Financial Aid, Handling PA School Debt

Financial Aid packages for PA school are rarely the bearers of good news. There are some students that get their education paid for through various avenues, but the majority of students take out loans. It is scary to think about being in debt, in some cases, more than $130-40K. At some point it feels like Monopoly money, you just keep signing on the dotted line and the "owed" amount just keeps growing and growing.

I'm not sure how all PA schools handle this, but mine gave a few talks on potential scholarships or loan repayment options - but no one really sat us down and had a "money management" talk with us. Financial aid services make you fill out an Exit Interview for the loans you borrowed, which is helpful - but I always wanted to know more. What are my repayment options? Should I consolidate? What are the pros/cons of consolidating? What happens when I get my first job - should I start saving for retirement and investing in my 401K or should I pay back my loans first? How do I save for a house/kids with a large loan payment per month? Should I hire a financial advisor?

I had (and still have) so many questions about the process. I found this site created by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and it helped to answer many of my questions. They created a section called "FIRST" which stands for Financial Information Resources, Services, and Tools. On the left-side bar there are options for you depending on your stage of the process. This is geared primarily toward medical student, however, most the information is extremely relevant to PA students. They also have a section called FIRST Videos that contain videos and podcasts on important questions you may have regarding financial aid. The only way you can handle the enormous debt of PA school is to understand how to handle it. Knowing is half the battle... 

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