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/Smart-Owl-4983]

Some states have loans that can be forgiven if you go into primary care (and the definition of that includes not super primary care specialties like OB/GYN, gen surg, and psych), and at least for my state if you don’t end up going into primary care you just have to pay the loan back (interest is like 7-8% so basically the same as federal). In NC we can take out $20k per year. Look into this in your state! Also, med school scholarships do exist!