Just got admitted yesterday, was considering deferment for ~10 hours, and decided against

[shortstack97]

Hi y'all, any advice would be amazing.
I was admitted into medical school yesterday, March 18th, and am considering asking for deferment for several reasons ultimately consequence of the pandemic.

• The deposit. I have 12 days, including today, to come up with a $2,000 deposit and then another 14 to come up with another $1,000 deposit. I only make $1,600/ month after taxes and physically can't come up with either amount in this timeline. My divorced parents are upper middle class and my dad specifically is usually our emergency money guy because he's a high paid, hourly wage specialty care nurse and in normal circumstance can make $1,000 in an extra day of work. As everything is shutting down, my dad is no longer working in a week or two. And my mom has a salary position so after bills and taxes there is only a couple hundred left. I don't even have enough room on my credit card to just charge the amount to my credit card.
• Getting a loan. The tuition and fees is ~$58,000 and estimated cost of living for the area (rent & utilities is ~$9,500 so the bare minimum cost of attendance is ~$67,500, no including gas, emergency money, etc. With the crash in the stock market are banks even able to give out loans of this amount?
• Getting a new car. My car is a 13+ year old family hand me down that constantly has the check engine light on even though the mechanic always says she's fine and does not do well in inclement weather or hills. I would be moving to a very mountainous, extremely rural area is a notoriously racist state (I'm black btw) and I can't get stranded in this state. So I need a new car, but if my family and I have no money for a deposit we definitely don't have money for getting a new to me car.

I am extremely open to any advice or feedback, please and thank you.

Edit: I also only interviewed for this school on March 5th, got on the waitlist for this school on March 13th, and I honestly did not think I would get in this year with how late it all happened.
2nd edit: I'm not considering deferment anymore. I was really stressed and anxious with no idea how to make this work. My mom was the first in her family to go to college in an extremely large family. My dad only did something with his life because my mom pushed him into a solid career. This whole medical school journey so far has been my mom and I guessing, checking, and asking for advice on what to do; even with my undergrad admissions process. Thank you so much everyone for your advice, I feel much better about this and I am scraping my deposit together now.

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[Goro]

First off, congrats on the acceptance!

But weren't you aware of the fact that all DO schools have massive deposits?

The loans are backed by gov't, as I understand it. You should be talking to your school's financial aid office.

You can ask for a deferment...the worst thing the school will do is say "no".

 

[Ho0v-man]

Hi y'all, any advice would be amazing.
I was admitted into medical school yesterday, March 18th, and am considering asking for deferment for several reasons ultimately consequence of the pandemic.

• The deposit. I have 12 days, including today, to come up with a $2,000 deposit and then another 14 to come up with another $1,000 deposit. I only make $1,600/ month after taxes and physically can't come up with either amount in this timeline. My divorced parents are upper middle class and my dad specifically is usually our emergency money guy because he's a high paid, hourly wage specialty care nurse and in normal circumstance can make $1,000 in an extra day of work. As everything is shutting down, my dad is no longer working in a week or two. And my mom has a salary position so after bills and taxes there is only a couple hundred left. I don't even have enough room on my credit card to just charge the amount to my credit card.
• Getting a loan. The tuition and fees is ~$58,000 and estimated cost of living for the area (rent & utilities is ~$9,500 so the bare minimum cost of attendance is ~$67,500, no including gas, emergency money, etc. With the crash in the stock market are banks even able to give out loans of this amount?
• Getting a new car. My car is a 13+ year old family hand me down that constantly has the check engine light on even though the mechanic always says she's fine and does not do well in inclement weather or hills. I would be moving to a very mountainous, extremely rural area is a notoriously racist state (I'm black btw) and I can't get stranded in this state. So I need a new car, but if my family and I have no money for a deposit we definitely don't have money for getting a new to me car.

I am extremely open to any advice or feedback, please and thank you.

The age old advice is that a one year deferment is throwing away AT LEAST $250,000. Not to mention that tuition will only increase during your year off.

If you get a roommate or heck, just a small place, the COA loans are typically way more than you need. I supported a family with a stay at home spouse on just the standard loans. It certainly seems crazy at first though bc you basically have to move potentially 1,000+ miles, pay a security deposit, and first and last months rent up front and wait until school starts before you get any loan disbursement. But those of us without wealthy families just put it on a credit card and pay it off after the disbursement. It’s been a few years but I think I remember putting like $7,000 on my credit card for all of this with cost of moving and everything. I basically made minimum payments on it during first semester and then toward the end of second semester when I knew how my budget would balance out to go home for summer I paid it off.

As far as your car, I would just drive it until it dies. Special loans exist specifically for med students to get a car/car repair. I get it. My cars are older than yours. It’s seriously fine.

As far as loan attainability; your med school won’t help you with much, but I promise they will bend over backwards to get your sweet sweet tuition money.

Edit: sorry. Didn’t pay off the credit card until third semester.

 

[Whysoez]

Apply for that apple credit card, fanciest credit card I have ever owed.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Hi y'all, any advice would be amazing.
I was admitted into medical school yesterday, March 18th, and am considering asking for deferment for several reasons ultimately consequence of the pandemic.

• The deposit. I have 12 days, including today, to come up with a $2,000 deposit and then another 14 to come up with another $1,000 deposit. I only make $1,600/ month after taxes and physically can't come up with either amount in this timeline. My divorced parents are upper middle class and my dad specifically is usually our emergency money guy because he's a high paid, hourly wage specialty care nurse and in normal circumstance can make $1,000 in an extra day of work. As everything is shutting down, my dad is no longer working in a week or two. And my mom has a salary position so after bills and taxes there is only a couple hundred left. I don't even have enough room on my credit card to just charge the amount to my credit card.
• Getting a loan. The tuition and fees is ~$58,000 and estimated cost of living for the area (rent & utilities is ~$9,500 so the bare minimum cost of attendance is ~$67,500, no including gas, emergency money, etc. With the crash in the stock market are banks even able to give out loans of this amount?
• Getting a new car. My car is a 13+ year old family hand me down that constantly has the check engine light on even though the mechanic always says she's fine and does not do well in inclement weather or hills. I would be moving to a very mountainous, extremely rural area is a notoriously racist state (I'm black btw) and I can't get stranded in this state. So I need a new car, but if my family and I have no money for a deposit we definitely don't have money for getting a new to me car.

I am extremely open to any advice or feedback, please and thank you.

Agree with what others have said. Not worth a deferment. Apply for a credit card (something that gives you a bonus if you spend x amount of dollars in the first 3 months or something like that would be a plus). Put everything on it for now and worry about paying it later. The loans come from the government, not the bank, so I don't anticipate any problems there. Also, I don't think your school would give you a deferment for this...there are other students that could easily fill your spot and not have a problem paying the deposit, as bad as that sounds.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

Hi y'all, any advice would be amazing.
I was admitted into medical school yesterday, March 18th, and am considering asking for deferment for several reasons ultimately consequence of the pandemic.

• The deposit. I have 12 days, including today, to come up with a $2,000 deposit and then another 14 to come up with another $1,000 deposit. I only make $1,600/ month after taxes and physically can't come up with either amount in this timeline. My divorced parents are upper middle class and my dad specifically is usually our emergency money guy because he's a high paid, hourly wage specialty care nurse and in normal circumstance can make $1,000 in an extra day of work. As everything is shutting down, my dad is no longer working in a week or two. And my mom has a salary position so after bills and taxes there is only a couple hundred left. I don't even have enough room on my credit card to just charge the amount to my credit card.
• Getting a loan. The tuition and fees is ~$58,000 and estimated cost of living for the area (rent & utilities is ~$9,500 so the bare minimum cost of attendance is ~$67,500, no including gas, emergency money, etc. With the crash in the stock market are banks even able to give out loans of this amount?
• Getting a new car. My car is a 13+ year old family hand me down that constantly has the check engine light on even though the mechanic always says she's fine and does not do well in inclement weather or hills. I would be moving to a very mountainous, extremely rural area is a notoriously racist state (I'm black btw) and I can't get stranded in this state. So I need a new car, but if my family and I have no money for a deposit we definitely don't have money for getting a new to me car.

I am extremely open to any advice or feedback, please and thank you.

I don't like advising this but can't you take out a small private-loan amount to fix your current issues?

 

[Epilepsy365]

The only time that you should defer is if you're shooting for MDs in another application cycle. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense to defer unless you need time to grief over the passing of a loved one.

 

[Whysoez]

It is very important to apply for cards that has Introductory ARP of 0% for 12 months or so. What it means is that you have basically 12 months to pay off your balance without accumulating interests.

 

[shortstack97]

First off, congrats on the acceptance!

But weren't you aware of the fact that all DO schools have massive deposits?

The loans are backed by gov't, as I understand it. You should be talking to your school's financial aid office.

You can ask for a deferment...the worst thing the school will do is say "no".

I knew about the deposit and how much it was. I only started working full time two months ago and don't have that amount saved up. The plan was that my dad would pay it, but he's going to be out of the job in a week or two and he needs to pay his own bills. Him and my step mom just built a house and they are planning a destination wedding are making all of those payments.

 

[Cornfed101]

Don't you have to pay the deposit before you defer anyway? The deposit holds your spot. You will lose your spot if you don't pay it.

 

[67552931811]

I knew about the deposit and how much it was. I only started working full time two months ago and don't have that amount saved up. The plan was that my dad would pay it, but he's going to be out of the job in a week or two and he needs to pay his own bills. Him and my step mom just built a house and they are planning a destination wedding are making all of those payments.

Who has 3 Gs just laying around? Do what normal people do: get a credit card and put your deposits on it

No offense but none of your reasons are rational reasons to defer

 

[Goro]

I knew about the deposit and how much it was. I only started working full time two months ago and don't have that amount saved up. The plan was that my dad would pay it, but he's going to be out of the job in a week or two and he needs to pay his own bills. Him and my step mom just built a house and they are planning a destination wedding are making all of those payments.

Very sorry to hear of this predicament. Contact the school and see what they have to say.

Suggest hitting up the relatives

 

[shortstack97]

Who has 3 Gs just laying around? Do what normal people do: get a credit card and put your deposits on it

No offense but none of your reasons are rational reasons to defer

That's fair, I just have no idea how to make this work.

 

[shortstack97]

I don't like advising this but can't you take out a small private-loan amount to fix your current issues?

I talked to my credit card company and increased my credit line so maybe I can just put in on my card. Then work to pay it off with working and asking family and friends for money.

 

[67552931811]

I talked to my credit card company and increased my credit line so maybe I can just put in on my card. Then work to pay it off with working and asking family and friends for money.

Ya man. Just use your loan money once it’s dispersed to pay off your cc if you’re worrying about that. The cc will have a much higher interest rate but a much lower, relative, debt than your loans.

 

[Giovanotto]

It is very important to apply for cards that has Introductory ARP of 0% for 12 months or so. What it means is that you have basically 12 months to pay off your balance without accumulating interests.

How much does opening a new line of credit hurt your credit score? Considering doing this for residency move.

 

[Cornfed101]

How much does opening a new line of credit hurt your credit score? Considering doing this for residency move.

It shouldn't make much difference. It may affect your credit a little depending on if you have a lot of other recent hard inquiries (you applied for other credit cards in the last 2 years). This accounts for 10% of your score. The other area that may be affected is your credit utilization. If you don't have much other consumer debt and you take out a loan and max it out, that would have a bigger effect. 30% of your score is dependent on your credit utilization. You should ideally keep your credit utilization around 30% (that is credit used divided by credit available).

 

[Epilepsy365]

How much does opening a new line of credit hurt your credit score? Considering doing this for residency move.

About 15-30 points that will be recovered in a month.

 

[DokterMom]

I talked to my credit card company and increased my credit line so maybe I can just put in on my card. Then work to pay it off with working and asking family and friends for money.

The difference between putting it on your existing card and getting a new "0% interest for 12 months!" card is going to be roughly 22% if it takes you a year to pay it off. That's $660.

Do talk to your parents before you do that though. Many parents (most?) would prefer to front you the $3,000 so you can become a physician rather than have a fancy destination wedding during a pandemic

 

[Hippocrates II]

Open a new cc. 0% interest for 12 (maybe more) months. Pay it off when loans are dispersed. Thank everyone in this thread later on when you're a year ahead of where you would have been in this mess called medical school.

 

[mathnerd88]

But weren't you aware of the fact that all DO schools have massive deposits?

Not true. RowanSOM's deposit is $100.

 

[Goro]

Not true. RowanSOM's deposit is $100.

OK, 39/~40 require massive deposits.

 

[mathnerd88]

OK, 39/~40 require massive deposits.

Didn't mean to be snarky! But yes, majority of DO schools have such high deposits.

 

[deleted480308]

Do not buy a new car

Do call the school and ask about some grace on the deposit

Do not defer

Do get a roommate

Do not assume a whole state is racist, that’s ridiculous and your attitude will impact your interactions. You will absolutely meet racist people. Most people aren’t

 

[ciestar]

My 18 year old car has had its check engine light on for at least 10 years. All is well on that front.

That said, this is a hard sell on a deferment IMO. You know about these deposits a long time before now.

 

[shortstack97]

Do not buy a new car

Do call the school and ask about some grace on the deposit

Do not defer

Do get a roommate

Do not assume a whole state is racist, that’s ridiculous and your attitude will impact your interactions. You will absolutely meet racist people. Most people aren’t

Thank you for the advice.

I'm not assuming the every citizen in the state is racist, just that it's a much higher likelihood i'll run into someone who is (especially coming from a more liberal state) and probably a majority of people there are. As a minority, historically and through word of mouth I know it's a racist state. I even tired to quell worries about my safety when I travel around the state for residency by doing some research. I looked through sociology research articles that did studies based on crime rates against minorities, internet searches, demographics, etc. and the state this school is in ranks top 10 in nearly all of them for . It is something I need to worry about and keep in the back of my mind. The fact that you can say it's a ridiculous notion to label a state as racist shows that it's obviously something that does not affect you and you have never had to worry about.

 

[deleted480308]

Thank you for the advice.

I'm not assuming the every citizen in the state is racist, just that it's a much higher likelihood i'll run into someone who is (especially coming from a more liberal state) and probably a majority of people there are. As a minority, historically and through word of mouth I know it's a racist state. I even tired to quell worries about my safety when I travel around the state for residency by doing some research. I looked through sociology research articles that did studies based on crime rates against minorities, internet searches, demographics, etc. and the state this school is in ranks top 10 in nearly all of them for . It is something I need to worry about and keep in the back of my mind. The fact that you can say it's a ridiculous notion to label a state as racist shows that it's obviously something that does not affect you and you have never had to worry about.

Or it shows that I’m a white guy from some of those states. So I know what people say when there are only white people in the room and you are wrong when you say “probably a majority of people there are” racists. You are coming into that situation just as prejudicial as those you are concerned about.

My advice stands

 

[Ho0v-man]

Med schools and the area surrounding them are typically diverse and rather progressive even in states that stereotypically aren’t.

 

[shortstack97]

Med schools and the area surrounding them are typically diverse and rather progressive even in states that stereotypically aren’t.

I understand that. The town that the school is in is relatively progressive, I don't know about the surrounding area itself. I just stress a little about when I have to do rotations around the whole state.

 

[Ho0v-man]

I understand that. The town that the school is in is relatively progressive, I don't know about the surrounding area itself. I just stress a little about when I have to do rotations around the whole state.

Well that’s still 2 years away and not great justification for deferment.

 

[Mass Effect]

What kind of school isn't going to understand that during a national emergency, not everyone can scrape together 3K to promise they'll attend?

 

[Cornfed101]

What kind of school isn't going to understand that during a national emergency, not everyone can scrape together 3K to promise they'll attend?

Its probably just a coded action performed by a computer: no deposit, automatically withdrawn. I had someone email me just a few days ago from a school I was already accepted to that my acceptance would be rescinded if I didn’t take another ochem class before matriculation... yeah not gonna happen

 

[Kardio]

I had someone email me just a few days ago from a school I was already accepted to that my acceptance would be rescinded if I didn’t take another ochem class before matriculation... yeah not gonna happen

They waited until March to ask you to take another orgo class!?

 

[Osteosaur]

Call the school and explain the circumstances. They are human. Surely the financial aid department has dealt with this before. This is a very small sum, maybe not to you, but it's just to make sure you go.

 

[Fishwithadeagle]

First off, congrats on the acceptance!

But weren't you aware of the fact that all DO schools have massive deposits?

The loans are backed by gov't, as I understand it. You should be talking to your school's financial aid office.

You can ask for a deferment...the worst thing the school will do is say "no".

Except the glorious CCOM. There's is only 100 dollars...

 

[Ho0v-man]

Except the glorious CCOM. There's is only 100 dollars...

“ Wow! So affordable!!!” Said no one about CCOM ever

 

[Epilepsy365]

“ Wow! So affordable!!!” Said no one about CCOM ever

CCOM doesn’t have a cash flow problem, so they can afford to wait for the arrival date of those 70-80K tuition.

 

[shortstack97]

Or it shows that I’m a white guy from some of those states. So I know what people say when there are only white people in the room and you are wrong when you say “probably a majority of people there are” racists. You are coming into that situation just as prejudicial as those you are concerned about.
My advice stands

You're right in the sense am going into the situation with a preconception. Regardless, that preconception doesn't affect my behavior. I just don't trust people nor will I trust them unless they show that I can. I appreciate your advice on everything else regarding my acceptance. Nevertheless, you do not have any basis to give any advice or criticism about the concerns I have over racism because it does not affect you.

 

[shortstack97]

The difference between putting it on your existing card and getting a new "0% interest for 12 months!" card is going to be roughly 22% if it takes you a year to pay it off. That's $660.

Do talk to your parents before you do that though. Many parents (most?) would prefer to front you the $3,000 so you can become a physician rather than have a fancy destination wedding during a pandemic

You would think that, my dad is the one who initially bought up deferment as an option and continues to mention it. The wedding is still happening as long as there isn't a travel ban in 2 months.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

You would think that, my dad is the one who initially bought up deferment as an option and continues to mention it. The wedding is still happening as long as there isn't a travel ban in 2 months.

Again, this definitely isn't reason to defer. You can try to see if the school will extend the deadline-- given the circumstances, they very well might. Otherwise, bite the bullet with the CC and move on.

 

[deleted480308]

You're right in the sense am going into the situation with a preconception. Regardless, that preconception doesn't affect my behavior. I just don't trust people nor will I trust them unless they show that I can. I appreciate your advice on everything else regarding my acceptance. Nevertheless, you do not have any basis to give any advice or criticism about the concerns I have over racism because it does not affect you.

I’m going to bet it actually does impact your behavior more than you think.

I commented on it because you brought it up, not apologizing. Do what you want with it, good luck either way.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

Thank you for the advice.

I'm not assuming the every citizen in the state is racist, just that it's a much higher likelihood i'll run into someone who is (especially coming from a more liberal state) and probably a majority of people there are. As a minority, historically and through word of mouth I know it's a racist state. I even tired to quell worries about my safety when I travel around the state for residency by doing some research. I looked through sociology research articles that did studies based on crime rates against minorities, internet searches, demographics, etc. and the state this school is in ranks top 10 in nearly all of them for . It is something I need to worry about and keep in the back of my mind. The fact that you can say it's a ridiculous notion to label a state as racist shows that it's obviously something that does not affect you and you have never had to worry about.

I moved from a mostly liberal decent sized city (lived there since I immigrated to the US in 2011) to Arkansas as an immigrant and minority. Trust me you would be surprised how much your opinion and point of view will change from what you see and hear on TV and other media.

 

[zNoodlez]

I moved from a mostly liberal decent sized city (lived there since I immigrated to the US in 2011) to Arkansas as an immigrant and minority. Trust me you would be surprised how much your opinion and point of view will change from what you see and hear on TV and other media.

Yup, I have been witnessing my parents developing this condition called "Community-acquired racism" ever since we immigrated here in 06.