Grad Plus Loans a must?

drold2013 · Oct 10, 2012

Hi guys! I posted this in the pre-med forum but didn't get an answer, so I thought u guys might know.
If you don't qualify for Grad Plus Loans because of credit issues, can you still attend medical school? Do u guys know of anyone who has done it? what kinda aid is available if the Grad plus is a no go? what about scholarships through the armed forces and the like? will they do?
Please, let me know. I'm freaking out :scared:

Slane · Oct 10, 2012

Armed forces will usually cover your entire education, but you're pretty much signing your life away there (and they expect you to pay up front for a lot of things like books and equipment, you get reimbursed, but it takes time.) They also seem to be more selective about who they take now, they have minimum requirements now, they don't just take anyone with an acceptance and give them a free ride.

The only other options are private loans (probably with a cosigner if you don't qualify for GradPLUS) or rich relatives. Most schools don't have scholarships that provide more than a few grand, which barely makes a dent in $50k+ per year.

So yes, it's possible, but your life will be much simpler if you can find someone that'll endorse your GradPLUS loan every year.

Wolverines83 · Oct 10, 2012

drold2013 said:
Hi guys! I posted this in the pre-med forum but didn't get an answer, so I thought u guys might know.
If you don't qualify for Grad Plus Loans because of credit issues, can you still attend medical school? Do u guys know of anyone who has done it? what kinda aid is available if the Grad plus is a no go? what about scholarships through the armed forces and the like? will they do?
Please, let me know. I'm freaking out

Did you hear back from them saying you're not eligible? Or are you just worried?

I got denied at first because I owed like $50 to a local gov't for trash collection (woops!). They said they get nervous whenever there's a debt to government so I just paid it off, forwarded them the letter and that was it. I don't know if that's your situation but maybe it helps.

If it comes to it, you can have someone cosign for you. If that person's good to go then you'll be fine.

Don't go to private loans until you're 100% sure you can't get those grad plus loans.

dntke1518 · Oct 10, 2012

Wolverines83 said:
Did you hear back from them saying you're not eligible? Or are you just worried?

I got denied at first because I owed like $50 to a local gov't for trash collection (woops!). They said they get nervous whenever there's a debt to government so I just paid it off, forwarded them the letter and that was it. I don't know if that's your situation but maybe it helps.

If it comes to it, you can have someone cosign for you. If that person's good to go then you'll be fine.

Don't go to private loans until you're 100% sure you can't get those grad plus loans.

I had this same issue went through the appeals process and then all was well.

CDTcorp · Oct 10, 2012

drold2013 said:
Hi guys! I posted this in the pre-med forum but didn't get an answer, so I thought u guys might know.
If you don't qualify for Grad Plus Loans because of credit issues, can you still attend medical school? Do u guys know of anyone who has done it? what kinda aid is available if the Grad plus is a no go? what about scholarships through the armed forces and the like? will they do?
Please, let me know. I'm freaking out

I am pretty sure if you can't get a grad plus loan because of credit issues then your probably not going to be able to get an armed forces scholarship because they also require a credit check.

-------------------------------------
"Do not fear an army of lions led by a sheep, instead fear an army of sheep led by a lion."

😀 😎 AZCOM c/o 2017 😎 😀

Wolverines83 · Oct 10, 2012

CDTcorp said:
I am pretty sure if you can't get a grad plus loan because of credit issues then your probably not going to be able to get an armed forces scholarship because they also require a credit check.

-------------------------------------
"Do not fear an army of lions led by a sheep, instead fear an army of sheep led by a lion."

😀 😎 AZCOM c/o 2017 😎 😀

The denial can be for a $50 trash bill to a local town. It's all about what's on the report. My credit report is damn near perfect and they held me up for the $50 because it was to a government.

For the record, I spoke with them on the phone and the guy specifically said "hey, we understand, but we can't loan to you if you have outstanding debt to a government, even if it's just $50. Pay it off and send us a letter and we'll get this fixed."

USArmyHPSP · Oct 10, 2012

CDTcorp said:
I am pretty sure if you can't get a grad plus loan because of credit issues then your probably not going to be able to get an armed forces scholarship because they also require a credit check.

-------------------------------------
"Do not fear an army of lions led by a sheep, instead fear an army of sheep led by a lion."

😀 😎 AZCOM c/o 2017 😎 😀

For the Armed Forces you need to qualify for a Secret Security Clearance. One of the identifiers they look at as a security risk is bad debt. That said, in many cases, as long as the debtor is making a good faith effort to dispose the debt, a clearance can be obtained.

thepoopologist · Oct 10, 2012

I actually wish I'd applied for a military scholarship. I realize it gets a bit sketchy after graduation but I never wanted anything competitive in the first place, so the thought of 3 years of GMO doing physicals WITHOUT DEBT would've appealed to me. The people I know who have the scholarships have been getting tuition covered plus $2,000 a month since 2009, when I matriculated. That is ridiculous money considering the cost of a DO education.

Wolverines83 · Oct 10, 2012

thepoopologist said:
I actually wish I'd applied for a military scholarship. I realize it gets a bit sketchy after graduation but I never wanted anything competitive in the first place, so the thought of 3 years of GMO doing physicals WITHOUT DEBT would've appealed to me. The people I know who have the scholarships have been getting tuition covered plus $2,000 a month since 2009, when I matriculated. That is ridiculous money considering the cost of a DO education.

Yeah, not to rub it in but if you're not interested in high paying specialties...the military route is awesome. But if you're interested in those big bucks, not so much.

thepoopologist · Oct 10, 2012

Wolverines83 said:
Yeah, not to rub it in but if you're not interested in high paying specialties...the military route is awesome. But if you're interested in those big bucks, not so much.

Thanks for rubbing it in you bastard

Wolverines83 · Oct 10, 2012

thepoopologist said:
Thanks for rubbing it in you bastard

haha my bad. I did a few years in the Army. The only reason I stayed sane was blowing **** up. Since you don't get to do that as a physician in the military, I'd say you're not missing too much.

The main reason I got out was because I felt intellectually stunted from my time in the military. Yeah that sounds horrible but it's true. The military can make you feel like you're in an intellectual straight jacket sometimes because they despise the idea of thinking outside the box.

Feel better?

yesno · Oct 13, 2012

I also feel I missed out by not applying for military. A lot of classmates are doing it. I don't think GMO would've been bad. Especially if I got to travel to some cool places, read books, learn to scuba,etc. And I wouldn't be so poor right now. Also if you're not applying for competitive specialties it is very possible that you wouldn't have to do a GMO. I don't think it's hard to match IM in the military.

Grad Plus Loans a must?

drold2013

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Slane

L|E|C|O|M-Erie LDP

Wolverines83

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dntke1518

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CDTcorp

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Wolverines83

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USArmyHPSP

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thepoopologist

Ph.D in Clinical Meconium

Wolverines83

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thepoopologist

Ph.D in Clinical Meconium

Wolverines83

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yesno

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