Yes, there are some extra costs associated with completing fourth year. Extra costs of fourth year can include applications, travel and housing associated with electives, the CaRMS application, and writing the MCCQE Part 1. Costs associated with electives and CaRMS vary widely, depending on how many electives are chosen and the number of programs to which a person applies. A breakdown of extra costs accrued in fourth year is as follows:
Electives
Highly variable expense. Need to consider cost of application to do elective, housing if not at your university and travel costs.
CaRMS
| Registration Fee + 4 Programs (tax not included) |
$205 |
| Each Additional Program |
$20 |
| Packages for References |
$100 |
| Interviews (Flight, Hotel, Food, etc.) |
$3000 |
| |
$3265 |
MCCQE Part I (Licensing Exam Part I)
Registration Fee $680
Total ≈ $4000 + cost of electives
Ruth needs to remember that her situation is not exceptional. Almost all medical students acquire debt as they get the education they need to become qualified. Before heading into fourth year, she should apply for any bursaries and scholarships for which she’s eligible. Even if the amount is small, it’s still beneficial.
To ensure she adds as little as possible to her existing debt load, she would be well advised to sit down with a professional, such as an RBC Student Champion, to create a personal budget that makes the most of her unique situation and that reflects her current expenses and any income. This will give her an opportunity to spot possible areas where she could be economizing. Once she knows what her fourth-year costs are going to be, she can amend her budget accordingly.
One of the easiest ways to go astray is to get caught up in credit card debt. If Ruth is carrying a balance on her credit cards, she could be paying interest as high as 28% a year. A much more effective solution is to take out a loan or line of credit at a much lower interest rate, pay off the credit cards, and then focus on reducing the loan or line of credit.
In fact, most financial institutions have special lending programs for medical and dental students, which have high limits and low interest rates. This should be the first option for financing, but any existing loans that are outstanding will reduce the available credit for studies, so by combining them into one credit line borrowing costs and monthly payments can be reduced.
While Ruth is a medical student, and for 12 months after graduation, she will likely only have to pay the interest costs on her loan, under a special arrangement that most financial institutions have with students. As a resident, with income coming in, Ruth should be able to start chipping away at her accumulated student debt. Again, the best way to determine what she can comfortably pay is to track all her expenses and income and create a personal budget.
Once she knows how much she can afford to dedicate to debt repayment every month, she should set up automatic transfers so that amount is automatically moved from her bank account to her outstanding debt.
As a student, Ruth can claim tuition, education and textbook tax credits. However, she may not have sufficient income to be able to use up all the credits to which she’s entitled. She can carry forward her unused credits and use them to reduce her income tax in a later year.