Anyone else feeling like this is a terrible time to start PA school?
I was accepted this past cycle and my program starts in July. I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity. I’ve worked toward this for the last 6 years and honestly didn’t think this moment would ever come. But instead of feeling excited, I mostly just feel stressed and sick with anxiety about the timing of everything.
Financially, this feels like the worst possible time to start. Federal loans are capped at $20,500 a year, which is nowhere near enough to cover tuition and living expenses, so I’ll have to rely heavily on private loans. The interest rates right now honestly feel criminal. On top of that, my family is about to go down to a single income because I obviously won’t be able to work during the next 2 years of PA school.
Everything is so expensive right now: rent, groceries, gas, literally everything. We already budget hard with two incomes, and I genuinely cannot imagine what things are going to look like once we’re living off one. It feels overwhelming to think about.
I’m still going to PA school and I refuse to give up this opportunity after working so hard for it. But when I started this journey after graduating undergrad in 2020, I never imagined I’d be entering school during a time that feels this financially unstable and so unpredictable.
Is anyone else feeling this way after getting accepted? I feel guilty for not being more excited, but honestly I’m just scared and stressed about the future.