Advise on loans for international student (and some old age rant)

[dushash]

My sister is a US citizen (I'm a Canadian, I'm 38y.o.) and she agreed to co-sign necessary papers to get a loan for med.school (if I'll get in this cycle, so far I just have 2 II's scheduled), but I would appreciate your answers to some questions I have:

1. Am I right that I can apply for private loans only? If yes, what companies are better than others? For example I've heard about Sallie Mae - are they good?

2. In the best scenario I'm looking to graduate med.school at 43y.o. and start residency at 47y.o. (depending on specialty/residency) when I'll start working on a full physician salary. Do you think physicians can safely work till 67 y.o. (let's assume good health is a no issue) - so it will give me 20 years of full time work? What specialties are better suited for such "old age" work? (I don't think I can do surgery at that age, but diagnostic radiologists or oncologist seems more possible).

3. I'm estimating my bill including living costs to be around $380K (I'm not in state and not even a resident/citizen, so will pay top bucks). So do you think it's still manageable and can be dealt with, so it will be a no issue in my situation? Can I still manage it if I decide to go IM - roughly $180K starting salaries?

Thank you very much for all your answers and help.

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[DrMidlife]

Please find a Canadian who is in, or recently was in, a US medical school to advise on paying for US med school as a Canadian. Please do not take general advice from US premeds/med students on how US student loans work.

You may have some luck in the international forum with loan questions.

The age question totally depends on your own situation: finances, physical fitness, mental fitness, other life priorities. You will find a whole lot of cases where people older than you have done this (myself included). You will have a harder time finding people who decided not to do it, or didn't succeed at it, and that's very important info. So do what you can. Look at your older family members who are in their 50's and think about their energy, their knees, back, eyes, etc. Think about what you want on your plate in addition to medical training, such as raising a family and having possessions and having freedom and having money for 7+ years. You will not get objective information.

The long term financial questions are best answered by spending a bunch of time on whitecoatinvestor.com.

For what it's worth, your undergrad GPA is the most important decision factor. If you add any health or financial problems, or if you bear responsibility for a child or other relative without support, I strongly recommend letting such issues be deal breakers.

Best of luck to you.