GL advisor (loan repayment)

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Bobbity said:
This company is horrible! Let me explain. Many of my fellow med students, including me, signed up for their services. They did the loan stuff mediocre at best. They are difficult to get a hold of and really don't know you from a hole in the ground. Well, tax season rolled around and they offered their services for the tax return. They absolutely butchered my tax return along with my fellow interns (I filed they day they were due, and it is full of mistakes). They still haven't corrected it and the tax people are impossible to get a hold of. Find another company. These guys use a lot of fancy loan language to lure you in then your just one of the masses.
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No one cares more about your money than you do. It is quite simple to apply for IBR yourself. Heck, you can consolidate everything into one loan and then just do one application each year.
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Just wanted to clarify after you do the special consolidation, you can't defer those consolidated loans in the future?? I thought the deferement and forebarance terms from the old loans carry over to the special consolidation. Just want to make sure I am not missing anything.

Thanks

Dumb said:
Haha...don't worry about being in over your head. OK. You can't do that with a consolidated loan, which is why you shouldn't consolidate. The 0.25% reduction is not worth it. Not only because you can't defer part of the loans, but more importantly because you can no longer individualize payments. So if you have 6.8% and 1.7% loans, you cannot pay off the higher itnerest loans individually if you consolidate. This has a much bigger impact than the puny 0.25% reduction.
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Just started using their services a few months ago and so far they have been great. All my consolidation and repayment forms were pre-filled, so I just had to sign basically and the they are consolidating my loans in a certain way to reduce interest overtime. I have been pretty happy with their services so far. Intern year is busy as it is, so I think the annual fee is worth it to have someone look over your consolidations, verify the paperwork, etc...I would recommend them.
 
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I've been with GL advisor for over a year now and wanted to post a review:

Overall I have been VERY pleased with my experience at GL advisor. While several people are saying just "figure it out yourself", I have a high expectation that these people either have small loans with (potentially) big incomes, or, are just making horrible financial decisions. I have about $300,000 in debt that's currently increasing by $2,000 each month with interest, AND, I chose subspecialty / academic pediatrics, which is kind of the rock bottom of the payscale (yes, even less than general pediatrics). That said, this makes me the perfect candidate for IBR / public service loan forgiveness, and I'm grateful to have had GL advisor's help on this.

The way I look at it, is GL advisor at minimum is an insurance program that keeps me from screwing myself over on my loans. If I screw up my PSLF stuff, I'm out hundreds of thousands of dollars. $450 a year in comparison is a small amount to keep me on the right track. As a resident, you don't have time to sit and read up every night on all the new legislation and loan programs being rolled out. GL advisor does, because it's their job. And on that topic, fyi, if your doing PSLF I hope you know that there is a new PSLF employer certification form that is important to fill out, as it actually changes who your loan servicer is (http://www.myfedloan.org/pslf). Again, while I did a lot of my homework up front, in the middle of residency, there is no way I would have picked up that tidbit on my own. (Thank you GL advisor).

The other side of the coin, is that I'm positive I have already saved far more in loan repayments than I have payed them. When I crunched the numbers (and I did engineering as an undergraduate, so yes I know how to do math), I figured I would roughly end up with monthly payments of a few hundred. When GL advisor did it though, I'm know sitting pretty with $0 payments through my first two years of repayment. (FYI, don't expect that though if you don't have kids).

Granted, there are a few drawbacks:

1. I think a lot of your experience depends on which specific "advisor" you're paired with. Mine happens to be awesome, and for how many questions I send her way she's probably thinking "$450 a year aint enough".

2. Yup, they were VERY slow with taxes this year, although mine still got done in time and they got me a very good refund. Last year was better, and they've sent out a bunch of emails apologizing and soliciting feedback as they overhaul their system for next year.

3. Just know this: applying for consolidation, IBR, etc; should be simple, but don't discount the governments ability to mess things up. No kidding, I had to sort and re-sort out my loans multiple times over to get all of the right loans consolidated. At first, I wasn't sure if GL advisor was the cause of these problems or not, but after talking to others who had the same problems and were not using GL advisor, I have come to the conclusion that GL advisor was definitely not the cause, and, were actually a huge help in sorting out the mess. No kidding, one time while on conference phone call with a government loan officer, my advisor basically had to tell the loan officer how to do her job (in a nice way) because clearly she had no clue.

4. Yes, all of your interaction will be by email and phone calls, but this is actually preferable for me. (As a resident, it's not like I would have time to drop into their office anyways).

So in sum, I'm super happy with GL advisor. Wouldn't hesitate to sign up for them again.
 
My quick review after 1 year with GL Advisor:

Graduated med school in 2011 with three different lenders due to the financial debacle of the last decade. I spent an entire day trying to figure out how to consolidate loans and had no idea what I was doing. Decided to go with GLA late fall of 2011, and wish I had signed up earlier. They were able to manage my consolidations as my loans jumped from company to company. When I would get the usual emails from the new lender about extraordinary amounts being due my advisor would get on the phone and get everything straightened out. My advisor has always been easy to get in touch with; on their website you can schedule phone call times. They're based in Mass but my advisor mostly has west-coast clients so even though I'm in CA the timing is not an issue. As a bonus, if you're married your spouse can become a client at no extra fee. My wife will finish a Master's program this year and should pretty seamlessly transition into consolidated IBR with GLA's help.

As posters above have said, this year was a tax debacle. In short, they're trying to get you the combo of highest refund, lowest payment. Since I'm married, they suggested filing separately, but my tax preparer totally blew it in regards to California tax law. Long story short, even though all our tax info was submitted in early February we are STILL waiting for my wife's CA refund. They've been very apologetic and promise 2013 will be better, and I'm pretty sure they fired some of their CPAs. The most recent ones I've worked with have been great and have been working hard to get all of our issues straightened out.

So overall, it hasn't been a perfect experience but there is a lot of peace of mind knowing someone much more in touch with financial aid law and procedures is handling this so I can lead the fun life of a resident.
 
I had a VERY BAD experience and would stay away from GL advisor . Tried to consolidate my loans a couple of months ago. I have a lot of loans and I'm pretty busy with residency so I though it would make my life easier. But they serious messed up. It went smoothly at first and all my paper work seemed to be filled out and all I needed to do was sign and return the forms. But they let some of my loans go into default and my loans were put into collections. Couldn't get in touch with anyone but eventually got everything sorted out. So I thought, everyone makes mistakes and I already paid for it so I gave them another shot. Got another call from a collections company a month later and some of my loans were put into collections a second time. Got a call from my undergrad as well. GL advisor had sent a form in with just my name and nothing else filled out. So I was pissed and tried for a couple of days to get in touch with my advior but couldn't. Ended up emailing the CEO of the company to get out of my contract.

I ended up doing it myself. Wasted a bunch of time with them and it caused alot of stress. To top it off now my credit score is a mess because of GL advisor and I can't get any loans. Yay thanks GL Advisor.
 
ERres said:
I had a VERY BAD experience and would stay away from GL advisor . Tried to consolidate my loans a couple of months ago. I have a lot of loans and I'm pretty busy with residency so I though it would make my life easier. But they serious messed up. It went smoothly at first and all my paper work seemed to be filled out and all I needed to do was sign and return the forms. But they let some of my loans go into default and my loans were put into collections. Couldn't get in touch with anyone but eventually got everything sorted out. So I thought, everyone makes mistakes and I already paid for it so I gave them another shot. Got another call from a collections company a month later and some of my loans were put into collections a second time. Got a call from my undergrad as well. GL advisor had sent a form in with just my name and nothing else filled out. So I was pissed and tried for a couple of days to get in touch with my advior but couldn't. Ended up emailing the CEO of the company to get out of my contract.

I ended up doing it myself. Wasted a bunch of time with them and it caused alot of stress. To top it off now my credit score is a mess because of GL advisor and I can't get any loans. Yay thanks GL Advisor.
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Sorry to hear your bad experience. The most concerning thing is your credit was negatively affected, something that will last for a long time.

Their services are not worth it. The required paperwork is not difficult to do on your own. Do it yourself, educate yourself about your own debt, and put yourself in control with a plan to pay it off. Don't let some company that is trying to make a quick buck on the financially uneducated and overworked residents. There are real consequences if they screw up for you; i.e. your credit. That $400 fee is not worth the inability to get a good rate on a mortgage/car loan or not getting approved at all.
 
I specifically made an account on this forum just to tell you to

STAY AWAY FROM GRADUATE LOAN ADVISORS (GLAdvisors)!!!!!

Sure, they did the restructuring of my loans...and in the process I was on the phone with my loan companies just as much as I would have been without GLAdvisors as the middle man because GLAdvisors MESSED ALL MY LOANS UP!!! I had one that "slipped through the cracks" as well, which caused a nice little scare of showing up as a delinquency on my credit report. Basically I paid $450 to have a middle man who didn't really do all that much to consolidate my loans.

But $450 pays for the whole year, right? Sure does, but they stopped answering my emails soon after my loans were consolidated. On to the next sucker I guess!! No time for me! I didn't bombard my advisor with emails...just once a month on average, maybe less, but month after month still no reply. Until one day, I got my bill for the next year!!! I emailed them back simply asking what I was paying for since they didn't answer any of my questions. Still no response. A month later, sent the same inquisitive email, as follows:

Subject: Displeased Customer

I understand you must have been restructuring your company based on your update email from Fortier, but I must say, I have been very displeased and will not be continuing my account with you. I sent multiple emails over the last MONTHS and have received no response to date. Unbelievable that I was paying for such poor service. I no longer will be recommending you to my fellow residents.

To which I received this reply:

To discontinue service, please contact [email protected].

GL Advisor

No apology for the bad service. No desire to rectify the situation. Just a slap in the face response from some company who took my money but did not provide service.

PLEASE take my advice and STAY AWAY from GLAdvisors!!
 
Though I am not surprised that theres a thread devoted to GL Advisor here as they present at a lot of med schools, Im a bit baffled by the strong reactions to their service. I signed up earlier this year and for the $500 I paid, now $400, it's been very helpful. First, I'm in IBR with a very low payment…awesome! Second, they were very helpful with my questions and are there to help with issues with my lenders. I'll be interested to see how the investing side of things go, but not quite ready for that. Anyway wanted to share my perspective...
 
my husband signed up with them and it was a mistake. you can figure out how to do this stuff on your own. plus they did our taxes for us (took forever) and we got back nothing compared to others in our class. also, my husband still receives mail asking for payment and he spends >30min each time with GL advisor to sort it out. a bunch of inefficient idiots that don't know what they are doing
 
Horrible experience with GL. I quit using them after 2 years when they still couldn't consolidate my or my wife's loans. They charged me a second year then switched to a one time only schedule. They royally screwed my taxes and everyone else's, so much so they stopped doing taxes. I went to h&r block, went from owing like 15k to a 7k rebate for the amendment we filed. Then they switched to having no more single advisor, but a group, so no accountability or anyone manning the phones, so I had to call the new client line every damn time to get through. After all was said and done, they tried hitting me up for wealth management services.

Avoid them like the plague. I went with them out of laziness, thinking I was too busy during residency. Ended up costing me more time to fix it and do it myself. I will say this though, it got me very interested in finance and learning more about taxes, debt, and investing. As a poster said above, no one cares about your money as much as you.
 
StevenRF said:
Horrible experience with GL. I quit using them after 2 years when they still couldn't consolidate my or my wife's loans. They charged me a second year then switched to a one time only schedule. They royally screwed my taxes and everyone else's, so much so they stopped doing taxes. I went to h&r block, went from owing like 15k to a 7k rebate for the amendment we filed. Then they switched to having no more single advisor, but a group, so no accountability or anyone manning the phones, so I had to call the new client line every damn time to get through. After all was said and done, they tried hitting me up for wealth management services.

Avoid them like the plague. I went with them out of laziness, thinking I was too busy during residency. Ended up costing me more time to fix it and do it myself. I will say this though, it got me very interested in finance and learning more about taxes, debt, and investing. As a poster said above, no one cares about your money as much as you.
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I'm glad to see people realize that taking care of your own finances is the way to go. Consolidation is not complicated and costs $0. Doing taxes for single or even married person earning <100k per year combined is $0 too (just download free version of turbo tax). Don't let GL Advisor screw up your credit by getting things wrong. They are just money hungry and want to capitalize on unsuspecting med students/residents that are shy about finances.
 
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So, I was one of the people who put in a glowing review of GL advisor review prior. I think that now needs to be updated. Since I wrote my review they have now restructured their services in a way I'm not too wild about. Instead of assigning you a personal advisor, you just talk to whoever is available at any time for any issues you have. Unfortunately, this means that you better hope whatever issue you have can be solved in one call / email, otherwise your problem gets passed around from person to person. It's a really ineffective way to do things, and quite frankly, my prior advisor was really good. The people I talk to now? Not so much. All together, I still don't regret signing up for GL. However, with how they're structured now, I'm not sure I can so enthusiastically recommend them either.

I still believe in the concept that physicians should have some form of financial advisor. I was hoping that GL was going to carve out that perfect niche for residents / fellows, but, I'm not sure they're it at this point. Maybe I'll update again in a few years as to how their company is moving along.
 
If you can do simple math, complete a single piece of paper (after the upfront stuff), and copy your tax return each year, you're wasting a ton of money.
Over 10 years (@ $45/mo), you pay them ~4500. That could have nearly doubled if invested or put toward loans. ($8,000 at 6%)

You have several months notice when the loan servicer requires information. You've met deadlines your entire career. You made it this far so you're not an idiot. Don't be taken advantage of. Physicians are highly targeted due to abundant financial illiteracy. This stuff is not complicated. Take charge of your basic finances and set a healthy precedent for yourself.
 
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I totally agree with the sentiment that this is not money well spent. If you are smart enough to be a doctor, you are smart enough to fill out a little bit of paperwork and get your loans in order by yourself.
 
My wife and I have a mortgage, loan money, investments, and children. I use itemized deductions. Chances are that my tax situation is much more complex than yours. I use TurboTax and spend about $50...I know that the information is correct and it takes me less than a day to complete.

When GLA or some other tax service screws up...guess who's going to be responsible? Yep...you are. Doing your taxes yourself makes you aware of what deductions are out there...and that will make or break you in the future when the standard deduction amounts to crap.
 
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I have been reading posts on Student Doctor forever but have never commented. I have to say I signed up with GL advisor when I started residency. My last year of medical school was a very crazy affair and we finished our classes in June leaving me one week between medical school and residency....Needless to say I just wanted all my financial stuff figured out. I heard great things about GL advisor. I went with them. I actually had excellent service with them the first few years, had the same advisor and they did my taxes, etc. They were exceptional and very helpful then. I saved money with their help (sure I could have figured it out but was too burnt out to try).

I noticed GL services were declining exponentially the last few years, I stopped telling people about them. I was going to stop using them altogether. I didn't cancel yet because they gave me three years free stating they overcharged me due them no longer automatically doing tax returns. So I have had them about 5 years but paid for two years. Whatever the case may be I was getting ready to stop working with them completely. It sounds like I was lucky in that I had a more consistent advisor the last year as opposed to the year before when they kept changing or basically didn't have an advisor.

What I am worried about is that I took a loan with them to help me continue to pay my IBR payments (which jumped from like 50/month to 460/month). By taking the loan I could continue to pay for this, some major medical bills, credit card debt and actually save money by not being in deferment. The loan came at a time that I really needed it and got me on my feet again. However, I have no clue how this works now.....I suspect I owe someone this money...but who? Clearly, I will not reach anyone about this.

Also, I am not excited about all our personal information being with them.

Sigh.....
 
Brooklynne34 said:
I have been reading posts on Student Doctor forever but have never commented. I have to say I signed up with GL advisor when I started residency. My last year of medical school was a very crazy affair and we finished our classes in June leaving me one week between medical school and residency....Needless to say I just wanted all my financial stuff figured out. I heard great things about GL advisor. I went with them. I actually had excellent service with them the first few years, had the same advisor and they did my taxes, etc. They were exceptional and very helpful then. I saved money with their help (sure I could have figured it out but was too burnt out to try).

I noticed GL services were declining exponentially the last few years, I stopped telling people about them. I was going to stop using them altogether. I didn't cancel yet because they gave me three years free stating they overcharged me due them no longer automatically doing tax returns. So I have had them about 5 years but paid for two years. Whatever the case may be I was getting ready to stop working with them completely. It sounds like I was lucky in that I had a more consistent advisor the last year as opposed to the year before when they kept changing or basically didn't have an advisor.

What I am worried about is that I took a loan with them to help me continue to pay my IBR payments (which jumped from like 50/month to 460/month). By taking the loan I could continue to pay for this, some major medical bills, credit card debt and actually save money by not being in deferment. The loan came at a time that I really needed it and got me on my feet again. However, I have no clue how this works now.....I suspect I owe someone this money...but who? Clearly, I will not reach anyone about this.

Also, I am not excited about all our personal information being with them.

Sigh.....
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So they told me that the loans are being bought by another company...so I am in same boat, I need to make payments but no one to pay them! Arg!!!
 
Brooklynne34 said:
I have been reading posts on Student Doctor forever but have never commented. I have to say I signed up with GL advisor when I started residency. My last year of medical school was a very crazy affair and we finished our classes in June leaving me one week between medical school and residency....Needless to say I just wanted all my financial stuff figured out. I heard great things about GL advisor. I went with them. I actually had excellent service with them the first few years, had the same advisor and they did my taxes, etc. They were exceptional and very helpful then. I saved money with their help (sure I could have figured it out but was too burnt out to try).

I noticed GL services were declining exponentially the last few years, I stopped telling people about them. I was going to stop using them altogether. I didn't cancel yet because they gave me three years free stating they overcharged me due them no longer automatically doing tax returns. So I have had them about 5 years but paid for two years. Whatever the case may be I was getting ready to stop working with them completely. It sounds like I was lucky in that I had a more consistent advisor the last year as opposed to the year before when they kept changing or basically didn't have an advisor.

What I am worried about is that I took a loan with them to help me continue to pay my IBR payments (which jumped from like 50/month to 460/month). By taking the loan I could continue to pay for this, some major medical bills, credit card debt and actually save money by not being in deferment. The loan came at a time that I really needed it and got me on my feet again. However, I have no clue how this works now.....I suspect I owe someone this money...but who? Clearly, I will not reach anyone about this.

Also, I am not excited about all our personal information being with them.

Sigh.....
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That is a tough situation. I didnt know they were doing private loans. BTW what is upsetting for millions of us with student loans is that as borrowers we got the short end of the stick.
High fixed interest rates, no longer able to do deferment (puting you in position to take out a loan), lack of ability to discharge loans in bankruptcy (what are those ~1000 unmatched med students doing right now with their $200k balances), constant switching of loan servicers, now having to figure out how not to miss loan payments and that reflecting on credit history sice GL Advisers cant be reached.
I always urge to learn personal finance. Doctors get notoriously fooled by financial advisers and this is another example. Doing IBR is easy. just submit a form once a year. Doing individual taxes is easy particularly for single resident (download turbotax and keep a folder of tax documents).
 
Does anyone know if there will be any reimbursement or financial relief for those of us who have paid for GL Advisors services, but have been unable to use them due to the current situation? It would seem that legally speaking, we entered into an agreement which was not upheld by GL Advisors. However, it has been my experience that common sense and the law are infrequently paired when it comes to the financial world.

I can't find an answer anywhere and obviously can't get ahold of them directly, so I figure that no one else knows the answer to my question either, but does anyone know what the precedent is in these types of situations?
 
If a business has no more assets then no one gets anything. In this case i would guess all assets are frozen. If someone takes over the loan servicing maybe they take over the responsibility of refunding people (or maybe the money made by people buying those loans goes towards refunds) but i wouldn't hold your breath, the big creditors have more power in terms of suing for relief.
 
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