Loans as Undergrad and Med Student

[sistermike]

Hey I am totally curious. Is there anyone who had to take out student loans as an undergrad and as a med student? And if so did the undergrad loans carry on to med school or did the loan agencies expect you pay off the undergrad student loans before you entered med school? thanks

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[andrea]

Hey sistermike,
I'm not sure about private loans, but if you took out federal Stafford loans for undergrad, you are not expected to pay them off before med school. They are deferred, meaning that interest accrues but no payments are made in med school. Then when you get done with school, you can pick them back up. Hope that helps.

 

[JML1DDS]

Interest accrues on your unsubsidized loans, the governament pays off the interest on the subsidized loans.

 

[lamyers1]

Here's another question (if you don't mind sistermike..) Everyone says there is plenty of money available in med school if you need it. However, once you "cap" on your federal loans, the others is private, and then you have a payment during med school. Anyone had to deal with this? What if you have children and need a little extra then the average joe? Do you just keep stacking up payments while actually in school and defeating the purpose? Anyone ideas?

 

[squeek]

Once you use all of your federal funds for the year, you go to private loans. But the ones that your financial aid office will recommend don't require principal payments during school--they only require interest payments. (I just had a conversation with my financial aid advisor about this). The interest rate is higher than federal, but not nearly as bad as if you used a credit card.

 

[PainMan]

I chose the T.H.E. private loan for the difference in staffords and COA. You can differ principle and interest for 42 months, 36 months is the standard. The fees AND interest calc is less than Wells Fargo, the so-called standard. I also used them for my staffords since they have no fees at all and give you a 1.3% interest break as soon as you enter repayment, where wells fargo only does this AFTER 48 straight payments. I saw it recommended on this site(for what that is worth ).
<a href="http://www.northstar.org/LnProgram/LoanProgram.asp?LnProg=MED" target="_blank">T.H.E.</a>

 

[lamyers1]

Thanks! Hmmm, my financial aid lady told me I had no options after Federal. (After meeting me for three minutes and having no prior info on me.) She simply said that I was to live carefully and "make do". WTF? I have 3 others to support and am willing and definitely need to incur a little extra debt. I guess I'll have to go back in there and demand some professional advising!

 

[Nova]

Skip the loans, go for scholarships! Check out <a href="http://www.fastweb.com" target="_blank">www.fastweb.com</a> first. They're free, they're huge. Leave nothing out of your profile; age, kids, gender, race. There are target scholarships out there for darn near every possible combination, and some of 'em haven't been claimed in years.

Also check out:
<a href="http://www.medicalgold.com/financ/" target="_blank">http://www.medicalgold.com/financ/</a>

You have enough debt.

Good luck!

 

[Sugar72]

Every year the financial aid office determines the amount necessary for a student to attend the school...this is tuition, fees, and living expenses. You can only borrow up to that amount. That is probably what the financial aid officer meant. Sometimes they will add onto your need amount if you are a single parent or if your spouse/partner works and you have daycare expenses. They usually won't change the amount if your spouse doesn't work.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Moving to the Financial Aid Forum...