if you could add a few specific questions, like what information you are looking for, I can try to help.

As for money issues for schooling - they can definitely be a problem. You are talking about needing to pay for undergraduate college (although you can often get either scholarships, partial scholarhips, or financial aid including loans to help), and then medical school. For medical school, most people get financial aid which consists mostly of loans, but may also include some partial scholarships from the schools, especially if you have significant financial need.

In the end, medical school financing winds up being similar to a moderate size mortgage that you'll be paying off over 20+ years after medical school. Most people also need to defer it through residency because residency doesn't pay too much money. Some people will be able to do enough moonlighting during residency to pay off some of the debt.

Well, Doc Admin was apparently too modest to toot his own horn here, but THIS seems like a good website for a start!

Becoming a psychiatrist (or any other medical specialty) is certainly a spendy proposition, but there are ways to pay for it.

First, certainly, there are loans. LOTS of loans. One nice thing about being a doctor is that there are some hospitals which will pay your loans off for working there (to the tune of 40-50 grand per year!), in addition to your salary and benefits. One doc from my medical school is doing that right now as an ER physician in central Maine. Finding a hospital to do that for a psychiatrist might be tough, but I am sure there are situations out there...

However, there are other options, such as scholarships through private and public organizations.

The military and public health service offer full-tuition scholarships (with a living stipend) for people who are not opposed to military medicine. Your payback for the scholarship is 1-year for 1-year, more if you do a military psychiatry residency (they pay more than civilian residencies do).

Military psychiatrists work in military hospitals, and do much the same work as civilian psychiatrists. They just wear a snappy uniform to work... then, when they are done with their military payback, they can immediately practice in civilian life (with real-world medical experience and no med school loans to pay back!).

This scholarship is called the Health Professions Scholarship Program, and it is offered through the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The US Public Health Service has a similar program, with similar features. All are competitive.

Good luck! 🙂