Hi everyone,
I too can not wait to put some faces with all these names. I wanted to post an email I recieved from an MSI about loans. I know we're all looking into all our financial options, so I hope this helps. He also has a website if you would like to check it out:
[email protected]
He also included a page of FAQ's which i will post too!
I look forward to meeting everyone very soon.
Kelly
And now a word or two from Patrick:
Kelly,
I would recommend going with Midwestern's standard loans package. The school
uses Sallie Mae for all of their federal stafford loans. Sallie Mae is a
huge loan company and they have some neat programs in place. If you make
your first 24-48 payments on time they will refund to you all of your loan
distribution fees and lower your interest rate.
I did do some research way back prior to my first year here and did find
some programs that would waive all the loan fees up front but I made the
decision to keep all my loans with one company (Sallie Mae). You can access
your account info from the web and this year the whole loan application
process was on-line. Pretty quick and easy.
Beyond the Stafford loans which allow you to borrow $38,500 you can borrow
from the Health Signature Loan program which is also through Sallie Mae.
I have borrowed those loans as well and you can get them for the full cost
of attendance minus the stafford loans. Last year I think I borrowed $3,000
through that program. The interest rates on those are a little higher (I
think around 8.25?) but they are through Sallie Mae so when I am all done I
will hopefully have only 1 student loan check to write per month. Also, they
do have some neat programs like income-based payments, etc. I think that
should I need to defer any of my loans it will be easier to work with just 1
company as well. I don't want to be sending letters of hardship all over the
country to like 10 different loan companies!!
I think their website is salliemae.com if you want to check it out.
Well, glad that you have a fun summer planned. You will be glad you took the
time for yourself. Don't worry too much about financial aid. The people in
the AZCOM financial aid office are great and would be another excellent
resource to check into.
Keep me posted!! P.S....The weather is beautiful here! I am originally from
Minnesota/North Dakota so I know what you are going through with the winters
there. You will love it here.
Take care,
Patrick
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about AZCOM
Where should I live?
The answer here is pretty simple. If you are single you might want to think about the on-campus housing. It is fairly priced and you get to blend in and make friends with others on campus. I have not lived there personally but I don?t think it is too bad of a deal.
If you are living with a significant other I would recommend examining where he/she will be working and try to find a nice place somewhere central between school and their work. Phoenix is a big city and commuting is no fun. Living a few miles from campus isn?t the end of the world. Try
www.rent.net if you are looking for an apartment off-campus. I found that service very helpful. Any apartments north of Bell road are usually fairly good, especially the apartments located near Arrowhead Mall and the new Arrowhead Highlands apartments adjacent to our campus. I wouldn?t sign too long of a lease however because you may meet classmates who you may want to have as roommates starting summer after MS-I year, etc.
What are the faculty like?
In my opinion the faculty are excellent. They do their best to get the material across to you in a manner consistent with the rigors of medical school. The faculty and administration are extremely supportive of the students.
You will probably find that missing lectures is not a big deal because of the excellent notes that the faculty provide for us. The faculty understand the pressure we under and do not take offense to the occasional empty classroom because we are off studying for our next exams. Many medical schools do not provide notes of any kind and we are definitely lucky to have this free service.
What books do I need my first and second year?
The answer to this is simple: very few books are needed at AZCOM because of the notes that I mentioned above. I would look at the AZCOM students website for their book recommendations. I found them to be very helpful. If you do buy books I highly recommend buying books that you can use while preparing boards during your second year. Don?t buy War and Peace sized textbooks because you will NEVER have time to read them. I barely have time to read all the notes!! The AZCOM students website is
www.azcomstudents.org.
Will anything help me to prepare for coming to AZCOM?
Make sure you enjoy any time you have before you start medical school. If you have the ability try to plan a trip or vacation before you come to AZCOM. Medical school consumes much of your life once you start so don?t ruin your pre-medical school time by trying to read up on biochemistry. No matter how much you think you could get done during that summer before medical school, your medical school classes will blow right by where you were at within a couple of weeks. So don?t bother. If you have a family try to spend some quality time with them. You will be glad you did.
