CCOMmon Cents is the fully integrated Financial Literacy Program at the Carver College of Medicine. It is a program that provides medical and physician assistant students the knowledge, tools, and resources to better understand the financial aid process, to manage their student loans more effectively, to make better informed decisions during their graduate programs, to help take control of their personal finances sooner, and encourage students to minimize their educational debt whenever possible. We believe that it is essential to provide our students with personal finance education, to help them navigate their loan repayment options, and to provide financial literacy resources throughout their education to help ensure they reach their educational and personal financial goals.
Required Materials for MD Students
As part of our financial literacy initiative, we have identified a few resources that we are requiring students taking out medical student loans to review. The materials cover important financial literacy topics and we have made a concerted effort to keep the content brief and relevant so they can be viewed without interfering with busy course schedules. Topics vary from year to year based on student feedback. Links to the materials are emailed out to each class during the year. You can access these materials here. The resources are listed below:
M1 Students
White Coat Investor Video
Budgeting Video
M2 Students
Loan Repayment/Forgiveness ebook
Credit and Credit Scores
M3 Students
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
M4 Students
What Programs May Help You Pay Back Your Student Loans
The Cost of Residency Video
CCOMmon Cents Newsletter
The CCOMmon Cents Newsletter is a one page financial literacy publication that is emailed to all CCOM students twice a semester. It contains short articles about various financial literacy topics that are relevant to MD/PA students. The format is kept short so that students can read it quickly and at their convenience. If you have suggestions for future topics to be discussed, feel free to email Chris Roling.
Previous CCOMmon Cents Newsletters:
March 2023.pdf (Beware of Credit Cards / How to Calculate Interest on Student Loans
January 2023.pdf (Disability Insurance Federeal Loans vs Private Loans)
November 2022.pdf (What if scenarios)
September 2022.pdf (Financial Literacy Podcasts & TikToks / Renter's Insurance)
March 2022.pdf (Money Geek / Options for students that turn 26 and are unable to remain on parents' health insurance)
January 2022.pdf (How much has the CARES Act saved students? / Identity Theft)
November 2021.pdf (Truth Behind PSLF Statistics / How to track your student loans)
September 2021.pdf (Comparing bank rates / SNAP benefits)
Summer 2021.pdf (What is Capitalization? /CARES Act Update)
March 2021.pdf (Tax Reminders for CCOM students / Free Community Resources)
January 2021.pdf (Picking a Financial Advisor / Buying a car during MD/PA school)
November 2020.pdf (Medicaid Tips / Holiday Shopping on a budget)
September 2020.pdf (Smart alternatives to returning unused loans / Budgeting during a pandemic)
Summer 2020.pdf (Closer look at your Cost of Attendance budget / Student loan relief for Carver Students)
March 2020.pdf (Alternatives to paying back loans - loan repayment programs)
January 2020.pdf (The White Coat Investor / Avoiding Lifestyle Creep)
November 2019.pdf (New financial literacy class / Dangers of making minimum payments on credit cards / New FAFSA app for smartphone)
September 2019.pdf (Financial literacy podcasts / More financial smart phone apps)
Summer 2019.pdf (Student loan interest rates drop / Common reasons why refunds are late)
March 2019.pdf (New finanancial literacy resources from AAMC / Financial iteracy books available for check-out )
January 2019.pdf (Renter's Insurance / Fixed vs Variable Interest rates)
November 2018.pdf (Nerd Wallet / Disability Insurance)
September 2018.pdf (Financial literacy apps / Loan oigination fees)
Financial Literacy Workshops
We provide workshops on various financial literacy topics throughout the year. The sessions that are offered can change each year, but here is a list of workshops that have been offered in the last few years:
- Credit Scores -
Power Point Presentation - Identity Theft - Power Point Presentation
- Fall 2021 Budgeting Workship Presentation
- Buying vs. Renting during Residency
- Investment Strategies and Disability Insurance
- Taxes
- Budgeting
We also have a Financial Literacy Advisory Group (F.L.A.G.) that meets once per semester to brainstorm ideas for the following semester. IF you are interested in joining this group, contact Chris Roling, Assistant Director of Financial Services.