Financial Aid for Med Students, how does it work?

[AHappyCalBear]

Hey guys, I was wondering how financial aid works for people who get into medical school. I know the basics but not the ins-and-outs.

Questions... Let's assume that you want to get all/majority of your living and tuition paid for by loans.

Anyone have some useful links?

Can we consolidate student loans as often as we want or can you only do it once?

If a med school costs 36k in tuition, and lets assume you spend another 18k or so for board, room and life, how much money does the government provide? I heard its something like 39k total from the government and the rest you have to get in private loans from private lenders.

What does getting a loan from a private lender entail? Is your school's major lender always the best lender?

Thanks guys.

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[Its_MurDAH]

these are good questions...

i would love to hear the answers to some of these questions myself.

 

[Sondra]

I can answer one of the questions.

You can consolidate more than once. I just recently had my undergrad loans consolidated, and I asked about it. You can either consolidate all of your loans into one single loan after you finish med school, or you can consolidate your undergrad and then later consolidate you med school loans seperately (might be a good idea if interest rates are higher later on).

My boyfriend was trying to consolidate his graduate school loans, and since he went through a government program to consolidate, they wouldn't let him consolidate the one private loan he had. I don't know why they would not let him.

I found this website decently informative
http://www.aamc.org/students/financing/start.htm

 

[Arsenic]

you fill out the fafsa so that you can qualify for federal aid in the form of stafford loans. dont worry, everyone who is a US citizen or permanent resident qualifies for them, you just need to apply for approval via the fafsa.

at my school, in around may/june you'll get a letter from the financial aid office asking you how much you want to take out in loans. the annual limit for stafford loans is $38,500 ($8,500 subsidized and $30k unsubsidized). So for example, say that your tuition and fees would be about 29k. if you were to take out the $38,500 stafford limit, you would have $9,500 left over. The school would then split that into two payments of $4,750 that they would deposit into your bank account at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. that would be the money you would use to live on.

If you need more money than that you can take out private loans on top of the staffords, those are at an interest rate that is a couple of points higher and are unsubsized. So, in theory say that the cost of attendance is $52k a year. You could take 38,500 in staffords and then $13,500 in private loans on top of that if you needed more money. Most students dont take out the full loan limit though, it just depends on you and if you live with a roommate, go shopping every week, etc... at my school I think most people take out $38,500/yr. If you had a scholarship for 5k for example your tuition would only be around 24k/yr at my school, so if you took out the $38,500 stafford limit you would get back $7k/semester to live on. totally doable, especially with a roommate or if your parents are helping you out a little.

the financial aid office will provide you with all the paperwork you'll need for the stafford loans and private loans (AAMC medloans) if you need them.