loan for Dental school

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Dear all,

forgive me if I sound ignorant of financial aids stuff, I AM ignorant!

I have a few questions that I really hope someone could answer me. Any kind of input is very much appreciated

-- my husband is working and I have applied for dental schools. I was wondering, if I take a student loan from a foreign country, could I also deduct the interests of this loan as if I I could for a US student loan? Is there anything I need to pay special attention to regarding to a foreign student loan?


-- I am on a visa status, so in order to secure a private loan here in the US, I need a co-signer. I would like to know that, in terms of financial point of view, which pathway would be most beneficial for me? ( tax deduction, financial security...)

1. take a foreign student loan, bring the money into US
2. take a US private loan
3. borrow money from a family member in a foreign country and use our saving, then deplete the bank accounts...


thanks

 

[mpp]

I don't know much about foreign loans and the type of interest you might pay, but as long as the loan is not from a relative or a trust fund, and you use it for qualified educational expenses you can deduct up to $2,500 in interest paid per year (this is adjusted according to your income and phased out for incomes above $50,000 per year).

I would first concentrate on finding a source of funds before you begin looking at the minimal tax benefits of student loans. Once you are accepted to a dental school, work with the financial aid office to see what the best options are.

 

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Hi mpp
thanks for your info

I have been accepted to UCSF, but th financial aid office pretty much told me that international students are on their own. They don't expect to offer help in any way. We can't get federal help, and private loans all require a co-signer. I prefer avoiding having a co-signer for my loan, if I ever take one. Afterall, co-signer is really a co-borrower. None of my friend needs to take that much burden on their shoulder...


🙁 it sucks.... I might end up not being able to go to school because of funding...

but thanks again for your info

 

[supereagles]

Originally posted by organic
Hi mpp
thanks for your info

I have been accepted to UCSF, but th financial aid office pretty much told me that international students are on their own. They don't expect to offer help in any way. We can't get federal help, and private loans all require a co-signer. I prefer avoiding having a co-signer for my loan, if I ever take one. Afterall, co-signer is really a co-borrower. None of my friend needs to take that much burden on their shoulder...


🙁 it sucks.... I might end up not being able to go to school because of funding...

but thanks again for your info

Hey organic,

I just had an interview at UCSF for their medical school program and i am really interested in how much help their financial aid office offers to their "international students" (I really do hate that term). I would expect them to offer so information on potential loaners for international students or offer some sort of school aid to international students. Also must you absolutely have a co-signer to borrow from banks and what are the co-signer's responsibilities? Most importantly, do you need to provide proof of payment for all 3 or 4 years of dental or medical school and what happens if you cannot come up with such funds (i suspect i already know the answer to that)?

Any help will be appreciated

Why not have your husband co-sign for a loan for you, just wondering?

 

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Hi Supereagles

let me answer your questions really quick.

UCSF Financial Aid office did give me a list of possible private loans, but none of them have really special deal with UCSF. I was told by Citibank that usually, schools will have special deals with banks, so that there are better conditions for borrowers. ( like not requiring co-signer for international students) But since citibank doesn't even recognize UCSF, students at UCSF are treated under their generic conditions.

FA office gave me the list of banks and then tole me that they won't expect to offer help to international dentists, unless, of course, you are US citizen, GC holder.....blah blah...etc

so be prepared

Co-signers need to be a US citizen, GC holder, since my husband doesn't fall into any of the above categories. He can't co-sign for me.

explore the forum more. I think there are more helps for med students than for dental students.

 

[The Musketeer]

Hi Organic,

I am not sure if you are a Canadian or not, but I know many Canadian students that are in professional studies (dental, med) in U.S. apply for CanHelp. Dental and medical student can borrow up to $25,000/yr on their own, or $45,000/yr with a Canadian co-signer. You can get more information on CanHelp Website :

http://www.internationalstudentloan.com/canadian_student/index.htm

Hope this will be useful to you!

 

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Hi Musketeer
thanks for your info, though I am not Canadian, it is good to know information like this, I will share with anyone I know who is canadian. thanks

 

[supereagles]

Originally posted by The Musketeer
Hi Organic,

I am not sure if you are a Canadian or not, but I know many Canadian students that are in professional studies (dental, med) in U.S. apply for CanHelp. Dental and medical student can borrow up to $25,000/yr on their own, or $45,000/yr with a Canadian co-signer. You can get more information on CanHelp Website :

http://www.internationalstudentloan.com/canadian_student/index.htm

Hope this will be useful to you!

Hey, Thanks for the info. How familiar are you with the loans offered by inernationalstudentloan. Their website makes it seem that this process is quite straightfoward and all you need is a creditworthy co-signer but do you actually know of anyone that has used their services or any other similar services? How about the applicant's credit and how tedious is this process. Any info would be appreciated, i am in a big jam and need to come up with funds or lose my spot in medical school. thanks.

 

[The Musketeer]

Originally posted by supereagles
Hey, Thanks for the info. How familiar are you with the loans offered by inernationalstudentloan. Their website makes it seem that this process is quite straightfoward and all you need is a creditworthy co-signer but do you actually know of anyone that has used their services or any other similar services? How about the applicant's credit and how tedious is this process. Any info would be appreciated, i am in a big jam and need to come up with funds or lose my spot in medical school. thanks.

I am familiar with this loan program because several of my dental friends are using it. They told me that although they offer quite a large amount of loan to you, the process is quite tedious. Basically, my friends told me that when applying, make sure all the information are correct and ALL documents are supplied because if anything is incorrect or missing, they will reject the application and you will have to re-apply again. The application package usually takes 2-3 weeks to arrive. I suggest that if you have further inquiries do contact them (888)296-4332 (also when you talk to them ask them for another application package. That way, if you did something wrong you would have another package on hand without waiting for them to deliver it via snail mail again)!

 

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and remember to pay off your loan on time, any variation in your payments or delay would affect greatly your cosigner, he/ she will also get a bad credit if you don't pay.

quoted from an article" the people nice enough to co-sign shouldn't deserve bad credits you create"

I am very reluctant to have co-signer...........

 

[supereagles]

Originally posted by organic
and remember to pay off your loan on time, any variation in your payments or delay would affect greatly your cosigner, he/ she will also get a bad credit if you don't pay.

quoted from an article" the people nice enough to co-sign shouldn't deserve bad credits you create"

I am very reluctant to have co-signer...........

i second that, however, it would be quite difficult to find a person willing to make that commitment. only a parent or a spouse would willingly take ths step. Maybe, it is just me who has bad friends