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Does anyone know what happens if you have some personal debt, and the COA won't cover your bills? Do you have to defer and is that even a possibility?
Does anyone know what happens if you have some personal debt, and the COA won't cover your bills? Do you have to defer and is that even a possibility?
Not above the COA, you don't.You just need to take out additional loans. You have available to you the GradPLUS and Perkins loans in addition to the Sub and Unsub Stafford...
Not above the COA, you don't.
First off, I have no idea how they do things in college these days, as it's been (ugh) over 12 years since I finished my master's and had to take out financial aid of any sort. When I did my post-bac, I paid cash, so I didn't interact with the finaid office of my local University.Actually, most financial aid offices at medical schools will gladly allow you to have loans above the COA. They understand that you have other finances, and will increase your loan total above the COA to the max for things such as cars, emergencies, house payments, etc.
This may not be what you are used to in college, but medical school fin aid offices are much more flexible...
Thank you for the responses. Does anyone know of what private lenders will allow you to borrow over the COA?
T.H.E.
northstar.org
Well, this is getting back to a previous point, but T.H.E. doesn't allow you to borrow beyond the COA. Your school will need to increase your COA before T.H.E. will give you any additional loans. Changing the COA versus borrowing beyond the COA are very different things.
I just have to add that I'm in the same situation and it seems rediculous to have to scrap by when studying for boards.
To those of you that go to medical school with helpful FA offices, you should be thankful. My FA counselors have no advice for those struggling with personal debt and the school will not approve of student loans on top of COA.
Also how are students getting personal loans? For the ones I checked out, part of the eligibility requires a income.
I am pleased to report that my school increased my COA so that I can pay my bills. I brought in a copy of my mortgage, electric, phone, fuel oil, and telephone bills and stated my case. She crunched some numbers and came up with the same figure that I requested so I should be good to go. So relieved. 🙂
Wow, you are definitely lucky. My school won't raise the COA for anything. They basically say, "Well that sucks. Have a nice day." Won't even raise for car payments. Hell, they don't even raise the COA for the rise in gas prices.
Plus, our COA is based off of double occupancy ONLY.
Well, technically, when Loyola told me they'd certify car payments, they said they definitely would not raise the COA. I'm really confused about what exactly a certified expense is vs. part of your COA, but maybe someone else can weigh in here on that. How does it differ from the Grad plus loans that cover COA?
Sorry, I was referring to Waywoe, whose school increased the COA for him/her.
Well, technically, when Loyola told me they'd certify car payments, they said they definitely would not raise the COA. I'm really confused about what exactly a certified expense is vs. part of your COA, but maybe someone else can weigh in here on that. How does it differ from the Grad plus loans that cover COA?
I'm really confused about this, too, so if you figure it out, let us know. 🙂 I do know that certain loans (GradPlus and various other private educational loans) specifically state that they only cover the difference between the COA and your other financial aid, and other loans are totally outside of the FA office. So I guess there's an intermediate type of loan that covers reasonable expenses beyond the COA. Now I'm wondering if all medical students can get these loans or if certain schools work out deals with lenders.
AMDFAO, any thoughts?
The home equity line could be drawn as needed, and the rate is Prime less 1/2 of 1%. The Prime Rate is currently 5.25%. There is the risk of the Prime rate rising in addition to the risk of adding debt to your home. There is the possibility of locking in rates on the Home Equity Line as you draw portions, but there is a significant premium to do this. A co-signer on the home equity line may be needed; a cosigner would need to provide a personal financial statement and two years' tax returns.
Then again, would I get a better rate if I refinanced right now before I took on all of the sub/unsub/plus loans? Hmmmm.
I know my loans don't show up on my credit report until they're disbursed. I don't know if that's how they always work, though. 😕
Home equity: I'm not seeing the benefit to be honest. The rate on fed loans is higher in comparison BUT they come with a multitude of benefits like deferment, forbearance, forgiveness, income contingent repayment. Last time I checked no home equity will offer any of that and the only way you earn the salary of a Doc (or Dentist) is when you finish. I would disuade any of my kids from even thinking of it (well, they could think but would defininitely conclude it's not a good idea). Same with a refi and cash out on the house. Not such a good idea.
Co-signers. Yup, don't like those either even if your rate is reduced a bit. Use them only as a last resort when your back is against the wall. I'm not sure having a co-signer question your financial decisions for the next 5 years would be worth it. Imagine your co-signer sitting at their kitchen table complaining how you went on holiday to the Bahamas instead of paying the loan they co-signed on. Do you really want that in your life? Borrowing is not always about interest and rates.
Bank of America announced that they're dropping out of the private loan business. I know they used to be a lender used for above COA loans.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24187310/
Hey all, I wandered over here from the clinical psych forum. I'll be starting a phd program in the fall and I've never had to deal with financial aid before so I've got a question. My school's COA is around 17k. I've got a full tuition waver (tuition about 10k) and a 5k stipend. Does that mean I would only be able to get 2000 in loans?
Thanks for the help!
Private educational loan:
Now, from my investigations so far, for a private educational loan (this info is pursuant to a call to Chase), everything will depend on your credit rating. The interest rate could be anywhere from 6.12-12.6% and there may be origination fees of 0-4% as well. All payments may be deferred while in school. You do not need anyone to cosign unless you have bad credit.
Some private educational lenders I've seen bandied about are:
Chase
Edamerica
My Rich Uncle
Wells Fargo
One thing to consider is which private lender you can use that also does fed/plus loans, so that you can use just one lender for everything. I'm not sure about the others, but I know that Chase and Edamerica let you do everything through them.
When will this happen?
My rich uncle, PNC, Wells Fargo and Sun Trust are the ones that I've found so far that are still offering them. 👍
Can you provide a link to the PNC uncertified loan? Can't see on their website where it says they actually send the check to you. Thanks!