DO for Canadians: 2011-2012

[thegame11]

Congrats to all who will be starting in August

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[newno55]

I've got a question for "DO for Canadians" group about financing medical school.

I'm in the unique position of (probably) being able to apply for a FAFSA unsubsidized loan to finance MSUCOM or being from Canada, taking out a bank loan. From what I've read and from the brief conversations I've had with Canadian banks... the interest rates Canadian banks give is much more competitive vs what FAFSA is offering.

Any opinions? With these unsubsidized loans now for medical students, I don't really see any benefit in them (vs a traditional bank loan). Seems to be like wherever you can get the cheapest interest rate, is the place you should use. Am I totally missing something here??

OSAP here in ontario for example, sometimes automatically considers students for their loan forgiveness programs and more than 1/2 of the people I know who borrowed money from the Gov't did NOT have to pay the full amount back. In some cases it was as much as 1/2 off! Do the US gov't loans offer any sort of forgiveness? (I'm not looking to spend time in the military or move to a small rural US town after school etc.).

Anyways, thoughts if you were able to choose either a FAFSA loan or a CDN bank loan at probably 1/2 the interest rate?

 

[Ravizzle]

Not 100% sure but i believe most Canadian banks do not do loans, they do student line of credits, and expect you to pay interest payments while in school. This may be different for your specific bank, but I'm pretty sure that's how RBC and CIBC work.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 via tapatalk

 

[limoncello]

Ravizzle is correct. Canadian banks will give you LOC which you will have to start paying as soon as you take any sum of money out. For the best plans (interest set at prime), you will only need monthly payments for the interest. But that means you will have to pay while in med school, thus relying on some savings or family contribution. Keeping in mind that towards the end of third year monthly payments can reach about $500-700/month (even more if you'll be going to MSU). So that's quite a lot considering you won't be making any income at that point.....OSAP will only provide you with up to about $10000 year so despite helpful that isn't going to cover much (and most people report getting only about 8000/year from OSAP for schools outside of Canada). If you think you'll be able to make monthly payments, then you're better off going with a Canadian LOC because the interest rate is set at a much lower rate than the one FAFSA offers (or if you are eligible for both, maybe you can try combination of the two). However, the good thing about FAFSA loans (from my understanding) is that you only have to start paying once you're done school. Plus, most Canadian LOC are capped at 225,000, sometimes you can get 250,000. But that might not be enough for MSUCOM

 

[newno55]

Yes, of course I forgot to mention using OSAP as a resource. I've called them myself and yes we should only expect to get 8000-9000 in support per year. (i wonder if they might forgive some of that ... ha ha).

Anyways, as far as paying your loan (student line of credit) back from day ONE, yeah... i know this is how the banks like to do things, and realize it will get costly towards the end. But since the FAFSA loans for medical school are now only "unsubsidized", my understanding is that you are paying interest from day one anyways! (I think they either make you pay interest from day one, or they make your interest payments for you with your own loan!! Brutal!) I don't believe any payment is deferred with the FAFSA route, and with their higher interest rates... I'm struggling to see why being eligible for FAFSA is a benefit for my situation.

Basically, I was wondering if FAFSA was like OSAP... but FAFSA just seems like a high interest bank to me... (I have good credit, and have a co-signer so that is not an issue in my situation). Guess I'll go spend some more time on FAFSA's site...

 

[tomsuntom]

Does anyone know if Canadian banks give LOCs to students who study in the US without a co-signer? I really don't want to drag my parents into signing something that will impact their credit drastically.

I have tried TD already and they have declined my application, saying I need a co-signer.

 

[Ravizzle]

Does anyone know if Canadian banks give LOCs to students who study in the US without a co-signer? I really don't want to drag my parents into signing something that will impact their credit drastically.

I have tried TD already and they have declined my application, saying I need a co-signer.

If you are like me and have no credit, then yeah you will probably need a Co signer. Just try anyways though.

My parents don't have the greatest credit, so I'm having my sister who is US citizen cosign me on US loans.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 via tapatalk

 

[drgioiadds]

Does anyone know if Canadian banks give LOCs to students who study in the US without a co-signer? I really don't want to drag my parents into signing something that will impact their credit drastically.

I have tried TD already and they have declined my application, saying I need a co-signer.

You will need a consignor simply because the school is not in Canada. Your cosigner should have good credit or you will also be declined. I actually had a higher income than my cosigner!

 

[thegame11]

For next year, did you guys purchase a health insurance plan from US or Canadian company?

 

[zigmaz]

thegame11 --> Some of us bought Manulife private insurance before we went to the US. Some, if not all, of MSU matriculants chose the insurance from school.

For any Canadians applying this cycle, please join us at our facebook page DO for Canadians:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/266083746765623/

 

[just in you]

Hey everyone,

I am very interested in applying for DO schools; but my GPA is pretty low, and wanted to ask what are some things I can do to improve my application.
cGPA and sGPA are both at 3.2.

Writing a good MCAT will definitely help, but what score must I achieve to almost "ensure" acceptance to one of the DO schools?

I have average extracurriculars, ~2.5 years in ER volunteer, some leadership (hosting charity events), 16 months co-op, currently working in pharmaceutical distribution.

I am planning on taking the MCAT next year march/april.

Thanks a lot for the help guys!

 

[docmayer]

Hey everyone,

I am very interested in applying for DO schools; but my GPA is pretty low, and wanted to ask what are some things I can do to improve my application.
cGPA and sGPA are both at 3.2.

Writing a good MCAT will definitely help, but what score must I achieve to almost "ensure" acceptance to one of the DO schools?

I have average extracurriculars, ~2.5 years in ER volunteer, some leadership (hosting charity events), 16 months co-op, currently working in pharmaceutical distribution.

I am planning on taking the MCAT next year march/april.

Thanks a lot for the help guys!

Hey man, I would shoot for as high as possible obviously, but with your stats I would go for nothing less than a 29. Good luck.

 

[just in you]

with a 29, is it feasible that I get accepted into any of the D.O schools?

 

[docmayer]

with a 29, is it feasible that I get accepted into any of the D.O schools?

Can't say man there is a lot to look at other than GPA/MCAT...interviews, ECs, LORs, secondaries...everything is taken into consideration.

 

[se20001984]

id think so

however, make sureeee
the schools know you are retaking your classes...

which can help u push ur gpa from a 3.2 to a 3.5 (notify them)

add a 29 mcat (with good bio)

ull get interviews for sure

at this stage ur gpa is low

mcat is good

overall your canadian.....which puts u at a disadvantage

 

[just in you]

id think so

however, make sureeee
the schools know you are retaking your classes...

which can help u push ur gpa from a 3.2 to a 3.5 (notify them)

add a 29 mcat (with good bio)

ull get interviews for sure

at this stage ur gpa is low

mcat is good

overall your canadian.....which puts u at a disadvantage

Thanks for the reply guys!
What do you mean by notify them that I am retaking classes? I am currently not retaking any classes (working fulltime). Do you mean just say that without actually taking courses?

 

[se20001984]

god no...ur asking for trouble then man!!

ur gpa is low..esp bc ur canadian...
ur mcat is ok

DO schools have a retake policy...

the new grade replaces the old

if u have (what i had)
C's in 1st year...retake those for A...ur gpa jumps up alote

ull have a 3.5 with retaking like 3-4 classes!!if u notify them they will tkae that into consideration


also apply EARLY!!

 

[just in you]

Hmm... I didn't write my MCAT yet but I'm aiming for 32+ so that I can increase my chances.
I didn't have any C's in my 1st year, but a few C's in 2nd year; but my university doesn't allow retakes unless you failed the course. Am I allowed to retake equivalent courses at different college to replace those grades?

EDIT: Just calculated that if I retake 2x 2nd year chem courses which I got Cs in, I can boost both GPAs to 3.33

 

[advair250]

@Just in you, what school do you go to if you dont mind me asking?

 

[just in you]

I went to UBC.

Also, question:

What does the applicant score mean? (the one with GPAx10 + MCAT/2)
Do schools actually use this formula to determine candidacy?

 

[bpatient]

It's the average score for an applicant or matriculant, so if you have a score close to it you have a fairly good chance considering all the other stuff is good, but since we are Canadian, we should have a bit higher than than average score.