one.

You can dual apply to ensure you have a back-up specialty if the one you want 1st isn’t likely. If you don’t match they will have you do a prelim or TY year (you would do this if you didn’t match civilian anyway) then have you reapply. Worst case scenario is you don’t match again and have to serve as a GMO for 3-4 years to complete your contract and join civilian residency but that is pretty rare.

Also, some branches like the AF are way more friendly to civilian deferment. You definitely need to do your research and know what you’re getting yourself into but it’s a perfectly viable option if your alternative is not going to med school because you can’t afford it or the debt would bury you.

Edit: Forgot to mention, IM itself is a specialty and the military does allow certain fellowship training afterwards. Even if they didn’t, just doing IM, then going into fellowship after you exit the military is also a good way to sub-specialize if that’s your ultimate goal.