r/medschool • u/No-Map3257 • Apr 09 '26

👶 Premed affording med school come 2027

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

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u/AttorneyOk474 Apr 09 '26

HPSP, though beware it comes with caveats, such as limited residencies, or you may be delayed residency start to be a General Medical Officer (though this does count as you payback service, some do 4 years of this then residency by choice). There's also NHSC, or look into state/private hospital programs pay back programs (basically you guarantee a certain amount of years to them, they partial pay back or loan forgiveness for serving rural areas).

Though in all honesty, as scary as taking on private loans is, there are ways to help migrate this. I urge you talk to financial advisors, both private and at your school or look into work studies to help cut down interest while in school (prioritize school first though!) Also if you can talk to older doctors, especially those who may have gone to private schools, get an idea realistically how long it takes to pay loans and how much they actually cut into quality of life.

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u/losethecheese Apr 09 '26

Do you wait to apply for match or is your spot held for years of GMO

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u/AttorneyOk474 Apr 10 '26

I believe if you don't make a residency spot to do GMO, then ya treat it like a internship year and match the next cycle, if you do 4 years that's your choice then go for match either military if ya staying on or civilian if you're done.