Interest Free Loans???

[dpg2374]

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Hello fellow SDNers...

I am an American citizen who will be matriculating into Ross Medical school this January. I have no problem getting financial aid from the government, but there is an issue that prevents me from taking the full amount. Interest based loans are strictly prohibited in my religion, Islam, and I am looking for other ways to finance my education. It seems there are not many options for me as all the banks, etc that I have looked into offer only interest based loans, and my savings aren't much. The federal government is giving me $5,000 per semester in Stafford Subsidized loans (in which the government pays for the interest until 6 months after I graduate from med school) which is a far cry from the $15,000+ I'm looking to pay/semester. Any ideas? Any and all help is appeciated!

 

[mshheaddoc]

Wait so you can take out a loan that will charge you interest after you graduate school but not during school? That makes absolutely no sense because you are taking a loan that you will have to pay interest on in the future ...

I have never heard of an interest free loan as it defeats the purpose of a "loan". I wish you luck but unfortunately you have limited options as I have never heard of a loan without interest for educational purposes.

You might have to either bend your religion or possibly forgo going to school unless you have a private lender (such as a relative) willing to make an arrangement with you.

 

[rgerwin]

I'm not sure how anyone without a trust fund could ever expect to go to medical school without loans. As the above poster said, interest is the definition of a loan, and they are right. It makes no sense that you can take a loan that eventually has interest. Especially go offshore where there are very few grants, what did you think was going to happen?

 

[curious1]

Hello fellow SDNers...

I am an American citizen who will be matriculating into Ross Medical school this January. I have no problem getting financial aid from the government, but there is an issue that prevents me from taking the full amount. Interest based loans are strictly prohibited in my religion, Islam, and I am looking for other ways to finance my education. It seems there are not many options for me as all the banks, etc that I have looked into offer only interest based loans, and my savings aren't much. The federal government is giving me $5,000 per semester in Stafford Subsidized loans (in which the government pays for the interest until 6 months after I graduate from med school) which is a far cry from the $15,000+ I'm looking to pay/semester. Any ideas? Any and all help is appeciated!

have you checked with an islamic bank to see what they offer? i know they have offerings that are compliant with the religion. overall, though, you're going to have a hard time avoiding paying interest on loans in life (mortgage, etc). this may be one area where i would bend what your religion says a little bit. school loans and mortgage okay, credit cards and any other loans bad.

when islam made the prohibition against earning or paying interest, i doubt there was any inflation in the money supply. meaning if you loaned someone 100 bucks and they paid you back a year later, you were even. unfortunately there is now inflation of 4% or 5% a year. meaning if you loan someone 100 bucks and they paid you back a year later, you really only were paid back 95 or 96 bucks. this fundamentally changes the whole system.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Hello fellow SDNers...

I am an American citizen who will be matriculating into Ross Medical school this January. I have no problem getting financial aid from the government, but there is an issue that prevents me from taking the full amount. Interest based loans are strictly prohibited in my religion, Islam, and I am looking for other ways to finance my education. It seems there are not many options for me as all the banks, etc that I have looked into offer only interest based loans, and my savings aren't much. The federal government is giving me $5,000 per semester in Stafford Subsidized loans (in which the government pays for the interest until 6 months after I graduate from med school) which is a far cry from the $15,000+ I'm looking to pay/semester. Any ideas? Any and all help is appeciated!

welcome to the real world, where your outdated religious beliefs have little bearing given actual situations. Interest free loan? Free money? Do you expect to pay off that Stafford loan as soon as you graudate and it starts to accrue interest?

I suggest that if you want to adhere to your beliefs then you should work and save until you can afford to pay for this. That would be in the spirit of the reason behind your belief.