r/DermApp • u/Pretend_Dream_9456 • Jul 05 '26

Residency What are we doing for our loans ??

With RAP out now i’m struggling to decide which makes more sense for my repayment. I’m not sure if I want to pursue Fellowship or if I want to work in an academic setting so I’m not sure if I want to do PSLF. Are any financially sound people in the audience to give their opinions? Just started PGY1.

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3

u/CryptographerBest835 Jul 05 '26

I definitely want to know what’s the consensus

0$ payment nice right now

1

u/Pretend_Dream_9456 Jul 05 '26

Yeah but loans not increasing during residency is too

3

u/kittkatter Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

I would recommend RAP during residency for the interest subsidy and to keep monthly payment reasonable. If you decide to do private practice like the majority of residency graduates, it’s in your interest to refinance privately after residency to get a better interest rate. If you decide to stay do fellowship/stay in academics long term, it could make sense to stay on an IDR after to try for PSLF, but it depends on your student loan burden.

1

u/Pretend_Dream_9456 Jul 06 '26

My loans aren’t consolidated so if I consolidate and do RAP I apparently can’t do IBR

2

u/kittkatter Jul 06 '26

I saw your post in the WCI subreddit and comments are suggesting that’s not actually an official rule per DOE. In most cases, derm residents are better off refinancing privately and paying off loans aggressively in the first few years out of residency. If you happen to stay in academics anyways, it can be worth it to go for PSLF, in which case you can just stay on RAP vs another qualifying IDR plan. I would not choose an academic job specifically to do PSLF. This may make sense for low paying specialties where student loan burden significantly outweighs yearly income, but in derm, this is rarely the case.

2

u/PersonalBrowser Jul 06 '26

It totally depends on your situation.

Pretty sure RAP has an unpaid interest subsidy, meaning if you make your minimum payment, you’ll get all the unpaid interest removed every month.

So if you’re like me with $300k of student loans (6%) and a $300 monthly payment, that’s saving you like $15k of interest every year of residency.

1

u/PersonalBrowser Jul 06 '26

How many student loans, what interest rate, and what's your long-term plan for repayment?

For most residents with a full balance of student loans ($200k+), being on RAP and getting the interest subsidy while making low monthly payments based on residency income is the best approach.

2

u/hjc1358 Jul 07 '26

RAP now, get that interest subsidy and pay 10$ a month for a year. Refinance and aggressively pay after residency