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Acupuncture Poll

By Editorial Staff

The Acupuncture Poll's question for August 2003 was:

"How long did it take you to pay off your student loans?"

Results are as follows:

These results are based upon 117 responses. As this is a voluntary, non-scientific survey, caution should be used in generalizing the results. Here is a sample of the comments made by those who took the survey and how they voted:

More than seven years: I was paying off my loan rather comfortably until the clinic I worked for had their Blue Cross/Blue Shield providership terminated because of unscrupulous billing practices. This was all done without my knowledge, but I was also held responsible. I lost my practice and have been struggling to get a cash practice going, which has been challenging. My advice is to never let anyone else do your billing for you. I learned the hard way. Now I can barely pay my monthly payment.

Also, I know new graduates who are getting out of school with $80,000 in debt. I certainly wouldn't want to be in their shoes.

Less than two years: At the time, I was so concerned about having to pay back student loans while starting a new practice that I continued working a 40+-hour high-stress job for the three years that I was in school. Hopefully, the stress I had during school counteracted the stress I didn't have paying back the loans after school.

More than seven years: I am still paying, and paying, and paying.

For more information on the Acupuncture Poll, contact Acupuncture Today at .

Acupuncture Today editorial staff members research, investigate and write articles for the publication on an ongoing basis. To contact the Editorial Department or submit an article of your own for consideration, email mailto: .