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The school that I am planning on attending is offering a significant scholarship to whoever defers matriculation for a year. For someone who is interested in neurosurgery, is this ever a good idea if it will take me from 50% cost of attendance to 100% cost of attendance covered by scholarships?
A lot of people on other forums are saying that I should go for it while others are saying that losing a year's worth of attending's salary is worse than being in debt. How does being in debt during a neurosurgery residency feel anyways? Is it very stressful?
As a current neurosurgery junior resident, I would really consider taking them up on that. Most med school graduates are already $120k in debt, and it is absolutely stressful when you are facing long hours as a resident and when you go home you still try to live 'within your means' or frugal as possible simply because you cant afford anything else. You might get frustrated working 100h/week and getting paid poorly for what you are actually worth as a resident, and then still be so far in debt. Yes you will easily pay it off when you become an attending, but that is at least 4 years of med school plus 7 years of residency away. Yes you will 'lose' a year and defer that attending salary one more year, but I would argue if you can reduce (or avoid!) debt, you will be able to: live more comfortably as a medical student, live more comfortably as a resident, have peace of mind that you aren't suffocating in debt, be able to take more awesome vacations as a resident (which is going to be huge when you are in your junior years), and if you are able to find a productive use of your time in that deferred year (get a job, make money so that you have 0 debt and a nest-egg finishing med school), write papers for the NSG department (easier to match in residency)... There are a lot of positives to that deal. Losing a year's worth of attending salary might be more money in the long run, but that money now is 'worth' a lot more to you up front than it will be as an attending... I guess my point is, its not just about dollars in the long run, its about being more comfortable until you get to be the attending.
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(05-05-2017, 01:15 PM)11262729NSG Wrote: The school that I am planning on attending is offering a significant scholarship to whoever defers matriculation for a year. For someone who is interested in neurosurgery, is this ever a good idea if it will take me from 50% cost of attendance to 100% cost of attendance covered by scholarships?
A lot of people on other forums are saying that I should go for it while others are saying that losing a year's worth of attending's salary is worse than being in debt. How does being in debt during a neurosurgery residency feel anyways? Is it very stressful?
Older resident here. Long-time reader, first-time poster. My situation was somewhat different in that I worked for a few years before med school and did a MD-PhD, and so was ancient by the time I started residency, and also had some savings in the bank, and there were some other complicating factors in the timeline. So I can't speak to the debt issue, other than to say that not having debt is already very stressful, and I imagine having debt makes it more stressful.
But a few thoughts nevertheless:
(1) Yeah, the opportunity cost of losing a year of attending nsg salary is potentially huge. But two points:
(1a) As the other poster argued, it's not like your lifetime earnings just get put up on the scoreboard when you die. Reducing debt may (depending on your situation) may make a huge difference in how you live during residency. (Particularly with regard to whether you can take on additional debt to, say, buy a house.) And if you're the median matriculating med student at 24, by the time you're a senior resident at 34 you might be interested in getting married, having a baby, etc. before those lumbar lami bucks start rolling in.
(1b) If you are willing to invent a time machine once you're an attending and travel back in time to provide a scholarship to your past self that doesn't require deferring a year that might be the best solution.
(1c) You haven't gotten to med school yet, and most M0's don't wind up as neurosurgeons 11 years later. (Not saying you're not awesome and that you won't, just that the future is uncertain.) If your interests change (and totally cool if they do) and you find yourself doing family medicine or public policy or time travel research, your financial calculus may change dramatically. So maybe consider the deferral scholarship a bird-in-hand?
(2) I'd argue that if all goes to plan your tuition will get paid one way or the other. (You're gonna be making those neurosurgery dollars, right?!) So the real reason to delay matriculation would be to do something cool with that year, medical, time-travel related, or otherwise. I don't want to assume anything about your particular life history and experience, and I don't want to speculate about what might be useful or rewarding for you. But there's gotta be something, right? Especially since you've got a med school acceptance in your pocket. I mean, barring a felony conviction during that year, you're still going to come back and be a doctor, so you actually have a ton of freedom to do whatever you want. Which is awesome. And will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN EVER. (Seriously, I checked.)
(2a) But in general, I've always thought it strange that residencies are willing to accept applicants for the crazy demanding job of being a resident who have *literally never held any job before*. I found taking a few years outside of academia really useful because I figured out that I like to work. I had other friends who were surprised to discover during their residencies that they didn't like to work. And now as attendings they *still* don't like to work. They're fine, and enjoy spending time with their boats, but many regret choosing paths unfriendly to doing the bare minimum and clocking out at 4. I'm sure some people have the introspection to know they'll like running a truly busy schedule for years a time, but I sure didn't before I tried it.
-TT
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(05-05-2017, 05:27 PM)TimeTraveler Wrote: (05-05-2017, 01:15 PM)11262729NSG Wrote: The school that I am planning on attending is offering a significant scholarship to whoever defers matriculation for a year. For someone who is interested in neurosurgery, is this ever a good idea if it will take me from 50% cost of attendance to 100% cost of attendance covered by scholarships?
A lot of people on other forums are saying that I should go for it while others are saying that losing a year's worth of attending's salary is worse than being in debt. How does being in debt during a neurosurgery residency feel anyways? Is it very stressful?
Older resident here. Long-time reader, first-time poster. My situation was somewhat different in that I worked for a few years before med school and did a MD-PhD, and so was ancient by the time I started residency, and also had some savings in the bank, and there were some other complicating factors in the timeline. So I can't speak to the debt issue, other than to say that not having debt is already very stressful, and I imagine having debt makes it more stressful.
But a few thoughts nevertheless:
(1) Yeah, the opportunity cost of losing a year of attending nsg salary is potentially huge. But two points:
(1a) As the other poster argued, it's not like your lifetime earnings just get put up on the scoreboard when you die. Reducing debt may (depending on your situation) may make a huge difference in how you live during residency. (Particularly with regard to whether you can take on additional debt to, say, buy a house.) And if you're the median matriculating med student at 24, by the time you're a senior resident at 34 you might be interested in getting married, having a baby, etc. before those lumbar lami bucks start rolling in.
(1b) If you are willing to invent a time machine once you're an attending and travel back in time to provide a scholarship to your past self that doesn't require deferring a year that might be the best solution.
(1c) You haven't gotten to med school yet, and most M0's don't wind up as neurosurgeons 11 years later. (Not saying you're not awesome and that you won't, just that the future is uncertain.) If your interests change (and totally cool if they do) and you find yourself doing family medicine or public policy or time travel research, your financial calculus may change dramatically. So maybe consider the deferral scholarship a bird-in-hand?
(2) I'd argue that if all goes to plan your tuition will get paid one way or the other. (You're gonna be making those neurosurgery dollars, right?!) So the real reason to delay matriculation would be to do something cool with that year, medical, time-travel related, or otherwise. I don't want to assume anything about your particular life history and experience, and I don't want to speculate about what might be useful or rewarding for you. But there's gotta be something, right? Especially since you've got a med school acceptance in your pocket. I mean, barring a felony conviction during that year, you're still going to come back and be a doctor, so you actually have a ton of freedom to do whatever you want. Which is awesome. And will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN EVER. (Seriously, I checked.)
(2a) But in general, I've always thought it strange that residencies are willing to accept applicants for the crazy demanding job of being a resident who have *literally never held any job before*. I found taking a few years outside of academia really useful because I figured out that I like to work. I had other friends who were surprised to discover during their residencies that they didn't like to work. And now as attendings they *still* don't like to work. They're fine, and enjoy spending time with their boats, but many regret choosing paths unfriendly to doing the bare minimum and clocking out at 4. I'm sure some people have the introspection to know they'll like running a truly busy schedule for years a time, but I sure didn't before I tried it.
-TT
Thank you so much for your post. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
To be honest, the only thing that is truly holding me back from accepting this is the time aspect and wanting to get on with the next part of my life. I've had some bumps in my academic life (dropping out due to life circumstances, starting again, etc). For reference, I am in my early 30s. I know that there are older and younger medical students, but for me personally, I've been itching to start school again.
With that said, it seems like if I do not focus on the time aspect, it seems to make sense to take the scholarship and deferral. I'll definitely continue to work, but maybe I'll take the time to save up some money, change jobs back to a research oriented job, and get all my ducks in a row. I have not even purchased my plane tickets or signed a lease (my school is on the other side of the continent). It'll relieve some immediate stress.
So it seems that it's a 2/0 in defense of taking the year off. I will seriously consider it.
Are there any other words of advice you guys could give me?
[quote pid='1432' dateline='1494020402']
Thank you so much for your post. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
To be honest, the only thing that is truly holding me back from accepting this is the time aspect and wanting to get on with the next part of my life. I've had some bumps in my academic life (dropping out due to life circumstances, starting again, etc). For reference, I am in my early 30s. I know that there are older and younger medical students, but for me personally, I've been itching to start school again.
With that said, it seems like if I do not focus on the time aspect, it seems to make sense to take the scholarship and deferral. I'll definitely continue to work, but maybe I'll take the time to save up some money, change jobs back to a research oriented job, and get all my ducks in a row. I have not even purchased my plane tickets or signed a lease (my school is on the other side of the continent). It'll relieve some immediate stress.
So it seems that it's a 2/0 in defense of taking the year off. I will seriously consider it.
Are there any other words of advice you guys could give me?
[/quote]
Just a thought...it sounds like you may have a pattern of delaying or going off track. You have to be brutally honest with yourself and make sure that you are not looking for affirmation of a decision that is more than just taking advantage of an opportunity.
This is a great thread with lots of great advice. If you are in your early thirties, I would strongly consider going straight into medical school. If you did a NS residency, you may be 40 when you finish. I'd get the ball rolling.
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(05-13-2017, 10:14 PM)Guest Wrote: This is a great thread with lots of great advice. If you are in your early thirties, I would strongly consider going straight into medical school. If you did a NS residency, you may be 40 when you finish. I'd get the ball rolling.
FTR, I agree with this poster; didn't realize you're already in your 30's. If I could go back in time I wouldn't have recommended further delay. It's a young man's game.
- TT
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05-17-2017, 01:06 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-17-2017, 01:07 AM by 11262729NSG.)
(05-14-2017, 09:27 AM)TimeTraveler Wrote: (05-13-2017, 10:14 PM)Guest Wrote: This is a great thread with lots of great advice. If you are in your early thirties, I would strongly consider going straight into medical school. If you did a NS residency, you may be 40 when you finish. I'd get the ball rolling.
FTR, I agree with this poster; didn't realize you're already in your 30's. If I could go back in time I wouldn't have recommended further delay. It's a young man's game.
- TT
Lucky for everyone, I decided not to defer and go straight to school due to my age and the fact that I discovered the additional scholarship offer was not as good as it seemed. They were going to come up with a new package, which would have resulted in the deferral incentive scholarship being smaller in reality.
Thank you everyone!
(05-08-2017, 06:57 AM)Guest Wrote: [quote pid='1432' dateline='1494020402']
Thank you so much for your post. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
To be honest, the only thing that is truly holding me back from accepting this is the time aspect and wanting to get on with the next part of my life. I've had some bumps in my academic life (dropping out due to life circumstances, starting again, etc). For reference, I am in my early 30s. I know that there are older and younger medical students, but for me personally, I've been itching to start school again.
With that said, it seems like if I do not focus on the time aspect, it seems to make sense to take the scholarship and deferral. I'll definitely continue to work, but maybe I'll take the time to save up some money, change jobs back to a research oriented job, and get all my ducks in a row. I have not even purchased my plane tickets or signed a lease (my school is on the other side of the continent). It'll relieve some immediate stress.
So it seems that it's a 2/0 in defense of taking the year off. I will seriously consider it.
Are there any other words of advice you guys could give me?
Just a thought...it sounds like you may have a pattern of delaying or going off track. You have to be brutally honest with yourself and make sure that you are not looking for affirmation of a decision that is more than just taking advantage of an opportunity.
[/quote]
Thank you for your response.
I do agree that I did want some validation to defer in a way. I'm stressing over moving my entire family to a new state, but I still decided to pursue school this year regardless.
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