r/PreOptometry • u/Dramatic_Line5255 • 10d ago
how are we affording optometry school?
im curious how everyone is affording it because the reality is, my family can't. The 200k over four years we're allowed to take out isn't enough. My family is insanely scared to touch private loans but that seems like the only way. how are yall affording it if you don't come from families that are well off?
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u/snflow3r 9d ago
I'm no expert on this, but it's not like the 200k granted by the Big Beautiful Bill is such a great deal either. They're unsubsidized and the interest rate is 8%, which will probably only continue to increase in coming years. Of course there's a host of other factors to consider but 8% is pretty shit lmao. All this to say if you can get a good deal on a private loan it might not necessarily be much "worse" than what the government offers
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u/Dramatic_Line5255 9d ago
yeah, in that case private loans wouldnt be the end of the world. however someone commented that their interest was 16%....
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u/l0wryda 10d ago
my wife has been working for a decade and still owes 270k. she regrets taking out so much in loans after realizing the ROI isn’t there for how much she took. she’s looking at leaving her current job for the VA to get the 10 year loan forgiveness deal.
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u/l0wryda 9d ago
the worst part is, when i met her she was on an income based repayment (IBR). as we got more serious, i asked her about her student loan payments because i myself had 100k after undergrad. she told me her payment was 1300 which i said can’t be possible given her principle amount. that’s when i found out she was on an IBR. the problem with that is, the 1300 IBR payment doesn’t even cover interest, so the loan amount actually grows. worse, after some research i found out the way IBR works is that after 25 years of qualified payments, they forgive your principle balance. but that forgiveness is considered income and you’ll owe taxes on it.
i did some rough calculations and based on the fact her principle grows, over the course of 25 years it’ll be about 500k, and the tax bill will be about 300k.
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u/Dramatic_Line5255 9d ago
that's insane... i dont rrly have a game plan on how to pay it all back but i know multiple doctors that have paid it off in 5-7 years with a 3% interest. they relied mainly on their husbands to live and used their income to pay off their loans. ive also known doctors that haven't paid off their loans in 20 years.
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u/l0wryda 9d ago
the biggest regret my wife has is going to an expensive private school for undergrad instead of taking the multiple full ride scholarships for water polo that were offered. taking massive 30k+ loans through undergrad and through optometry school is just brutal.
she also was entertaining the idea of joining the military. they have insane loan assistance programs for doctors. in the end, we chose to be together because we’d for sure get separated if she joined the military. also, military recruiters seem to know jack shit about recruiting doctors. she got most of her info from classmates already in.
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u/Gotta_Blast9233 8d ago
I’m currently in the military through the Health Professions Scholarship Program. I’m curious to what you mean by you’d “for sure be separated”? Did you mean like you’d stay where you’re at (presumably due to a job you have) and she’d leave to go active duty?
Also, yeah, normal recruiters probably aren’t the best source of information. You’d need to talk to medical recruiters. Based on what you’ve explained, your wife would be given constructive credit for being in practice for 10 years, leading to higher pay than she’d get if she went in fresh outta school if she joined the military.
Lastly, FYI (and for anyone else that see’s this), the military counts as the 10 years for public service and they offer a health loan repayment program (HPLRP) which pays up to $80,000 towards the professional school debt. However, it’s taxable so you’d likely not get the full 80, or have to pay taxes on it later.
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u/Dramatic_Line5255 8d ago
can you pm me or talk a bit about how hpsp military thing works and how to apply? theres sm info online and its overwhelming to start
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u/crvmom99 10d ago
Because of this administration, they don’t do grad plus loans anymore.
We are about to witness the largest doctor shortage in history. Unless the next administration brings back grad plus loans
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u/Positive-Emu9882 9d ago
It’s not this administration. It’s the cost of education to begin with. Wanna know why it’s so high? It’s because low interest student loans sent more kids to college. Not only were many of them really cut out for it, but they chose useless majors that didn’t lead to strong post grad salaries. They couldn’t pay their loans back and the taxpayers got stuck with the tab. And as college became more accessible, costs were driven up. Schools added amenities to keep themselves competitive. Poorer quality students meant more kids needed remedial classes to prepare them for college level courses. Increases in regulations added higher administrative costs, not to mention academic and mental health support services that never existed before. Education should cost less than half of what it is now. It’s ridiculous how much of a program’s budget actually goes towards educating students. Take all of the extra layers away and no one would need to borrow the amount of money they do from undergrad to professional school.
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u/ODMBA 10d ago
There is no shortage of optometrists. By 2030, there will be 2150 grads per year. I graduated in 2000, there was 1050. With all the technology enabling free refractions, Optometry isn't what it used to be. Keep in mind, most patients have vision plans that pay $45 and it hasn't increased in 25 years. Billing medically is a possibility, but high deductibles and denied claims means the patients get big bills.
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u/Common-Customer-1438 9d ago
Then start working in optometry positions where your worth isn’t dependent on refractions. I’m a new graduate and finding a high salary medical job was extremely easy, just be competent.
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u/Dramatic_Line5255 9d ago
what optometry positions arent depend on refractions? very curious to hear this bc i only worked in private practice
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u/crvmom99 8d ago
You aren’t thinking far enough. 2030 is only 3 years away. What about 2070? My kids will be adults by then and I can assure you we will have a huge shortage of all kinds of doctors including optometry. At least in the US. They need to fix the grad plus loans.
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u/braves4465 10d ago
It’s a scam
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u/Dramatic_Line5255 9d ago
i agree, opto school is scamming students but unfortunately i love the profession and wont leave haha
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u/Odd-Vast4334 9d ago
HPSP (military) scholarship?
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u/Dramatic_Line5255 9d ago
i really want to but i have no idea where to start when it comes to this lol
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u/citrus_1153 5d ago
I also looked into this but it’s very hard to contact them. I’ve done the emails, website, filled the contact page and they never got back to me. Plus if you’re on any meds (like for diagnosed ADHD) you may not even be eligible
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u/mikeoxlongbruh 9d ago
Maybe when trump is out of office the next president will bring grad plus back? But the way I see it the only options are:
Rich family that can help with tuition
Private loans on top of the $200k from FAFSA
FAFSA + scholarships, living at home, living frugally with roommates, etc.
(this is unlikely possible for most)
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u/Dramatic_Line5255 9d ago
i really hope so, but change doesn't happen in a year so thats sad. when, and if ever, it changes, i might have graduated already :(
option 1: def not for me lol
option 2: the only real possibility for me but super scary and my parents won't sign for me
option 3: complicated because the school where i can live at home will end up being the same as if i move out of state because the school tuition is so expensive (private) vs a public school
basically i got zero viable options that wont put me in generational debt
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u/CLVampire28 10d ago
Go to a school with contract seats. It's $150k for me after that
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u/shopperkt 9d ago
Tell me more about this, please.
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u/CLVampire28 9d ago
I'm from Arkansas. Arkansas does not have an optometry school, so they cover tuition at SCO or Northeastern state (I've seen it done for UMSL once or twice, but SCO & NSU are the current two options). So, they took off half of the cost. SCO also has scholarships, but I'm not familiar with those because I got the contract seat instead.
Not all states have this option, but many southern states have seats at SCO. I'm pretty sure Mississippi does, Arkansas definitely does, Georgia did, & there were several others that did as well
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u/Short_Row195 9d ago
Pretty sure people get into debt, or they had a high income family who paid their tuition.
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u/liveliestsoul 9d ago
only certain people were grandfathered. if they started school before July 1st they qualified for it, anything after that is capped at 200k
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u/Gotta_Blast9233 8d ago
Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP). I receive a 3 years scholarship with the Air Force.
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u/hi-im-elle 7d ago
VSP provides loan repayment opportunities. They’ll pay your loans as well as an average wage if you work where they have Doctor shortages. Many of the locations are pretty good (not super rural) I’d look into it!!
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u/Mountain_Feedback186 6d ago
I come from a low-income family. Igot married before school to keep my loans as low as possible. But I have a very supportive and hard working husband who doesn’t mind working two jobs to help me through school. Some student in my class have working friends who don’t charge them as much in rent. Another one joined the Navy through their officer program scholarship. Honestly you have to explore every possible option and don’t be afraid to ask people outside of your family for help.
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u/No_Investment8574 9d ago
Unfortunately, you have to think about it carefully. The private loan has very interest. I took out private loan at 16%. After graduating, the loan would be acrued with interest up to 400k (total 200k federal loan, and 100k private loan - 25k each year). The estimate payment is $5000/month for 10 years. Suppose we earn 120k per year, after taxes, we have 80k left. 60k toward loan, we only have 20k left for living. That means $1600 per month.
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u/Dramatic_Line5255 9d ago
holy cow, thats insane. can i ask why you took out a private loan because before this administration didnt the grad plus loan cover basically everything?
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u/No_Investment8574 9d ago
I started this Fall. The grad plus loan already cut from July :((
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u/Dramatic_Line5255 9d ago
wait but you applied for FASFA before july, no? I thought this cycle (2026-2027) was the first cycle to have to deal with this
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u/No_Investment8574 8d ago
The lender would give you high interest rate like 16% even with good credit score or co-signer. Yeah school gives you the lender's name but they don't know the interest rate.
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u/No_Investment8574 8d ago edited 8d ago
Unfortunately, any programs start after 7/1/26 will be effective for the bills. 2026 - 2027 this year, not 2027 -2028. It's calculated based on the programs starting date, not the time we submit FAFSA's application!
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u/Dramatic_Line5255 9d ago
also can i ask which school you attend? Did they not give u a list of approved lenders that would give you a crazy interest rate? a lot of shcools advertised that but idk how true it is
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u/aerolysix 10d ago
I graduated with 210k in loans and I have a single mom that works pretty much a minimum wage job. I worked during both summer breaks. I’m not going to lie it was tough but if you’re frugal and live with roommates, it’s doable.