Navigating Your Financial Roadmap to a Health Profession
By: Emma Walytka
On October 29, the Pre-Health Student Resource Center (PHSRC) hosted a workshop detailing how to navigate a financial Roadmap to a health profession in partnership with One Stop's Financial Wellness team.
If you were able to attend, we thank you for coming to our event and hope you gained a financial GPS for the rest of your pre-health journey. If you were not able to attend, we still have you covered in this recap-style blog to highlight budgeting tips, an overview of funding routes, and how to avoid financial detours.
As a result of the signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA), beginning on July 1, 2026, new graduate and professional loans will be subject to new borrowing limits.
Those who are working toward a professional graduate degree (for example, medicine) will only be able to borrow $50,000 annually, and new graduate students will have a $20,500 annual limit.
With the borrowing amounts decreasing substantially, it’s vital to prepare students with the right tools and strategies to manage their money and financial literacy.
It’s important to remember that generational wealth and cultural differences exist around finances, with family dynamics influencing how we have a relationship with money, says Ralph Daby, Assistant Director with One Stop.
When it comes to using money, Daby says, “My money, my choices.” Be an active participant in your finances, not a passenger. During your financial journey, walk before you run, take an active approach and take a factual and objective approach, he adds.
Emotions influence our decisions with money, pulling us in one direction or another, including giving money out that you don't have or holding onto funds as a means of security.
As a pre-health student who may want to get an advanced degree, when it comes to tuition, Daby says tuition is more than meets the eye, because the cost of tuition is only one cost factor and you will need to consider other expenses like cost of living.
Understanding what you are being charged and when is vital, as beyond tuition, considering mandatory fees, housing costs, campus transportation, traveling to and from home, and the cost of living in the surrounding area are all layers to consider in choosing a school.
This is particularly a factor because many schools have an "out-of-state tuition" which can add significantly to the cost of tuition. The U of MN medical school has a guaranteed cost of tuition, regardless of your years in school that cost will not go up, which is of great value.
“This isn’t easily Googled,” Daby says. “It is vital to get into those spaces and talk to someone face-to-face about the cost of attendance and housing for your selected program.”
Perhaps what you want is enough money to pay for the entrance exams and application fees. A way to make this more specific and tangible would be to add metrics and a deadline. For example, “I need $335 for the MCAT and $450 for application fees by next January.”
When it comes to knowing what it will take to reach that goal, make it feel real by noting how many paychecks you may need to reach that from your current situation, and ask your supervisor for additional hours to reach that goal if needed, being honest and transparent about your current financial state.
As for consistency, time will evade you, but by setting reminders and building discipline with the amount of money you transfer to your savings, your brain will want to re-engage by celebrating these victories, Daby says.
Budgeting and Banking
Daby says that thinking of a budget as a strategic plan rather than a limiting factor can help the process of actively budgeting.
“The best budget is the one you actually use,” Daby says. “Make an Excel spreadsheet, use apps, or even a pen and paper. It’s the one you continue to go back-to that will be the most successful.”
When it comes to budgeting as percentages, typically 50% is used for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings is a well-known model, but no one’s pie chart is the same, and it’s important to make percentages that fit your lifestyle.
Becoming a participant in the cost-benefit analysis game helps you see spending habits differently, Daby adds. While he used to view rent as a hefty expenditure that took up all of his paycheck, he now views it as an addition to his overall joy. He asked himself, “what am I getting from this cost?” and reframed his mindset to consider that his apartment gave him a place to have friends over, a place to sleep, cook and make new memories.
Savings and Loans
Having an emergency fund builds a cushion for your finances when times get tough, and it can be started small.
Ensuring to pay yourself first and selecting an automatic transfer option to savings is also a good start, along with mapping out what Daby refers to as a “Goal Post.” This can be viewed as starting with putting 5% of your income into an emergency fund, working up to a fund with $1000 and eventually building up to 3 months of expenses to have in your fund at all times.
“You can be a better strategist if you know the rules of the game,” Daby says.
Student loans allow you to exchange your time for money, and when it comes to taking out a loan, knowing the borrowing factors, from interest rates, repayment options, and fees, is the first step.
“You can be financially healthy with debt, " Daby says. “The question is: what is manageable debt?”
If you want an advanced degree, Daby says reducing loans in your undergraduate program will ease the repayment timeline when you finish your Graduate or Professional program.
Social pressures create an unfair comparison complex between people, by not letting that social pressure noise impact you and you can set healthy boundaries with your money and the world around you. Learning not to compare ourselves allows us to avoid the “keeping up with the Joneses,” mentality, which is an idiom about chasing the perceived success of those around you and undermining your own success and lived situation as a result- which is a costly mistake!
“Remember, your financial journey is at the beginning, and your attention to it now is a major win in itself,” Daby says.