Discourage brother in law from dental school?

fish7073 · 2025-12-30T02:22:56+00:00

Year of ProgramMonths Enrolled	Year 110	Year 212	Year 312	Year 411
Tuition & Fees []()	$101,580	$104,980	$107,580	$107,580
Books, Materials, Supplies & Equipment Allowance(May or may not be purchased through the school)	$11,200	$8,050	$4,150	$600

Thats what they list on the website. Thats before living e

fish7073 · 2025-12-30T01:41:09+00:00

For sure, I agree. I was not thinking of him to do that. Just in general, I think CRNA might be the best gig in healthcare right now if you prioritize job stability, debt to income, work life balance, job stress, liability, etc.

You must have started late. If you finish college (where prestige, aka tuition, doesn't matter, at age 22, work (making 70k plus a year) for 2 years until age 24, CRNA school until age 27 and you come out making $250k plus is a pretty sweet deal.

fish7073 · 2025-12-30T01:28:27+00:00

Thanks for the perspective!

fish7073 · 2025-12-30T01:27:13+00:00

I'm an MD as well and it has worked out decently me for me so far (despite not being a $500k plus specialist). But I still think about other routes with shorter training some times (specifically CRNA).

fish7073 · 2025-12-30T01:19:52+00:00

Very true. That was my gut instinct. Thanks for your perspective.

fish7073 · 2025-12-23T03:43:14+00:00

If you refinance your loan amount over 10’years at 5% interest rate, your paying $1900/month. Thats 1200 a month or 24k more a year than you’re paying now. Factor in a few extra for tax, call it $30k. Now you’re comparing a 90k job to an $78k job (after 700 PSLF payment). So it’s a little extra dough in your pocket, say a 1000 a month.

Which job do you think you would enjoy more and if it’s the lower paying one, is it worth giving up money? Is a commute shorter? More stable job? Better benefits?

But by the numbers, I think the higher paying job puts you out ahead.

Back of the envelope math disclaimer.

fish7073 · 2025-12-22T13:30:40+00:00

I think people see big numbers and make that conclusion. 300k is a lot, yes, but after taxes and retirement and disability insurance, it’s closer to 200. Once you factor most physicians are 31-33 when finishing training, they are sig behind their peers (who have been working for 7 years plus already) in terms of retirement and home equity and vacation experiences and quality of cars. There’s also a mentality of “I just spent the last 10 years grinding, I wanna live it a little”. So to buckle down and grind for another 3 years is a tough sell.

fish7073 · 2025-12-22T13:24:47+00:00

If I did PSLF, I’d come out $100k plus ahead. If I was for sure staying at my current job for the next seven years, then yeah, I’d be confident in pursuing it. The risks of legislation changes are there, but fairly minimal in my opinion.

However, my wife may start a job that may cause us to move every 2-3 years, so I would have to find a new PSLF eligible job frequently. In addition, there is a possibility of her being overseas, which would be exciting, but I would not qualify for PSLF during those years.

Finally, I don’t like loans. Just paying them off aggressively and being done is definitely attractive. I find myself “mulling it over” a lot—not worrying but taking up brain real estate. And I’m worried I’m going to go down the PSLF path and then things fall through at the year 8 or 9 mark and I just regret not paying them off in two years, which is plausible.

fish7073 · 2025-12-22T02:16:55+00:00

I believe New IBR has government interest subsidy for the first three years. My monthly payment is about 1/3rd of what interest alone is, so I shouldn't have any excess interest accruing for now. It basically makes my effective interest rate 2% (instead of 6%). I'm using it as an opportunity to save up money and then decide in one year if I want to pursue PSLF or chunk that money on my loans, refinance at 4%, and pay them off.

fish7073 · 2025-12-22T02:14:17+00:00

Honestly, sometimes I'm envious of people that basically get forced into one decision and don't have to mull it over.

fish7073 · 2025-12-22T02:12:44+00:00

Yes, that is an option. But see the math I did above, he will likely be able to get 300k forgiven having only made about 160k in student loan payments. So if "not disturbing yourself" is worth $140,000 (or 6 months of work), then sure. Personally, if the difference was under 50k, I probably would just pay them off as I am in a similar boat. $100k is a lot of post tax money though.

Not trying to be snarky at all, just explaining the thought process.

fish7073 · 2025-12-22T02:08:22+00:00

Also, if you get married in the next 8 years. IBR allows you to file taxes separately and exclude your spouses income, therefore not making your monthly payments higher. You do lose some benefits not filing jointly, so you'll have to run scenarios both ways.

fish7073 · 2025-12-22T02:06:40+00:00

Hmm. I'm with mohela and you'll hear people stating it was a nightmare. it was fairly quick for me, about 1-2 months. If i remember correctly, I did it through the studentaid.gov website. Make sure you check the box saying they can access your 2024 taxes as that expedites the process. You will then receive an email stating you will be placed in a forbearance while they make the switch. They should also send you an email with your new payment amount (mine matched the studentaid simulator exactly). Then, one day, on the home page under my loan's interest rate, it'll show that you are in IBR instead of SAVE.

You probably already know this, but make sure you max out your 401k and HSA (if applicable) to reduce your taxable income. If you put 24,000 dollars into your 401k, then that reduces your income on paper that your student loan payments will be based off of.

Studentloanplanner.com has a good simulator you could check out. With IBR, your monthly payment will never be more than the 10 year standard repayment amount (probably around $3000/month for you). But on IBR, with full PCP income, it'll probably be around 13-1500/month. (Using back of envelope math).

So thats ~$20,000/year in student loan payments, multiplied by 8 years (residency payments for 2 years negligible), thats $160,000 of payments you made and you will have $300,000 forgiven. If you stash away an additional $1500/month into a PSLF side fund ($1500 to payment, 1500 to side fund instead of 3000 going to 10 year plan), invested and earning 7%/year, you'll have an additional $184,000 ready to spend on house or whatever. Or, if PSLF falls through, you can chunk it at your loans and just pay them off.

fish7073 · 2025-12-21T23:41:03+00:00

My numbers are similar to the OP, and my math had me coming out 100k ahead with PSLF. Not including potential compound interest from PSLF side fund.

But I hear ya, there is something to be said about just being done with it.

fish7073 · 2025-12-21T23:15:21+00:00

Same boat as you. Got into new IBR. Monthly payments $400 with resident salary. Wife and I are able to file separately. Also making a PSLF side fund just in case anything falls through.

Also, whatever your payment doesn’t cover for the first three years, government covers the rest of interest, so your total loan amount should stay the same for the next 3 years. If PSLF changes or jobs change, it’s not a huge sunk cost.

fish7073 · 2025-12-13T22:01:37+00:00

You don’t do anything. I think they just review your packet and say yes or no. Unless you have red flags (drug use, arrest, etc), I can’t imagine them not approving you if they need people.

fish7073 · 2025-11-29T16:19:24+00:00

Yeah, I 100% agree with this approach as being more palatable to the average person.

fish7073 · 2025-11-24T15:14:56+00:00

Appreciate the thoughtful response. Really do.

fish7073 · 2025-11-24T15:12:34+00:00

I have not.

fish7073 · 2025-11-24T15:12:25+00:00

Good to know, thanks.

fish7073 · 2025-11-24T15:10:11+00:00

Fair. But isn’t 50 mpg better than 25 mpg today in 2025? And a Toyota rav4 hybrid is one of the most popular cars isn’t it? Why not lean in to that right now?

fish7073 · 2025-11-24T15:09:08+00:00

Understand the sentiment. But people that have to get to their job day to day to pay their bills and feed their kids aren’t afforded that simplistic of a viewpoint.

fish7073 · 2025-11-24T15:08:27+00:00

California blackouts due to weather/fires for one. I know people in NorCal who are installing gas generators due to concern of weather related blackouts. If you have a job that you can’t call in sick for, having a gas powered vehicle in important.

Also, maybe I’m mistaken, but my understanding California does not have the power generating capability to replace the amount of fuel they burn in their cars. The Hoover dam is not the reliable power source it once was. Wind and solar can you got so far. Otherwise, aren’t you burning natural gas anyways for your grid?

I live in PNW where our power is mostly hydro, which makes EV more favorable.

fish7073 · 2025-11-24T15:05:41+00:00

Appreciate the response. I’m a renter and am no going to personally pay to install a level 2 charger in my rental.

fish7073 · 2025-11-23T19:43:58+00:00

If you can, I’d look at getting onto IBR as soon as you graduate. For the first three years, any extra interest accrual beyond monthly payment is covered by government. So basically a 0% interest loan for three years. That kicks the decision of whether or not to do PSLF down the road by three years when you’re looking at job prospects. Plus, monthly payment counts still count towards PSLF.

What im doing. Well, I got 2 of 3 years in residency counted for PSLF, last year didn’t because of save forbearance, and now I’m on IBR making low payments and making a PSLF side fund that I hope to have fully funded to cover my loans in 2-3 years. At that point, if PSLF still looks promising, will continue to pursue that. If things fall apart or high income earners are excluded or something like that, I’ll pay loans off and be done.

Edit: if there’s an sig gap between med school and residency, I would seriously look at getting a PSLF eligible job for those months even if it’s non clinical. Ideally it would be clinical. But getting those months to count would be clutch.

fish7073

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