Finacial Aid

[DrNo2000]

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I am a prospective dental student and the reason I am bringing this up here in the DDS/DMD forums is because someone actually might have experienced the same thing.

During my undergrad years I have borrowed a considerable amount of money (~$23,000). I have heared many rumors that the amount of debt a student has can have a significant affect on his/her eligibility to recieve loans and financial aid for dental school. Is that true? Most of my debt is from student loans. I don't have that much credit card debt and my credit is ookay. (it's not great and it's not horrible either). Is there anyone out there who is experiencing a similar situation, or has experienced it already? I would really appreciate your opinions.

Thanks.

 

[aphistis]

Originally posted by DrNo2000
I am a prospective dental student and the reason I am bringing this up here in the DDS/DMD forums is because someone actually might have experienced the same thing.

During my undergrad years I have borrowed a considerable amount of money (~$23,000). I have heared many rumors that the amount of debt a student has can have a significant affect on his/her eligibility to recieve loans and financial aid for dental school. Is that true? Most of my debt is from student loans. I don't have that much credit card debt and my credit is ookay. (it's not great and it's not horrible either). Is there anyone out there who is experiencing a similar situation, or has experienced it already? I would really appreciate your opinions.

Thanks.

I've never heard anything like that, and I find it pretty suspicious. I have ~$15,000 in undergrad debt, and I'm sitting on ~$40,000 for this current school year. Unless you have drug convictions or loan defaults on your record, you shouldn't encounter much trouble from that angle.

 

[ShawnOne]

I am copy/pasting from my response in the predent forum...



I wont effect your ability to get loans, however it will effect the TOTAL AMOUNT of government loans you can get.

Basically, there is something called Stafford Aggregate. It says that the Federal Government will allow you a maximum of $189,125 outstanding in the Federal Stafford Loan program.

So if you have already taken $23,000 in your undergrad, you can only take another $166k in dental school. So basically, you will have to take out more private loans to cover your cost if you exceed the max.

 

[sxr71]

You will have no problems at all. People come in with much more than that in school loans. As for getting private loans, you will get them, but since you mention that your credit is so-so, you might have to pay a higher rate.

Two questions will help us understand your situation a little better.

1. How much is the school you plan on attending - in other words will it cost more than the $38,500 - $47,500 that Uncle Sam will give you no matter how bad your credit is?

2. When you say your credit is so-so, do you know your FICO score and have you checked your credit report for mistakes? If you have 700+ you are golden. If you have 600+ you are still in great shape.


Recent blunders hurt a lot more than blunders removed by a year or more. One other thing: credit card companies usually do not report late payments upto 2-3 months, they usually work with you before they report you to a bureau. Banks on the other hand have a tendency to report payments that are beyond 30 days late religiously. As long as you've been a good customer with an overall good relationship with the credit card company you should have a pristine credit report.

If you haven't already you should look for awswers to these questions.

From what I believe you have to be really messed up to not get enough funds to cover a profession education.

 

[sxr71]

You will have no problems at all. People come in with much more than that in school loans. As for getting private loans, you will get them, but since you mention that your credit is so-so, you might have to pay a higher rate.

Two questions will help us understand your situation a little better.

1. How much is the school you plan on attending - in other words will it cost more than the $38,500 - $47,500 that Uncle Sam will give you no matter how bad your credit is?

2. When you say your credit is so-so, do you know your FICO score and have you checked your credit report for mistakes? If you have 700+ you are golden. If you have 600+ you are still in great shape.


Recent blunders hurt a lot more than blunders removed by a year or more. One other thing: credit card companies usually do not report late payments upto 2-3 months, they usually work with you before they report you to a bureau. Banks on the other hand have a tendency to report payments that are beyond 30 days late religiously. As long as you've been a good customer with an overall good relationship with the credit card company you should have a pristine credit report.

If you haven't already you should look for awswers to these questions.

From what I believe you have to be really messed up to not get enough funds to cover a profession education.

 

[DrNo2000]

Yes. Most of the schools I am looking at are private and cost around 60,000 to 70,000 a year. I don't know what my credit score is yet. I am gonna request a copy of my credit report tomorrow.

But, thank you alot for the information. It sure filled a lot of gaps.

 

[sxr71]

If you are comfortable with it just go online to Equifax or Experian or Transunion. All three have websites and will provide your report instantly for about $10. These are the three major credit bureaus in the US, they say it is best to check all three for accurate information.