It’s hard to commit to a career before you’ve picked a date for prom, but teens who plan to attend medical or law school can benefit from creating a financial and academic framework before they apply to college.
Money is a significant concern when it comes to earning an advanced degree. College graduates who borrowed owe an average of nearly $30,000 in student loan debt. Add law or medical school and students can end up owing more than $100,000 before they turn 30. To prepare for the financial blow, families should create a financial plan and discuss budgeting and student loans before teens head off to college, experts say.
Learn more about [paying for grad school. ]
“You need to understand what it’s going to cost you, and your kid needs to understand the burden it’s going to cost your family,” says Dan Evertsz, a certified college planning specialist. “You guys can start from there and discuss, ‘How are we going to solve this problem?'”
Evertsz encourages families to use tools like the FAFSA4caster or the College Board’s EFC Calculator to estimate their expected family contribution. Families can then create a six- to eight-year financial plan and explore ways to cut costs, he says.
Going to a cheaper undergraduate institution is one way to do that, experts say.
That doesn’t mean that you have to go to an in-state university, says Kyra Tyler, director of educational consulting at College Coach, a college admissions advising company. Strong student applicants may be eligible for scholarships and other types of merit or need-based aid from private or out-of-state public institutions, she says.
“We see this happen all the time, where it can be sometimes more economical to send your child somewhere else other than your state institutions.”
Saving money is important, but so is finding a college where a student can be successful.
Families need to consider the size of an institution, the student’s learning style and the campus resources available when they’re deciding if a school is the right fit. Students don’t need to major in the sciences or pre-law, but how a student performs in college will affect their ability to continue to graduate school, Tyler says. It’s important to have a health or law adviser who can help make sure students are on track to meet their academic and professional goals.
Location is another important factor for students to consider.
“If we’re talking about a student that either has their eye on attending some sort of professional program or graduate school program immediately after their undergraduate education, in the same town, at the same school, you want to make sure it’s a place that you feel like you can be for four, six, eight years,” Tyler says.
“We want to make sure the things we can control about the setting, location, environment, we really take into consideration,” she says.
Students should use their volunteer experiences in high school and college as an opportunity to explore potential career fields, especially if they plan on majoring in an unrelated subject.
Learn about [career-focused volunteer opportunities for high schoolers.]
For example, students interested in medicine could start by volunteering at a nursing home or a camp for kids with physical or learning disabilities in high school and move to more intensive experiences like volunteering in an emergency room or becoming a licensed EMT in college, says Melvin Rosenfeld, senior associate dean for medical education at the New York University School of Medicine.
“Giving back to the community, which is what physicians do for a living , would be important , ” he says.
Combined bachelor’s and J.D. or medical school degree programs can make it easier to transition into medical or law school straight from college , which can help alleviate some of the stress of paying and applying to graduate school.
But accelerated degree programs are strenuous and it’s difficult to get accepted into one, experts warn. These programs can also put a lot of stress on young students who aren’t completely sure what they want to do with their lives.
Weigh these [factors before pursuing an accelerated B.A.-J.D. program.]
“There shouldn’t be this pressure to go right from college to medical school and be a science major compared to something else. I think it’s important for students to explore other opportunities , whether it be educational or professional,” says NYU’s Rosenfeld.
Teens with a desire to become lawyers or physicians should explore their passions, and enjoy high school without worrying about the stress of college and graduate school.
“They don’t have to be stressed through their high school years, there’s college for that,” NYU’s Rosenfeld says.
Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.
More from U.S. News
Online Degrees Could Be a Good Fit for Some Teens
Follow a Graduate School Application Timeline
Find Career-Focused Volunteer Opportunities in High School
Prepare for Medical, Law School in High School originally appeared on usnews.com
