from a tradition to a nontraditional in 2 days

[MDandreea]

hello
just want to advise with you on my situation
i am in international student in my third year in biology. i am doing good- gpa 3.96 mcat not that good but still i was accepted to both st george's university md program in grenada and to podiatry medical school. first, i came to this country to become a medical technologist, as time passed i was advised by everybodfy in my school to try to make my way to MD program because they say i quote " you are to smart to become a med tech". i always wanted to become a doctor, always so i thought it is a good idea.
i applied to st georges i got accepted- then before sending my depositr i was told that international students don't get loans for going there and i have to pay everything out of pocket. this was a shock to me- my first downfall
i applie to new york college of podiatric medicine- i was accepted. i paid the deposit knowing that for this school- that's it there is no tricks and i can get a loan with a cosigner. now, 2 days ago i applied and my cosigner was rejected the loan- i have no other cosigner available - no one wants to sign in such bad economy, they don't know what will happen
NOW i'm back on the med tech , i'm 22 years old, and i figure that i should get my certification which is in 2 years so i will be 24. i will work 2 years to make my money to go back to podiatry school. by then i will be 26
start podiatry at 26, graduate at 30, at 33 i will be done with residency. i have A VERY VERY BAD DESIRE to pursue this.
now i woul;d like to know from other non traditional students if from your own experience you think this is doable or you think it is not worth it. the thing is that i would hate to be a med tech my whole life, for me it is not academically rewarding- i know i can do better
do you have any thought?

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[combatwombat]

As you say now is a bad time to be looking for loans. That being said, are you sure you've looked into all possibilities for loans? Are there any federal or private programs you haven't looked at yet? Scholarship/grant programs? Getting loans right now is difficult but not impossible. As I understood it, loans for medical programs were somewhat easier to get (since you'll be entering a field with pretty safe job outlook).

If worst comes to worst and you have to take time off before entering med/pod school, you could also look at other careers in the mean time. I'm not sure what kind of medical technologist you are thinking of becoming, but there are other health-oriented careers that might work better. Doing something with less training time - like EMT-B or even paramedic - could allow you to start making $ sooner and also give you a chance to apply again in a year when the economy is better.

 

[punkiedad]

As you say now is a bad time to be looking for loans. That being said, are you sure you've looked into all possibilities for loans? Are there any federal or private programs you haven't looked at yet? Scholarship/grant programs? Getting loans right now is difficult but not impossible. As I understood it, loans for medical programs were somewhat easier to get (since you'll be entering a field with pretty safe job outlook).

If worst comes to worst and you have to take time off before entering med/pod school, you could also look at other careers in the mean time. I'm not sure what kind of medical technologist you are thinking of becoming, but there are other health-oriented careers that might work better. Doing something with less training time - like EMT-B or even paramedic - could allow you to start making $ sooner and also give you a chance to apply again in a year when the economy is better.

I agree. did you check with your financial aid office ad the school(s) your were accepted at? This is what they do for a living. I am not that well versed, especially with international students, but I am a firm believer in there is always a way to make it work, even if it is not ideal. Check with the financial aide department, embassy, search deep on the internet, alumni, anything. Think outside the box, heck try putting an ad on craigslist or something.......My post is not meant to sound corny, but the toughest part is getting accepted. I would exhaust all alternatives, and look under every rock.............best of luck to you.

 

[ChairmanMao]

I agree. did you check with your financial aid office ad the school(s) your were accepted at? This is what they do for a living. I am not that well versed, especially with international students, but I am a firm believer in there is always a way to make it work, even if it is not ideal. Check with the financial aide department, embassy, search deep on the internet, alumni, anything. Think outside the box, heck try putting an ad on craigslist or something.......My post is not meant to sound corny, but the toughest part is getting accepted. I would exhaust all alternatives, and look under every rock.............best of luck to you.

I hope you're kidding about that right? To the OP, I would really check with SGU to see if they have a financial aid office. Honestly out of the hundreds of students that they accept every year, I don't know how any of them would be able to go through a program like that unless they could find a way to secure education loans. There must be a way for them to access federal student aid. Also, this is a question that might get better results if you post it on the Carribbean medical school forum.

 

[Law2Doc]

hello
just want to advise with you on my situation
i am in international student in my third year in biology. i am doing good- gpa 3.96 mcat not that good but still i was accepted to both st george's university md program in grenada and to podiatry medical school. first, i came to this country to become a medical technologist, as time passed i was advised by everybodfy in my school to try to make my way to MD program because they say i quote " you are to smart to become a med tech". i always wanted to become a doctor, always so i thought it is a good idea.
i applied to st georges i got accepted- then before sending my depositr i was told that international students don't get loans for going there and i have to pay everything out of pocket. this was a shock to me- my first downfall
i applie to new york college of podiatric medicine- i was accepted. i paid the deposit knowing that for this school- that's it there is no tricks and i can get a loan with a cosigner. now, 2 days ago i applied and my cosigner was rejected the loan- i have no other cosigner available - no one wants to sign in such bad economy, they don't know what will happen
NOW i'm back on the med tech , i'm 22 years old, and i figure that i should get my certification which is in 2 years so i will be 24. i will work 2 years to make my money to go back to podiatry school. by then i will be 26
start podiatry at 26, graduate at 30, at 33 i will be done with residency. i have A VERY VERY BAD DESIRE to pursue this.
now i woul;d like to know from other non traditional students if from your own experience you think this is doable or you think it is not worth it. the thing is that i would hate to be a med tech my whole life, for me it is not academically rewarding- i know i can do better
do you have any thought?

You do realize that although there is some overlap in roles between podiatry and medicine (esp orthopedics), they are very different healthcare fields? I was a bit confused as to all the references to MD paths if your real question simply involves financing of podiatric school and whether it's "worth it" to become a pod. I'd say the majority of "nontrads" on this board are premed (MD or DO), so I'm not sure if you are going to get useful "is it worth it" advice specific to podiatric school here -- you may want to try the podiatry board.

But in general, advanced degrees are very very expensive, and if they enable you to do a career that you find more rewarding, then it is "worth it".

 

[dragonfly99]

I think if you want to go to podiatry school, phone their admissions office and tell them that you really want to attend, but right now with the bad economy and being an international student, you can't find cosigner for your student loans. You could ask them to hold/defer your admission for a year, until you can figure out how to get the money. I'll bet they'd say yes. I also think you should post on the podiatry threads/forums to get more info about podiatry school. Podiatrist are not medical doctors, but they are doctors...I think a lot of people like that career. I agree that if you are academically oriented, then you will probably get bored after some time as a medical technologist, although it might be OK as a job to make money for just a little while.

As far as St George, that school is very expensive. Also, without a green card that will make it harder to get a residency in the US if you don't get your MD in the US. Not everyone who goes to those Caribbean medical schools gets a residency in the US. I would feel better about you going down there for school if at least you were a permanent resident...but in that case you could probably have an easier time applying to US school (if you were a citizen or permanent resident). Is there any way you can become a permanent resident in the next 2-3 years? If so, it might be better to wait, if you want the MD, and try to apply for schools in the U.S.