Creighton University SOM - Class of 2010

[S@xplayer]

Every lender I have talked to so far has the 3 % origination fee for the grad PLUS loans.

I wouldn't be too worried about your credit history for just getting the loan, unless your credit is horrible. I would think if it is decent or higher, you should be fine. But, I could be wrong. I sure hope not!

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[Gandalf66502]

Lets see if we can make it to page 10 before school starts...where is everyone?....anyway...I just found out that most, if not all, preferred lenders from Creighton pick up the 3% origination fee. So in my case, Accessgroup pays the origination fee. I will keep you informed as to how the credit check goes...lol

J Patton

 

[S@xplayer]

That is so incredibly odd. I spoke with a rep from every Creighton preferred lender and each told me that they were not paying the 3 % origination fee for the grad PLUS loans.

I have found a lot of the lender reps to be very unorganized though, when it comes to information for both Stafford and gradPLUS for the future. Most start telling me incentives and info about the current loans and I have to let them know I am asking abuot info for loans after July 1st.

Pain in the butt.

EDIT - Access told me they didn't pay the 3 % origination fee for grad PLUS loans. I hope we can find out for sure what is happening so I can decide who to formally apply through for the loans.

 

[glenn503]

I thought your credit history doesn't come into play for the GradPLUS loan because it is a federal loan? Does a preferred lender have the option of denying distribution of federal loans if you have poor credit? I thought that our credit history only came into play for private loans. Hmmmmm.... Anyways, there is a current thread talking about the GradPLUS loan if anyone wants some more information on it. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=277570

J - who told you the lenders were going to be picking up the origination fee? I have heard the same things as Grant.

 

[glenn503]

Oops...just read the fine print in Financial Aid Guide. Shoot - lol - I hope my credit is good enough for the lenders!

 

[Gandalf66502]

Well I will check with the financial aid lady...cuz someone is confused...she said "Accessgroup will be picking up the 3% origination fee"...maybe its because I am getting my sub and unsub loans from them as well...who knows...I will keep you updated.

J Patton

PS...bad news on the credit front...I was denied the plus loan by myself...not a big deal as I have a lot of family that will cosign and I am really close credit wise to be approved, so I will work another year on improving my credit and I should be ok for the next few years...when the plus loan will make up the majority of my aid since I will have reached my lifetime limit on federal aid. Being 28 and having gone to school for 7 of the past ten years hasn't helped my credit history...lol.

 

[S@xplayer]

Yikes!

I don't mind having my Dad co-sign, but I don't know what they require for a credit history to get the plus loans. My credit is good to great, but I don't have any reputable equity, so it may be hard for them to just loan me to money. Who knows, I'll have to go through the application process to see.

Who are you talking to about Access group? Themselves or a Creighton fin aid rep?

 

[Gandalf66502]

You will be fine...you don't need equity or collateral for the PLUS loan...and no credit is better then bad credit for the PLUS loan as well. I will wait to read the report they send me to see what was wrong with my credit...I will keep you updated...

J Patton

 

[Gandalf66502]

Oh...and I was talking with Tanya at Creighton Financial aid...from what I was reading some lenders will either waive the fee or reimburse you for it later in the loan, so in the end you get the full loan amount. I plan on meeting with her next week and will let you all know what I find out.

J Patton

 

[godawgs39]

Did anyone complete the PLUS loan application through the Access group website? Before I e-signed my application, I accidentally pressed the back button on firefox, then when I attempted to e-sign it I was sent to a page that didn't exist. I'm just wondering if I messed up or if that page really doesn't exist. I called and they said to wait an hour or two until my name is officially in the system, then try again. I'll post if anything changes.

 

[Lloyd Christmas]

If you guys are still having questions about loans and which loans to get, I would really recommend calling Tanya Avant in the financial aid office. She is really good and helped me answer a lot of questions. Access Group always has nice people working in their customer service lines too. Don't get too stressed over the loan application process, I know it is tedious and can royally suck, but you will be managing loans for a long time!
Good luck all.

 

[glenn503]

I received word from the financial office today that lenders are not allowed to pick up the 3% origination fee for the PLUS loan as part of the Budget Deficit Act. They can, as Wachovia is already advertising, provide a 3% interest credit equal to the amount of the origination fee after full disbursement. As far as the 1% guarantor fee, Access Group, ASAP and Wells Fargo have already confirmed that they will be picking it up for 06-07 but unfortunately there is no promise for future years.

For me, the biggest headache in all of this is trying to compare the different incentive programs offered by the lenders. There are prinicipal reductions, rebates, interest rate reductions, interest rate rebates....blah, blah, blah. I am going to sit down this weekend and see if I can work through these variables. Has anybody crunched these numbers yet? Is there a clear winner amongst the lenders with the incentives currently posted? I calculated what my debt would be with accrued interest before graduation: over 300K with some undergraduate loans. Whoo hoo! With that in mind, choosing the right lender has become a rather significant decision since, over the span of 10+ years, thousands of dollars could be saved.

 

[S@xplayer]

In my opinion, the clear winner is whoever gives the best INTEREST reduction. I crunched numbers at 6.8 percent just on the 154,000 we would take from the gov't for Stafford loans. If, and only if, you pay back the entire amount in 5 years, then the principal reduction of 5% was even. If it was less than 5 % principal reduction, it was not as good as 1 percent interest.

If you take longer than 5 years to pay back, which I am planning on setting up a 30 year payment plan, and just making larger payments if need be, then you would save incrementally more with an INTEREST reduction versus a principal reduction. Way more.. if you take 30 years to pay off approximately 154,000 then you would save about 30,000 with interest reduction of 1.05%. Make it more loans and it will be even more savings because of the interest.

I say go with interest reduction versus principal.. my opinion. I'd like to know what everyone else is thinking, as I too am having a hard time choosing between all the minutia that is lender-land.

 

[apannier]

Hello, students and future colleagues. I don't know why it took me so long to find this thread or to make an account, but I am here now to join you. I was accepted to Creighton in November or December, can't really remember at this point, but I know it was one of my happiest days and I cannot wait to get out there and meet you all. I will be moving in at the end of July to get settled, then leaving for a week to have one final trip with a high school youth group. I hope we can all try to meet up and get acquainted before orientation as it would be great to get together on our own terms with no pressure. If anyone has any ideas, please post it up. I think a good barbecue and a night out is in store. Talk to you all soon and congratulations to all of you. -Aaron

 

[Gandalf66502]

Congratulatoins and Welcome!!! Better late then never...I think a get together would be a great idea...i will however be in Maine until August 7th so I will have to catch up with all of you either at orientation or the Tuesday before. If you have any questions about Omaha or Creighton let me know, and I will see you in August...

Jared M Patton

 

[Lab Rat]

I was accepted a while back and now it looks like Creighton is where I am headed. I live in Lincoln and will probably move to Omaha sometime in August. I got the impression during my visit that Creighton chooses their students wisely, so I look forward to meeting all of you.

You all have me kind of scared with all this financial aid talk. My federal package came with enough to cover everything (Stafford and GradPLUS), so I just accepted the full amount. Did I miss something? Was this a bad move?

 

[frankrizzo18]

When does Creighton tap into the waitlist?

Frank

 

[S@xplayer]

You all have me kind of scared with all this financial aid talk. My federal package came with enough to cover everything (Stafford and GradPLUS), so I just accepted the full amount. Did I miss something? Was this a bad move?

Nice to meet you Labrat and Aaron!

Rat, I would assume you are just fine doing what you did. I did the same (all I received was loans) and now we both have to choose our lenders for the loans. This is the harder part for me at the moment. I think I will end up going with Access Group, although it still shows that they are not paying the 3% origination fee on the PLUS loans.

Grant Bleeker

 

[Lab Rat]

I thought all the money I accepted was from the government, and didn't know I would have to pick a lender.

I guess I need to revisit the financial aid info.

Those of you who have chosen, who did you choose and why?

 

[S@xplayer]

I thought all the money I accepted was from the government, and didn't know I would have to pick a lender.

I guess I need to revisit the financial aid info.

Those of you who have chosen, who did you choose and why?

The stafford loans are from the gov't, but you still have to choose a lender because they offer different repayment benefits etc. The PLUS loan is guarenteed by the gov't but is also from private lendors and is a credit based loan.

Not many people here have posted or have chosen yet, but I think Gandalf is using Access group, and as of now, I think I will too. Salie Mae looked ok, but they are not on Creighton's preferred lender list, and I am not sure I like the incentives at repayment as much.

 

[godawgs39]

Glad to see that some more people are starting to pop up, welcome Lab Rat and Aaron! I too would be up for a pre-orientation get together. As of right now I'm planning on heading out there at the beginning of August. I think a week to get situated seems like a good plan. While I'm sitting at home being a bum this summer, I'll do my best to think of some ideas for a get together.

On the loan front, I too am going with all loans and decided to go with Access group. The application was really easy and when I called about a question, the customer service was really helpful. Does that help in picking one over another? Probably not, but I went with them because they were preferred and I'm glad that I'm done dealing with it for this year. Access group's incentives seem pretty standards, 1% interest rate reduction after first timely payment and an additional 0.25% of if you make auto payments from your bank account.

 

[S@xplayer]

Actually,

Access group's incentives are 0.8 % for the first on time payment (which is good -- it won't take 1 or 2 years for the reduced interest) plus an additional 0.25% for automatic withdrawal for a total of 1.05 % reduction on Stafford loans.

For the plus loans, it is 1% initially, then 0.25 for automatic withdrawal for a total of 1.25% reduction.

 

[godawgs39]

Sorry, I should have specified that I was referring to PLUS loans. I'm going Gov't for everything else, then using the PLUS to cover the rest, so I don't know anything about non-stafford/non-PLUS loans.

 

[S@xplayer]

Sorry, I should have specified that I was referring to PLUS loans. I'm going Gov't for everything else, then using the PLUS to cover the rest, so I don't know anything about non-stafford/non-PLUS loans.

Ditto for me. Stafford for the full amount and PLUS loans to cover the rest.

 

[S@xplayer]

To everyone else viewing the thread:

Is anyone going to be in Omaha during the summer at all? I will be there for most of June, and all of July until school starts in August. I'd like to meet some more of you guys.

A big thanks to Gandalf for meeting me this past weekend and helping me unload some furniture. The help was extremely appreciated

By the way, on a completely unrelated sidenote; competition for DSL services equals cheap DSL for the consumer! I pay over 45 a month for DSL itself right now (3mbps speed) and it looks like Qwest will give you 3 mbps speed for 21.99 / mo or 6 mbps speed for 26.99 / mo as a new customer. Great deal!

 

[Lab Rat]

I will come to town if everyone wants to get together for dinner/drinks. We (my wife and I) haven't really looked into housing yet, but I suppose we should start! We will probably be looking at an early August move date.

When is orientation anyway, and when does class start? Honestly, I haven't been paying much attention.

 

[S@xplayer]

I will come to town if everyone wants to get together for dinner/drinks. We (my wife and I) haven't really looked into housing yet, but I suppose we should start! We will probably be looking at an early August move date.

When is orientation anyway, and when does class start? Honestly, I haven't been paying much attention.

Well they haven't been super informative so far, but orientation starts the 9th and ends on the 11th with the white coat ceremony. The 11th is a Friday, I believe, which leads me to believe classes start Monday the 14th.

 

[glenn503]

Here is the calendar for next year: http://medicine.creighton.edu/sa/calendar_of_events.htm

Welcome all newcomers to the thread!

I have soldified my plans for a return trip to Omaha next month to do some apartment hunting - I will be arriving either 6/20 or 21 and staying until 6/24. It would be nice to meet up with anyone who is around that week and not too busy. Drop me a PM.

Have a nice holiday weekend!

 

[S@xplayer]

Here is the calendar for next year: http://medicine.creighton.edu/sa/calendar_of_events.htm

Welcome all newcomers to the thread!

I have soldified my plans for a return trip to Omaha next month to do some apartment hunting - I will be arriving either 6/20 or 21 and staying until 6/24. It would be nice to meet up with anyone who is around that week and not too busy. Drop me a PM.

Have a nice holiday weekend!

Thanks for that link. I should be in Omaha during those dates, so feel free to pm me or email me at grantbleeker&yahoo.com (replace the & with @ )

 

[SoCalSpecialK]

I'm heading out in June for a couple days to find a place and then moving out for good mid-July. I'm totally up for hanging out pre-orientation.

 

[Lab Rat]

So wait...

When you fill out the application through nelnet, it serves as an application to all of the prefered lenders? Then you choose which one you want?

 

[S@xplayer]

So wait...

When you fill out the application through nelnet, it serves as an application to all of the prefered lenders? Then you choose which one you want?

No. The nelnet thing you filled out (through Creighton) just acknowledges which amount of loan money you are choosing to accept from the government. You need to still choose a lender, fill out a MPN, and complete the application for both Stafford and PLUS (or private) loans. Then, I am in the grey a bit as to what exactly happens, but I believe in August, after you have applied and been ok'd for the money, they will forward the money to Creighton, who will apply it towards your tuition bill etc. The extra (read - grad plus loans) will then be given to you ASAP for living costs, and whatever else.

EDIT - hopefully someone who has already done this could help us understand everything better? I have had a hard time getting ahold of Tanya Avant myself to find out some of these things.

 

[Lab Rat]

I understand it a little better now that I have been staring at it for about 3 hours.

With the exception of Acess, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo, you use nelnet to apply for your loan once you have chosen a lender.

Now the fun part: deciding which lender to use.

Don't know how dispersement will work.

 

[Lab Rat]

K...I've spent way too many hours working on this, but it looks like Wachovia is the best deal if you plan to pay your loan back in less than 25 years. All of this is, of course, based on my limited memory of business finance.

If my calculations are correct, you could save as much as $50K by using Wachovia and paying back your loan in 5 years! (assuming that you make all of your payments on time)

PM me and I will email you my loan calculating spreadsheet if you want to check it out. It is based on my own financial aid offer, and I had to make a few *safe* assumptions, but it will give you a rough idea of how Creighton's prefered lenders compare.

 

[Lab Rat]

Yeah, I should know better than to try and do math at 2:30am. The lenders are more similar than what I thought last night (by about 10 fold).

 

[S@xplayer]

Yeah, I should know better than to try and do math at 2:30am. The lenders are more similar than what I thought last night (by about 10 fold).

After looking at some of my own number runs, if you can pay back your total loans in 5, maybe even 6 or 7 years, then it really doesn't matter who you choose for your lender.

But, if you plan on setting up a longer payment term (I do) like 20 or 30 years, and then just overpaying if you can, you will save a ton more by using an interest reduction lender like Access instead of Wachovia. I plan on extending my payment terms and overpaying; if I pay it off in 5 years, so be it. But, if it extends past 7 or so years, the interest reduction begins to vastly outweigh the Wachovia loan terms. My rough numbers were showing up to 40,000 or so in savings just on principal and no interest compounding (for 30 year term). Add in the compounded interest, and you will definitely have more savings than a principal reduction lender.

 

[Lloyd Christmas]

After looking at some of my own number runs, if you can pay back your total loans in 5, maybe even 6 or 7 years, then it really doesn't matter who you choose for your lender.

But, if you plan on setting up a longer payment term (I do) like 20 or 30 years, and then just overpaying if you can, you will save a ton more by using an interest reduction lender like Access instead of Wachovia. I plan on extending my payment terms and overpaying; if I pay it off in 5 years, so be it. But, if it extends past 7 or so years, the interest reduction begins to vastly outweigh the Wachovia loan terms. My rough numbers were showing up to 40,000 or so in savings just on principal and no interest compounding (for 30 year term). Add in the compounded interest, and you will definitely have more savings than a principal reduction lender.

Hello all. Just stopped by and wanted to add my experience with you guys since you are all talking about loans. There is really no way that you will be able to pay off your loans 6-7 years after graduating med school, unless you are independently wealthy or only have a very little amount in loans. Most people consolidate their loans after graduating (only the federal loans can be consolidated, the private ones cannot). And then when you graduate and go onto intership and residency you will not be making nearly enough money to make even the scheduled payments on your loans. Therefore, you will defer and later forbear your loan payments while in residency and fellowship. This is not to say that you cannot pay just a little bit of left over money to help pay down the interest, but it will be pretty much impossible to make actual payments or to pay your loans off early. Now while you are out in practice, it may be a different ball game depending on what specialty you go into, where you practice and how much you will make that may determine how fast you may be able to pay off your loans.
Also, as for the incentives (getting points off, etc) that have been thrown about above, looking at things like that at this time is a little premature in my opinion. It is something to consider when choosing a lender, but it should not be the only thing you look at - and I don't think that is the case with anybody here, just a warning. These things can and may help, but these incentives may/will change when you consolidate your loans. Also, in speaking with some of the people in Fin Aid, there are very few people (I think she said like <25%) that actually get to have those incentives because there are so many fine print rules. For example, some will not give the incentives if you forbear your loans and I am sure that there are many more rules that I don't even know about yet.
Sorry for the long rant, but I just went through the consolidation and deferment process for my first year of residency and the headaches do certainly continue.
Let me know if you all have any more questions. Good luck at Creighton, you will all love it. And remember BALANCE (you will understand that in August).

 

[Lab Rat]

After looking at some of my own number runs, if you can pay back your total loans in 5, maybe even 6 or 7 years, then it really doesn't matter who you choose for your lender.

But, if you plan on setting up a longer payment term (I do) like 20 or 30 years, and then just overpaying if you can, you will save a ton more by using an interest reduction lender like Access instead of Wachovia. I plan on extending my payment terms and overpaying; if I pay it off in 5 years, so be it. But, if it extends past 7 or so years, the interest reduction begins to vastly outweigh the Wachovia loan terms. My rough numbers were showing up to 40,000 or so in savings just on principal and no interest compounding (for 30 year term). Add in the compounded interest, and you will definitely have more savings than a principal reduction lender.

I agree. For long term repayment, the lenders that offer the point reductions are the better choice. If you can meet the qualifications for earning the reductions, I have Wells Fargo coming out ahead of Access, though.

It is probably worth a call to make sure the incentives will still be available if you decide to defer for residency/fellowship.

Are my numbers *close* to yours?

Also, as for the incentives (getting points off, etc) that have been thrown about above, looking at things like that at this time is a little premature in my opinion. It is something to consider when choosing a lender, but it should not be the only thing you look at...

What criteria would you use then? On the surface most of the others apear to be the same. The rate is fixed by the government. Of course if you borrow the money from Creighton Credit Union, your interest probably helps support the school in some way, but other than that I see no real difference when the incentives are ignored.

 

[Lloyd Christmas]

What criteria would you use then? On the surface most of the others apear to be the same. The rate is fixed by the government. Of course if you borrow the money from Creighton Credit Union, your interest probably helps support the school in some way, but other than that I see no real difference when the incentives are ignored.

One thing, you will defer your loans during residency unless you don't have any or are otherwise wealthy.
As for deciding loans, at least when I was going through it, there were some that origination fees and some that added fees on at repayment depending on your credit situation. If I remember right there were some that had 3% origination fees. Maybe it was just this way with the private loans only and not with the Stafford, but I would look into that, as well as if there are charges upon repayment. But you are right, in terms of Stafford loans, the rates are determined by the government and it really does not matter whom you chose as a lender. The incentives do help, but as I said, they will change with consolidation and most people do not qualify in some way for them.
Also, I went to school at a good time in terms of interest rates, the lowest of all time, or something. Rates are currently starting to increase, but how much nobody really knows. So it may not be in your best interest to consolidate in four years and lock in that high rate, however it made sense for me to consolidate now (and actually back in last July when I was finshing up my 3rd year) and lock in my low interest rate.
In terms of private or alternative loans, the rates are determined by the lending company (some number plus prime rate) and these can also have origination fees and added costs at repayment - if you find a company that you like for these loans, then that may be the way to go for your Stafford loans as well (assuming you need the private/alternative loans).
Most people in my class used Wells Fargo, Access Group, and Nelnet and they all really seem to be very similar, did not seem like anybody had any complaints.
So I guess there is really no good perfect way to chose, other than the incentives, the origination fees, and the possible inclusion of increase in rate at the time of payoff with credit ratings.
Call Tanya in the Fin Aid office if there is other stuff that seems confusing, I really hate this process, but it is a necessary evil.

 

[Lab Rat]

One thing, you will defer your loans during residency unless you don't have any or are otherwise wealthy.
As for deciding loans, at least when I was going through it, there were some that origination fees and some that added fees on at repayment depending on your credit situation. If I remember right there were some that had 3% origination fees. Maybe it was just this way with the private loans only and not with the Stafford, but I would look into that, as well as if there are charges upon repayment. But you are right, in terms of Stafford loans, the rates are determined by the government and it really does not matter whom you chose as a lender. The incentives do help, but as I said, they will change with consolidation and most people do not qualify in some way for them.
Also, I went to school at a good time in terms of interest rates, the lowest of all time, or something. Rates are currently starting to increase, but how much nobody really knows. So it may not be in your best interest to consolidate in four years and lock in that high rate, however it made sense for me to consolidate now (and actually back in last July when I was finshing up my 3rd year) and lock in my low interest rate.
In terms of private or alternative loans, the rates are determined by the lending company (some number plus prime rate) and these can also have origination fees and added costs at repayment - if you find a company that you like for these loans, then that may be the way to go for your Stafford loans as well (assuming you need the private/alternative loans).
Most people in my class used Wells Fargo, Access Group, and Nelnet and they all really seem to be very similar, did not seem like anybody had any complaints.
So I guess there is really no good perfect way to chose, other than the incentives, the origination fees, and the possible inclusion of increase in rate at the time of payoff with credit ratings.
Call Tanya in the Fin Aid office if there is other stuff that seems confusing, I really hate this process, but it is a necessary evil.

Yeah, and when you consider that the rates on the alternate loans are now capped by the government through the GradPLUS program, the incentives and origination fees are the only thing to really consider.

Thanks for your advice. It helps to talk to someone who has been through it.

 

[S@xplayer]

Thanks so much for the insight! I'm just feeling right now that I want to have my loans set in stone to arrive in August. Either way I go, I will owe a ton of money in the end.

 

[DRLaura]

Hi everyone,
I recently received a call from Creighton telling me that I had been accepted. Now I am trying to make the decision between Creighton and my state school (University of Nebraska). I am strongly leaning towards Creighton but have not made the actual official decision. I thought that maybe you all would have some insight that would help to finalize my decision. Once I figure out where I am going then perhaps I will join you all in the finacial aid discussion cause that whole business is really confusing.

 

[glenn503]

A couple of things:

After much tireless, borderline OCD work calculating which preferred lender would save me the most money over 10, 15 and 20 years, there is a clear winner: Wells Fargo (for all three repayment periods). I am happy to email my spreadsheets to anyone who is still debating over which lender to use or wants to double check their numbers. There is one twist though: Wells Fargo does NOT offer a forgiveness program, which is sort of a like a "Get Out of Jail Free" card where your incentives are reinstated after a certain period of consecutive payments if your account ever becomes delinquent (Access has a program like this). I am having a hard time gauging the significance of this clause. Some of my friends at other schools have heard their financial departments say that only 5-10% of borrowers will actually reap the benefits of these incentives over the life of the loan. Is this due to delinquency or consolidation? Who knows, but I want to believe that I will be a model loan payer, and it is hard for me to justify going with another lender that (in theory) will cost me an extra $30K over the life of loan. PM me with your email address and I will send the spreadsheets to you.

On another note (and one that I sort of embarrassed to bring up), I am heading back to Omaha on 6/20 and staying until 6/24 to do some apartment hunting. Apparently there is this lil', often over-looked sporting event taking place in Omaha that week called the "Men's Baseball College World Series." I don't know if you have heard of it but it seems to be of some importance within the college sports world (side note: the college world series would never come to Portland, Oregon, let alone the NW in general, which is my excuse not remembering the dang thing). Anyways, as one might expect, all of the hotels in town are either sold out or inflated in price. I usually don't do this sort of thing, but desperate times require desperate measures, so I am soliciting for a good samaritan or kind soul to possibly take me (humble, nice, and best of all, broke ) into their home for a few nights. All I need is a 6 x 2 corner in a room where I can place my bag and curl up in the fetal position to dream about apartment leases and options (and maybe a little baseball). I am willing to provide some type of compensation: $, food, drinks, maybe even a little tap dancing, or shadow puppets - whatever floats your boat. I know, I know, you don't know me and I don't know you, but remember that this is only temporary come August (haha - that was a good one, huh?) Ok, I am done pitching here (note that pun is not funny). If anyone wants the spreadsheets or is willing to take me in, you can PM me or send an email to [email protected]. Thanks all.

 

[godawgs39]

Hi everyone,
I recently received a call from Creighton telling me that I had been accepted. Now I am trying to make the decision between Creighton and my state school (University of Nebraska). I am strongly leaning towards Creighton but have not made the actual official decision. I thought that maybe you all would have some insight that would help to finalize my decision. Once I figure out where I am going then perhaps I will join you all in the finacial aid discussion cause that whole business is really confusing.

Congrats Dr. Laura!!!

If I were you I would definitely just go to Creighton, but I suppose I'm slightly biased. I can tell you that one thing that really attracted me to Creighton was the feeling I felt when I was there interacting with students, faculty and administrators. It just felt like home and it felt comfortable. I think part of that was knowing that it's a Jesuit university. I went to a Jesuit school for undergad (Marquette) and despite not being catholic, I loved the mission of the school and the overall feel of the Jesuit schools. There's just something about the school and the campus that I really enjoy. Classes are tough but rewarding, teachers are usually right in line with the mission of the school and truly value the commitment of the school to better the community, and a lot of the students really buy into the ideals of the university. The day I visited Marquette as a senior in high school was the day I knew that I was going to go there -- it just felt right. In much the same way, my visit to Creighton left me with the feeling that I could see myself fitting in very well and being very happy at the school. Hopefully you had a similar feeling.

Other than the overall feeling of the school, I really enjoyed the fact that each person that I had a chance to speak to in my interview group was very similar in key areas. It was a fairly diverse group, but personality wise everyone seemed very laid back, easy going, genuinely nice, down to earth, and excited about the thought of going to Creighton. After talking to my student host, he said that he gets along with a good portion of his class and that people are very, very willing to help eachother out with studying, notes, etc. That was key for me, as the last thing I want to deal with during my first two years is the group of super competitive, cut throat gunners that we often read about on SDN. I think I remember hearing that M2s would give up time to help the M1s by holding mock practicals in anatomy, and there seems to be a pretty good system of matching up M1s with M2s to help ease the transistion into school.

Overall, I felt very, very comfortable with the school, I loved the city of Omaha, and I was encouraged by the fact that my fellow interviewees as well as my host and the other med students that I met all seemed to be great people. A very large percentage of the med students volunteer in some form during med school, which is right in line with most Jesuit schools. I know that I want to be at a school with classmates that genuinely enjoy giving up some free time to help those that are less fortunate. Also, coming from Marquette, I'm a huge college basketball fan, so the fact that Creighton has a good team and that current med students go to games was a big plus. Also, I think it's pretty sweet that Creighton is pod-casting lectures now, not a big deal, but it certainly will make studying easier. I also don't think that there are many schools that have a chaplain on site that opens up her office for students to nap on the couch, or one that makes coffee for students in the morning. Like I said, I'm not catholic, nor am I very religious, but my experience at a Jesuit school has proven that it doesn't matter. Administrators, faculty, and chaplains are readily available and actually enjoy helping students.

I didn't apply to UN, so I really can't say anything about that school. I just know that despite the extra debt, I'm glad that I went to Marquette versus a cheaper public school, and I am very comfortable going to Creighton over a cheaper in state school. I have a few friends that like to sit down and make pro-con charts, so maybe something like that would help you decide. If money isn't the determining factor, or if you're like myself and love the thought of being $2 billion in debt by the time your done, go to the school that you think you'll be happiest. I would say that irregardless of your financial situation, but I don't know your background and I know that it's a huge factor for some, especially those with families or non-trads. Good luck with trying to make this decision, be glad that you are able to make this tough decision, and make sure you let us know what you decide! Post here or PM me if you have any questions at all and congrats again on your acceptances!

Rick

 

[Maria52]

A couple of things:

After much tireless, borderline OCD work calculating which preferred lender would save me the most money over 10, 15 and 20 years, there is a clear winner: Wells Fargo (for all three repayment periods). I am happy to email my spreadsheets to anyone who is still debating over which lender to use or wants to double check their numbers. There is one twist though: Wells Fargo does NOT offer a forgiveness program, which is sort of a like a "Get Out of Jail Free" card where your incentives are reinstated after a certain period of consecutive payments if your account ever becomes delinquent (Access has a program like this). I am having a hard time gauging the significance of this clause. Some of my friends at other schools have heard their financial departments say that only 5-10% of borrowers will actually reap the benefits of these incentives over the life of the loan. Is this due to delinquency or consolidation? Who knows, but I want to believe that I will be a model loan payer, and it is hard for me to justify going with another lender that (in theory) will cost me an extra $30K over the life of loan. PM me with your email address and I will send the spreadsheets to you.

On another note (and one that I sort of embarrassed to bring up), I am heading back to Omaha on 6/20 and staying until 6/24 to do some apartment hunting. Apparently there is this lil', often over-looked sporting event taking place in Omaha that week called the "Men's Baseball College World Series." I don't know if you have heard of it but it seems to be of some importance within the college sports world (side note: the college world series would never come to Portland, Oregon, let alone the NW in general, which is my excuse not remembering the dang thing). Anyways, as one might expect, all of the hotels in town are either sold out or inflated in price. I usually don't do this sort of thing, but desperate times require desperate measures, so I am soliciting for a good samaritan or kind soul to possibly take me (humble, nice, and best of all, broke ) into their home for a few nights. All I need is a 6 x 2 corner in a room where I can place my bag and curl up in the fetal position to dream about apartment leases and options (and maybe a little baseball). I am willing to provide some type of compensation: $, food, drinks, maybe even a little tap dancing, or shadow puppets - whatever floats your boat. I know, I know, you don't know me and I don't know you, but remember that this is only temporary come August (haha - that was a good one, huh?) Ok, I am done pitching here (note that pun is not funny). If anyone wants the spreadsheets or is willing to take me in, you can PM me or send an email to [email protected]. Thanks all.

Glenn,

I went through a long process yesterday trying to decide loan options. About three hours and a few phone calls later, I think Wells Fargo looks best too. Fortunately, I had an excel spreadsheet open all morning in work, so everyone thought I was "working hard."

Wanted to say hi to everyone else; hope you're enjoying your summers and are getting excited to start school in a couple of months.

 

[ZAZA67401]

Glenn,

I went through a long process yesterday trying to decide loan options. About three hours and a few phone calls later, I think Wells Fargo looks best too. Fortunately, I had an excel spreadsheet open all morning in work, so everyone thought I was "working hard."

Wanted to say hi to everyone else; hope you're enjoying your summers and are getting excited to start school in a couple of months.

I know its not a school recommended or perfered lender, but has anyone checked out THE loans through www.northstar.org? It seems like on the financial forum on SDN that these are the best deal? But I dont know enough about finances to tell you for sure

 

[bkrick]

Has anyone signed a lease on a one-bedroom apartment yet? I'm going to be in Omaha next week to sign a lease somewhere. I've been to Omaha before on an apartment hunt (a little premature) and have a few places in mind, but I was wondering where my classmates were planning on living.
~Rick

 

[godawgs39]

I think I'll be living with family at least for the first semester, but I thought I should post and compliment you on your awesome name. Good luck with the apartment hunt.

Rick

 

[Lab Rat]

Congrats Dr. Laura!!!

If I were you I would definitely just go to Creighton, but I suppose I'm slightly biased. I can tell you that one thing that really attracted me to Creighton was the feeling I felt when I was there interacting with students, faculty and administrators. It just felt like home and it felt comfortable. I think part of that was knowing that it's a Jesuit university. I went to a Jesuit school for undergad (Marquette) and despite not being catholic, I loved the mission of the school and the overall feel of the Jesuit schools. There's just something about the school and the campus that I really enjoy. Classes are tough but rewarding, teachers are usually right in line with the mission of the school and truly value the commitment of the school to better the community, and a lot of the students really buy into the ideals of the university. The day I visited Marquette as a senior in high school was the day I knew that I was going to go there -- it just felt right. In much the same way, my visit to Creighton left me with the feeling that I could see myself fitting in very well and being very happy at the school. Hopefully you had a similar feeling.

Other than the overall feeling of the school, I really enjoyed the fact that each person that I had a chance to speak to in my interview group was very similar in key areas. It was a fairly diverse group, but personality wise everyone seemed very laid back, easy going, genuinely nice, down to earth, and excited about the thought of going to Creighton. After talking to my student host, he said that he gets along with a good portion of his class and that people are very, very willing to help eachother out with studying, notes, etc. That was key for me, as the last thing I want to deal with during my first two years is the group of super competitive, cut throat gunners that we often read about on SDN. I think I remember hearing that M2s would give up time to help the M1s by holding mock practicals in anatomy, and there seems to be a pretty good system of matching up M1s with M2s to help ease the transistion into school.

Overall, I felt very, very comfortable with the school, I loved the city of Omaha, and I was encouraged by the fact that my fellow interviewees as well as my host and the other med students that I met all seemed to be great people. A very large percentage of the med students volunteer in some form during med school, which is right in line with most Jesuit schools. I know that I want to be at a school with classmates that genuinely enjoy giving up some free time to help those that are less fortunate. Also, coming from Marquette, I'm a huge college basketball fan, so the fact that Creighton has a good team and that current med students go to games was a big plus. Also, I think it's pretty sweet that Creighton is pod-casting lectures now, not a big deal, but it certainly will make studying easier. I also don't think that there are many schools that have a chaplain on site that opens up her office for students to nap on the couch, or one that makes coffee for students in the morning. Like I said, I'm not catholic, nor am I very religious, but my experience at a Jesuit school has proven that it doesn't matter. Administrators, faculty, and chaplains are readily available and actually enjoy helping students.

I didn't apply to UN, so I really can't say anything about that school. I just know that despite the extra debt, I'm glad that I went to Marquette versus a cheaper public school, and I am very comfortable going to Creighton over a cheaper in state school. I have a few friends that like to sit down and make pro-con charts, so maybe something like that would help you decide. If money isn't the determining factor, or if you're like myself and love the thought of being $2 billion in debt by the time your done, go to the school that you think you'll be happiest. I would say that irregardless of your financial situation, but I don't know your background and I know that it's a huge factor for some, especially those with families or non-trads. Good luck with trying to make this decision, be glad that you are able to make this tough decision, and make sure you let us know what you decide! Post here or PM me if you have any questions at all and congrats again on your acceptances!

Rick

^x2

Creighton has the better atmosphere.

 

[DRLaura]

I chose Creighton. I can't wait to start. Now I get to go through all the wonderful finacial aid info you all are doing. Could one of you email me your spreadsheet so that I could see which lender would be best. Also (I'm sorry if this question has already been answered) but wouldn't it be better to go with an alternative loan for any remaining funds needed rather than a Grad PLUS loan. The grad plus loan has origination fees and most alternative loans do not. And since my first year alone I will have to take 43000+ in other loans I don't really want origination fees.