American medical student just did “horrifying math” on her student loans - Her amount due is $396,945.67 - Annual interest rate: 5.875% - Monthly interest accrual: $1,943.38 Her monthly resident paycheck is $4,054.98 HALF her income goes to just interest… She says if she pays nothing toward interest, the... loan would grow to roughly $600,000 by the time she finishes residency Interest rates on student loans are predatory and should be illegal. This is usuryshow more

If we eliminate government subsidized student loans, the price of medical school will plummet. This entire problem has been caused by the government taking over the student loan business. Thank you so much, Barack Obama.

5.875% is not usury. It’s a going rate. She’s borrowing mortgage-value money and she’s paying a mortgage-value payment. It’s not an unreasonable payment. It’s just a stupid expensive amount to borrow!

Bullshit. Interest rates on student loans are completely normal. What's predatory are the tuition and costs. THAT is what has exploded over the years. But here's the question that arises: if you were smart enough to complete medical school, why weren't you smart enough to run the numbers before you headed down that path? You and your parents both just trusted to luck? And now the rest of us are supposed to do what, exactly? We used to say "learn to code" in this situation but that's out now. We've got bigger problems than that. But people choosing college very unwisely is not one of them. You were all lied to about EVERYTHING in primary and secondary school. Everything. And now the real world doesn't look like the lie-world you were taught about. That's terrible. You should be pissed. But all the people you want to blame aren't to blame, except in the general sense of being members of the society that did this to you. The teachers are the ones who lied the most to you. And they were lied to as well, by their teachers. All of us outside the school system are just trying to get through life, and recover from how we got screwed by the schools. Good luck to you all.

5.875% is a pretty good rate for someone with no assets as collateral and limited credit history. Thats below prime right now.

She took out a $400k loan. No sympathy. You can't take out these loans without them spelling out the terms for you. She made the choice and she's a college student, not a 12 year old.

FUN FACT: Women own most student loans, and most of those loans were approved and provided by student loan managers who are women. In other words women have propagated the troubles against women in the student loan sphere. Criminy.

The government should not be using these loans as a revenue source. Make the interest 1 or 2% to cover management costs so borrowers can actually pay down principal instead of just mostly interest and a little principal.

She owes nearly $400K, works a full-time medical job, and still falls behind every month. So what exactly is the reward for becoming a doctor now?

Yes and if she was from Pakistan, she could get her medical school education for approximately $5500/year ($22k total). Finish med school, move to the USA, get residency, pay off her loans before residency is complete then go on to Fellowship while she is debt free. Our med students in the US are being r*ped by medical school tuition.

Who borrows half a million dollars to go to college?

Maybe should have done the math before she took out all those loans. Average salary for a dermatologist is $400K so she borrowed around 1 year of salary. I think she’ll be OK.

Curious what she borrowed the money for, beyond her tuition? How much did she borrow each yr and for what exactly? How many years did the debt accrue interest before she made her first payment? There is always more to these stories than is being revealed to the reader.

After residency Years 1-2: 300k-500k Avg salary nationally: 450k-520k High earners: 600k-1M+ So she’ll be grossly overpaid b/c they max value every patient, the loan sharks are grossly overcompensated w/ crazy low risk terms and the schools are grossly overcharging to teach it The American healthcare system and taxpayers are being grossly overcharged to pay for this system, it’s all just so bloated and gross

5.9% is NOT predatory. She should not have taken out such a huge loan. She’ll need to apply extra towards principle as often as possible (every month if she can). Even $100 extra monthly can drop the loan term by years.

Negative compounding Half the income going to interest Hard model to escape

This isn't debt it's financial slavery

@Dandilionz11 So you can get all the way to residency and not understand basic math and economics? Anyone else see a problem?

If you can't afford college you might want to think about getting a degree in skilled labor. It's true college tuition costs are out of control and higher than a cat's back. That's the main reason why millions of college students owe tons of money after graduating. Good-paying skilled jobs can be had at a fraction of the cost. High schools should also bring back shop classes that can prepare young people for good-paying jobs in the workforce. Especially those who don't have deep pockets for colleges and/or universities with uber high tuition costs.

5.875% for an unsecured loan is predatory? What an idiotic statement. That’s lower than mortgage rates which are fully collateralized. She’ll make $500K a year soon. She’ll be fine.

So you’re saying we had a student…and probably her parents…entering into a student loan agreement at 5.875% (not the worst rate I’ve seen) and after quite a few years of education…totaling $400K…only NOW has the light bulb go on about the financial situation she finds herself in?? She “just did the math on her student loans”?? Never bothered to even think about it before now?? But now that she’s garduated and in residency, she wants a do-over? Or maybe she’d like hard-working taxpayers to bail her out, now that she has a medical degree? Yes…it’s a predatory situation alright…by both the higher education system and the loan companies. However it’s a system that people freely enter into, in order to achieve a desired outcome…like this young lady was able to do.

The Obama Administration federalized Student Loans in 2010. That is how what you call usury came to be. Big Banks aren't allowed to compete for student loans anymore. Who, exactly are you trying to guilt here?

All interest rates on student loans, credit cards, personal loans etc are predatory— these Banks are literally robbing people blind. How is anyone supposed to catch up or get ahead when the continue to do this⁉️

I really don't care about these sob stories about student loans.... these people signed the paper. I am a 9th grade dropout... seriously.... I protect the National Electric grid... seriously... the people coming out of college are fucking morons.

5.875 is not usury. Borrowing that much with no good plan to pay it off is not smart. Let’s hope she’s better at medicine than math.

Predatory lending? Why on earth does she need $400k in student loans? This is more like someone scamming the system to live for free for 6-8 years by taking loans then have no intention of repaying. Party time!

Universities have NOTHING to do with making smarter people. It has turned into a PROFIT CENTER.

The fact it costs nearly 400k to become a doctor is absolutely outrageous. Then we wonder why we have a shortage. Who wants to commit to a lifetime of debt before they even really know it's going to work out

Meanwhile American doctors compete for jobs with foreign trained doctors who don’t have to go to college and get free medical education, therefore are willing to work for much less.

Here is the predatory part of this, they take 17,18 and 19 year olds who have never had classes in Economics or Finance and lend them $120,000 deferred for 6 years, giving uneducated people loans is just stupid

That’s what happens when you don’t learn math

Several hundred thousand dollar unsecured loan at 5.75%? Sounds like a bargain.

She’s talking about being a resident! She’s complaining about a loan that gave her the opportunity to become a doctor! She’s complaining wants is to feel sorry fot her when her average pay will be $750,000 per year Wow. Now she’s whining??

She has no right to complain. She chose it. 5.8% is VERY reasonable for a loan. No sympathy here. People take risks and succeed , people take risks and fail ，that's life.

It should be a legal requirement for students to take a class and be verbally questioned about their salary possibilities and their plans for paying back their loan. Borrowing 400K for a job earning 48K per year seems a bit messed up.