LECOM Class of 2007 Financial Aid Question

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Dr_sax

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Hey Everyone!

My name is Andrew and I'm in LDP for 2007. I'm 23 and originally from central Illinois. Anyhoo, has anyone received his/her final financial aid packet with the letter of eligibility and loan apps?? I e-mailed a financial aid person about a month ago, and she said that the packets for D.O. students were going out in late June. Well, it's late June and I haven't received anything. Just curious if anyone else has. Let me know if you have it or when you get it.

Thanks and see you on July 30!!
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Hey

I'm Rebecca....I'm also in LDP....I haven't heard anything about financial aid.
 
I was curious too, so I called today and spoke with someone in financial aid. She told me that they are currently working on
MS-II financial aid stuff. After that is completed, they'll begin ours!! Hope this helps....
Kristen
 
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As an MSIII, I can assure you that its not a big deal if you dont have the info yet. You will have to wait two weeks into the semester before ANYONE gets their checks....even those who have everything completed already. So just hang back, send in the things they mail you, and when you get your check lists when school starts, do it then. Youll have a few days of orientation, so youll have plenty of time (instead of listening to boring lectures) to do things while you sit all day and wish you were outside enjoying the summer days of august.
stomper
 
Actually, it looks like we will be receiving our checks a bit earlier this year. I am an MSII, and our disbursement schedule says that we (MSI's and MSII's) will receive our checks on July 28th. However, Stomper is definitely right. They aren't in any hurry to get to the MSI's financial aid issues. Don't worry, though. They want their money, so eventually they will get to you!
 
Thanks for all of the info guys. I was aware that it will be sometime before the checks come. I'm honestly more concerned with HOW MUCH money I'll be getting. I haven't heard anything from anyone saying whether or not the amount you requested is what you get. If you can shed some light on that issue I'd appreciate it.
 
sddoc,
I may be incorrect but we didnt get our checks until june 21. Thats 2 weeks after our semester started....and 2 weeks+ after the disbursment date.
Usually the date is when the federal govt releases money to the schools for the loans. The school holds this as long as they can to collect interest on it (yeah its not a long time but 1000 students(4yrmed, pharm, post bac) X avg $43000) you do the math....
Now Im not saying that LECOM hasnt changed their patterns....but I would not expect to get a check when school starts....save your summer money for your books, rent, food, etc for end of July and Aug....
Or do what I do....use that CC for the first month!!!!
stomper
 
Whoa! Hold it there Stomper. Are the rotations a little stressful? I was just forwarding the info I had from Lecom's financial aid website. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry. However, you should work on being a touch more humble and less confrontational yourself. Have you tried meditation? :rolleyes:

Anyway, without private loans, last year we received $9001 per semester. Add about $1700 per semester with private loans. Good luck, and make sure you take some downtime for yourself so that medical school doesn't make you grumpy like some people! :D
 
I'll just let you two go at it for a bit... I'll be over in the corner "relaxing."


:rolleyes:
 
sddoc,
yes rotations are stressful....but very fun. Yet one must learn not to take things so personal (have fun with that on rotations!!!). I did not intend for your feelings to be hurt. I only was looking out for the interest of the incoming students....
lets see....
take your advice....incoming student doesnt save any money, gets check July 28. Great.
but what if....doesnt get check on July 28....not so great....and what if said student doesnt have a cc? What is that student to do now for 2 weeks? The first month of medical school is very expensive...with books, school clubs, note service, new appt, setting up utilities, food, etc.
Now, if said student listens to what I said....
Preps for not having money until the 3rd week of class.....
gets check....oh well got a lot of extra money now.
doesnt get check.....well prepared for the first few weeks.
Now, I am sorry that your feelings were hurt. I only hope you stop taking these pot shots at me for watching out for my fellow classmates.
As per amount you get....you will only be able to take out the cost of education. And this will vary per person regarding instate/out of state, age (disability insurance) and year of school. (MSIIs receive the least amt)....MSI the computer is factored in. MSIII and MSIV are on a 12 month school year instead of a 10 month.
stomper
 
Andrew... I'm sincerely sorry about the way this post has gone. I was trying to be helpful, but apparently, I may have been misinformed about when loans were disbursed. The amounts that I quoted you should be close. Good luck as a first year.
 
How about now(July 5th), anything yet? I haven't received anything.
 
Not a peep...Although I did get something about making reservations for the open house...I'm not going to that. It's silly for my parents to drive 3 hours to look at the school..
 
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i haven't received anything yet either (july 7th)
my parents are super excited for the open house-- unfortunately
:( (i'm trying to be cool about it because i may need to use their financial resources if those checks really don't come in until late august)
 
If they are waiting until August, don't hold your breath waiting for financial aid info. Besides completing the FAFSA, I didn't receive anything as an MSI until the first day of orientation. Good luck!
 
Nothing here either. I did go up to LECOM today to get my car registered, picture taken and laptop configured. Had a pretty good conversation with Steve Kovasc (sp?)
 
Hehe...Steve Kovacs-Head of Fort LECOM Security

Wait till you see the operation he has going on. If you go in the office and tell him someone's car lights are on, instead of walking out to get the license plate number(if you already hadn't), he will zoom in the security cameras to get it off the car. Also, when the time comes, you've gotta go through the cataloged list of lost and found items that he sends out. It's hilarious. You'll know what I mean.

I really can't complain because the school is absolutely positively safe (too safe), but the guy is a bit too anal about security procedures within the school itself. Such is LECOM. He'll be greeting each and every one of you EVERY SINGLE MORNING along with Dr. Esper (the fashion (tie) inspector).


Sorry, just had to put my 2 cents in somewhere about LECOM Security. Thanks for listening.

njdo
 
njdo -

Here's my 2 cents worth... I'd doubt the security at most military bases is as tough as Lecom's. I keep looking for a swat team to appear on the roof. However, I never worry about walking to my car after dark! I worry more about passing inspection by the fashion police every morning!;)
 
Oh how true...SAD, but true.

See you in August.

njdo
 
i got my financial aid information today (saturday, the 12th) so if you haven't gotten it yet, its probably on its way.
 
GREAT!

What do we have to do...? Is it complicated?
 
its not complicated at all. you can go online and request the amount you want from the bank, and then you just mail a sheet with the amounts you chose back to LECOM.

but i have a question-- my father is convinced the $38,500 isn't enough and that i need to take out a private loan also. i think the 38,500 is enough. Although i will have to watch my spending very carefully, and pray that nothing happens to my car, i really don't think i need the private loan. what do people think? can a LECOM student get by on just the 38,500, or do most people find it necessary to get a private loan also? i don't have a family or anything-- its just me, and my rent is $425 a month. obviously, i'd prefer to take out the smallest amount possible. thoughts?
 
Raspberry,

I'd say, that $38,000 for one person with few bills(your rent is low) and money management skills is adequate. I know I haven't lived in Erie as long as the MS2s but I have lived here long enough to have paid a few bill cycles- so I do now know roughly what my monthly expenditure will be. For example:
Bills I have:
1) Rent, mine is $485
2) New car payment
3) Car insurance
4) Electric
5) Phone w/ long distance
6) Adelphia digital cable with cable modem, which is $86/month
7) Health insurance
8) Of course groceries, gas and misc(my wife and I spend about $200/month on groceries here).

My bills are averaging about $1300 a month right now. So you see, even with bills, it's still not too bad. I'm sure yours will be much less. If you fear that your car may be unrealible, then that's another cost you must factor. Try to work out a budget and "see" what you'll spend. To be honest, my wife and I have only one bill that is larger than what we thought it would be before we moved.

I hope this helps. I think you'll be fine, but if your parents think it's prudent to ask for more, maybe you should. You could always borrow more this year, evaluate your financial situation throughout the year, and then possibly lower it for next year.
If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Dr_sax
 
I'm taking out a private loan just to make sure I have enough to live on in the summer. I'm hoping that I will be able to decrease my loan amounts the following year and not take out the private loan.
 
I'm with Becky.... better safe than sorry!!:)
 
thanks for your responses, especially dr sax. i'd really like to try and do this without the private loan. i don't want to have to pay the interest off every month while in med school-- i feel like it makes the loan not worthwhile. however, my lovely little budget i planned out doesn't leave me much of a cusion so i may have to suck it up.

however, i also have another question-- is adelphia cable the only company that provides high speed internet in erie? and if i'm reading their website corrrectly (this may sound like a stupid question to someone who is more technologically savvy than i, but humor me, ok?), you have to have cable TV in order to also have high speed internet? (might i add i think this is a crappy deal? what if you don't want cable!?- which i don't!)

i swear my landlord told me verizon provided dsl (which it does where i am living now) but when i typed my new erie (millcreek) phone number into their search-y thing, it said it didn't provide high speed internet in that area.

info, anyone? :(
 
My landlord also told me Verizon provided this service. I have not moved in yet so I haven't called, but I'm under the impression that I can call verizon up and get it hooked up! anyone know otherwise??
 
ok, sorry guys, i also have another question--
say i just get the $38,500, and then after 2 months or so, i realize this just isn't going to cut it for me (although i believe it will, i'm asking these questions solely to quiet my panicking father) can i get the private loan at any point? (obviously people take out loans everyday for various things, but my father seems to feel that this is different). anyone know?
 
Raspberry,

No, Adelphia is not the only provider in town. To my knowledge, there are at least a few other local ISPs that have high-speed DSL service. When I was in Erie in April looking at apts, my wife and I called around to several places. From our estimates, high-speed internet is going to run between $40-50/month regardless of who you subsribe with. We chose Adelphia because they offer you what's called an "Advantage" package where you get digital cable(which is every channel they offer minus the premium packages) and cable modem for as I mentioned earlier $86/month. Individually, the services exceed $100/month.

You don't need to have cable service to have high-speed internet because cable modems and DSL lines are different things(someone correct me if I'm wrong). And even the cable companies like Adelphia don't necessarily require that you have cable service in order to have the internet access. The just figure since you have to pay $50 for the internet you might as well add in cable service worth $50 for $30.

If you do want cable service too, I'd recommend the Adelphia plan(Adelphia is basically "it" as far as cable is concerned in my area-I live in Mill Glenn). But if you're not getting cable, any provider will do.
Hope that helps,

The good Dr_sax
 
So we have to pay the interest on the private loan while we're in school???!!! Wow, I didn't know that. Maybe I'll just be borrowing from the Federal Gov't.

Dr_sax
 
I though you could choose to pay the interest...but I don't know
 
i live in mill glenn too!! we're neighbors!!! i'm in building 1706 and this really sketchy middle aged male chain smoker lives next door to me (i'm assuming its not you). as far as the interest goes, i know nothing about money or loans (although i'm going to be learning awfully quick). according to my father, you can defer the loan payments until you graduate from med school, but you pay interest every month. but again, my dad isn't god, so don't swear on that info. if anyone finds out different for sure, please post, because if i can defer the interest as well, i might take them up on that offer.
dr sax-- thanks again for all the info. if you're not careful, i'm going to be pounding on your door all year everytime i need the facts:D
 
ok i checked on that interest thing, and ignore what i said. i was wrong. i'm pretty sure you don't have to pay the interest until you start the payments. sorry for the false alarm guys
 
Raspberry,

You're giving me info too!
I just feel like I've lived here forever already.
And I live in 1691 btw

Dr_Sax
 
ok here's the scoop, i've finally got it all figured out. you have the choice of paying interest on the private loan while in school, but you do not have to. the amount you can get from the gov. is actually slightly higher than $38,500, because that amount is just for the 9 month school year, and then they pro-rate the other months, so it actually comes out to be a total of $40,722, which, for me at least, allows me the security to not bother taking out the private loan at all. who-hoo!

oh- its really easy to do it online, but the lady on the phone was super nice too (i did mine online but called her twice with questions)

phew. glad i've gotten that all straightened out. :clap:
 
Raspberry,

Thanks for the clarification. Now did she say anything about the disbursement schedule? Do we receive the money all at once or is split between semesters? Can you elaborate on how it's pro-rated?

Thanks,
Dr_Sax

PS: I'm so behind in all this- I just got my big brother/big sister thing today and it's due in like 3 days. So I'm not expecting to receive financial aid info till the end of this week. I left a message with Leigh Ann to change my info--hope she does!
 
I recommend taking everything that you qualify for.....
Im sure most of you have budgeted at least 200/mo for unexpected expenses. This will include those things such as car repair, gas, weekend funds, etc. But add in costs of medical equipment, which many may have over looked. This could easily cost one $200-600....Money stress isnt worth it during this time.
Do you see where Im going.
With the interest rates at an all time low....why not take it all? Take what you dont use and invest that into a low risk fund or even a savings acct? Depending on your return, you may in fact make money on this (or at least enough to cover the interest you accrue).
You will need to borrow so much money that the piddly extra $3000 in a private loan will not really be an issue in the end....may mean an extra 5 months....thats it.
stomper
 
Hey everyone,

If you don't want to take out the private loan now, you can always do it later. I took out everything, and I had plenty of money left over, though my living expenses were not that much. Because I had money left over, I took out a little less this year.

As for cable, it depends where you're living. In Granada, they have their own cable service through some company that is pre-packaged for the complex. It's not that expensive for getting 3 premium channels. In Lakeview where I'll be living this year, you'd go with Adelphia. They have a special running now too.

For high speed, my roommate and I searched around and they told us Adelphia wasn't available yet in the area, and so we're going with Verizon DSL.

Like stomper said, you want to cover your butt with the loans just in case you have some emergency or unforeseen expenses.


njdo
 
You will get your money in two disbursments, one in mid August and one in mid January. Make sure you save up now for books for gross, you won't have loan money in time to buy what you need.

I have Verizon DSL and its great, and just went down to 34.99/month. I also just have basic cable, which is 15, so it adds up to only 50/mo, not bad at all.

I take all the loans I can, I figure its not worth having to stress out about money. I will have so much debt it won't make a difference in the long run. I did fine last year financially, with my husband working. Our rent is $630 with utilities, and we have one small car pmt and one small credit card bill, plus all the other crap like insurance etc. I had a little bit left over, but not much.

Also...I don't know if this has come up before, but if you have any possible way to get insurance other than the school plan, go for it because the school plan sucks if you take any meds. They cover NO PRESCRIPTIONS, which is a real pain in the a$$.
 
dr sax- i can't really give specifics on the whole pro-rating thing. i just know the $38,500 is just for the "academic year" which i think they list as 10 months. and so for months 11 and 12, they just scale the money down or "pro rate" it, because i guess they assume you'll be needing less money (which i don't exactly figure) or maybe just because in those 2 months, they don't consider you their responsibility, i'm not sure. but either way, its a bit more than i had expected so i'm not complaining. you'll see what i mean when you finally get all your info. i apparently was blind the entire weekend and didn't notice that it added up to more than $38,500 until after i applied for the darn thing this morning.
whats your opinion on the mill glenn landlord, alan? i have moved all my stuff in, but as of yet, i myself am not living there. he seems nice but sort of a flake . . .
 
Wow, is it me or does this seem like one of the more informative threads?

As far as my financial aid is concerned, I've decided that I probably won't be taking out private loans. I have a wife with a nice income so I guess I'm fortunate. But I do agree with everyone that it's much better to take out the extra cash 'cause God knows we're going to be in so much debt an extra thousand or two isn't going to matter.

As far as Alan goes, he's "interesting." He's actually been nothing but nice to us. A maintenance man came by the other day and asked if I went to LECOM. When I said yes he told me that Alan loves LECOM people. He just seems to be very unemotional sometimes. His voice-mail is funny because it ends with an abrupt and rather stern "thank you and good-bye"-makes me laugh every time I hear it. When we moved here, we had quite a bit of trouble and it took us much longer than expected....Alan was willing to come out and let us in on a Friday night later than 10PM! He's cool in my book.

The ever-popular Dr_sax
 
There is one thing to check into prior to making your decision. On a thread in the residency section, a student was discussing residency deferrals. Apparently, your monthly payments need to be over a certain amount for you to be able to defer them throughout your residency. Admittedly, I don't know a lot about this yet, but you can bet that I'll be checking in with the financial aid office regarding this in about a month. The student on the other forum missed the cutoff by about $100, and now has to decide whether to try to make the payments or seek a forbearance.

Is this complicated, or what?:confused:
 
Has anyone else not gotten their financial aid packet??
 
I haven't gotten anything yet..I'm still at my parents house here in Ohio...but I checked my Erie mailbox yesterday and haven't gotten anything.

I'm in LDP...we'll probably be the last ones to get our stuff
 
Nope...nothing here in Ohio or Erie
 
I already found out that I can't defer some of my already existing loans during my residency anyways- I have to forbear them.

I plan on taking out the maximum amount the federal govt' will allow if needed. If that's not enough, then I guess I'll just have to pay.
 
No financial info here in Ohio either.
 
All of us poor Buckeyes..... at least we're national champs!!!
 
Hey I live in Erie and I haven't received anything! But then again LECOM still seems to think I live in Illinois.
 
so raspberry swirl is the only one with the coveted packet?:(
 
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