Loans for Pharmacy School

[Smilescali]

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Do Pharmacy School loans fall under the same restrictive income criteria as undergrad loans?
I have never been granted a loan because my husband "makes too much money" HA!! I have been able to pay as I go through undergrad, but some pharmacy schools are over 29K and I am getting worried that I might not receive a loan through a school. I know I can borrow money from banks, but school loans are usually at a much lower interest rate and I can defer payment until after graduation right?
I am hoping grad schools are different..... please be different. 😱

 

[de javu]

It depends on whether you are considered as a graduate or an undergraduate. Yes, some PharmD programs will label you as an undergrad if they are the 6-year programs.

If you are a grad health profession student, you can take out Sub- and unsubsidized stafford loans about $38,500 per year (correct me if I am off). In addition, you can easily borrow loans from private companies that are affiliated with your school if you have ok credit. Most loans for health profession grad students don't require you to have a steady monthly income. They usually base it on your credit score.

On the other hand, if you are an undergrad health profession student, you might encounter some setbacks. First of all, the aggregate loans limit for Stafford Loans (sub and unsub) for undergraduates is about $46,000 for your entire academic program, and you can't go beyond the cap. Some programs do give you some health profession loans, but you have to demonstrate extreme financial needs. As for taking out private loans as an undergrad student, private loans company may require you to have monthly income and good credit. However, if you pass the credit check at Sallie Mei, you will be ok. If not, your husband can cosign for you. Unfortunately, I did not pass the credit check because my credit history is not extensive enough for them to give me a fair judgement on my creditworthiness.....and I don't intend to ask anyone to cosign for me 🙁 So, I had to turn to Teri for loans.

Lastly, it's always strongly recommended that you discuss your financial matters with a financial aid counselor at the school you plan to attend. They do have solutions to all your financial problems, from choosing a good private loans company to just about anything else 🙂

I hope this helps. Best wishes!

 

[DocRx]

So which is better Sally Mae or TERI? Just looking at all my options.

 

[de javu]

I would try Sallie Mae first 🙂

 

[Smilescali]

I don't think that my monthly income or my credit history will be a problem. I am worried that I will not demonstrate a "financial need" because my husband's income. Even though I plan to pay for school myself after I graduate. I hope they don't say "sorry I can't help you because we show that you can afford school independently." I guess I can always divorce...

 

[de javu]

if you attend a graduate-level pharmacy program, you will have no problems taking out stafford loans. This means that you will not have to show economic hardship.

If you are confident about your credit worthiness, you should not be worried as you will definitely qualify for some very low-interest private loans if you need more money to bridge the financial gap. 🙂

 

[dgroulx]

My husband also makes too much money (according to whom?), so I have to get unsubsidized loans only. I applied through FAFSA and the max they give me is $18,500 per year, which is more than enough to cover my tuition. According to their calculations, my husband should contribute $35,000 per year to my education. I'm not sure how they calculate that number. If we had a spare 35K per year, my husband wouldn't be driving a 96' Ranger with 160,000 miles on it.

 

[Glycerin]

My husband also makes too much money (according to whom?), so I have to get unsubsidized loans only. I applied through FAFSA and the max they give me is $18,500 per year, which is more than enough to cover my tuition. According to their calculations, my husband should contribute $35,000 per year to my education. I'm not sure how they calculate that number. If we had a spare 35K per year, my husband wouldn't be driving a 96' Ranger with 160,000 miles on it.

Yeah, the government is funny that way. According to my fafsa for this past year, I "should have been able" to contribute $7,000 out-right cash towards my tuition! I seem to recall that nowhere on the application did it ask about other bills, rent, car payments, groceries, etc. 😉

 

[Caverject]

Yeah, the government is funny that way. According to my fafsa for this past year, I "should have been able" to contribute $7,000 out-right cash towards my tuition! I seem to recall that nowhere on the application did it ask about other bills, rent, car payments, groceries, etc. 😉

Well, who said that you NEED to spend money on your Discover Card?

Who said you NEED to pay the rent?

Who said you NEED to have a car?

Who said you NEED to have groceries to eat?

Stupid government!

 

[kwakster928]

I hope all of you are having same problems but i just wanted to vent lil here.
I just got financial aid package from temple yesterday, and they told me i am only "BUDGETTED" for $29400.00 a year. Thank god i am PA resident so my tuition is 15000 somthing. So it leaves me 14400 to live on!. I have a full time job that pays decent salary so i was able to afford car and other stuff, how can i now survive 14400 a year? It just seem like a horrific dream but it is true. so i ask, can i get private loan? and they said i can not get anything that go ver 29400. I think this is b#$s$%t. i think all of us should be on welfare. how the god damn governemnt expect us to live? Any of you had or in similar situation? oh btw, my rent alone is about 750. which royally screws me big time. any suggestions?

 

[WVUPharm2007]

If you work 20 hours a week as a student and are as poor as a rock, you are eligible for food stamps.

 

[htyotispharm]

My school, U of S. Carolina, considers the first 2 year of pharmacy school undergraduate. So if you do more than 2 years of prepharmacy or get a degree you are screwed. I did 3 year of prepharmacy and just completed my first year of pharmacy school. According to them, I still have 1 more year of undergraduate to go but I don't qualify for any more undergrauduate financial aid. So far I've borrowed $9500 in student loans and hope to receive the $5000 scholarship from CVS. (Did I mention we still pay graduate tuition our first two years with undergraduate fin aid.)

 

[Glycerin]

Well, who said that you NEED to spend money on your Discover Card?

I don't have a Discover card. 😛

 

[Smilescali]

I know that Wells Fargo offers a graduate loan for medical/ pharmacy programs. Go to their website and they have a special section for student loans.

 

[de javu]

citiassist loans seems good too. Check it out 🙂

 

[dcreynol]

Hi,
I just received my Financial Aid Award letter. The only award I'll get is less than half the expected cost of attendance. It doesn't have anything for expected parental contribution and nothing for expected student/spouse contribution. So, I'll receive a Federal Subsidized loan for less than half of my gross financial need. It has "Note: This does not reflect Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans." Upon calling the school, they stated that if I qualified for the unsubsidized, then it would've been on the letter. Should I call FAFSA people about the unsubsidized? Or just simply start looking at Sallie Mae and the other private loans?
Thanks in advance.

 

[bananaface]

Ahem. To all of you who are griping about your financial aid check this out...

Next year:
Estimated total need: $24,904 (UW Tuition: $10,216)
Aid awared: $10,434
My expected contributuon: $14,470
My current bank account balance: $600 (no, I did not forget any zeros)

This is what happens when your spouse works and pays the mortgage while you go to school. Where is the 14K they are talking about? I paid into the mortgage and bills! Was he supposed to pay it all himself?!

 

[off2skl]

Ahem. To all of you who are griping about your financial aid check this out...

Next year:
Estimated total need: $24,904 (UW Tuition: $10,216)
Aid awared: $10,434
My expected contributuon: $14,470
My current bank account balance: $600 (no, I did not forget any zeros)

This is what happens when your spouse works and pays the mortgage while you go to school. Where is the 14K they are talking about? I paid into the mortgage and bills! Was he supposed to pay it all himself?!

Mine is something similar 13K contribution. I'm not too worried though; it seems that the contribution is not really tuition, but will actually be for our living expenses. I guess I'm lucky that we planned ahead and bought a place with a smaller mortgage in anticipation of this . We also paid down the majority of our debt aside from the mortgage. So, my husband's income will be enough for us to squeak by.

However, I thought basically everyone (who hasn't previously defaulted, legal resident, etc) could take out unsubsidized loans up to the cost of attendance (which should include living expenses for you only) regardless of financial situation.

Edited to add:
Also, since many of us are leaving a full tiem job to go back to school, contact your school's financial aid department. This year's FAFSA was using your income as well when calculating contributions. I know my financial aid office mentioned that there are additional forms that can be filled out based on the change in your income level and therefore get you more award money.

 

[bananaface]

I had another 7K in loans offered for the last school year, and my husband and I made 10K less on this FAFSA app than on the previous one. They apparently reworked their personal contribution estimation over the past year. And, consequently, aid offers are dropping. This situation has happened to alot of my classmates too.

The amounts I listed included both subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

 

[28657]

Well I guess the only comfort is in knowing that you can take out a private loan up to the amount of your estimated total need.

 

[vafcarrot]

U of K's pharmacy school is only 3800 a semester. Why is it so cheap compared to other schools? I'm excited because pharmacy school will actually be CHEAPER than my undergraduate school by about 15K (that's what a small liberal arts school will get you... a good education and a crap load of debt). Are the schools everyone is talking about private? Is that why they're so expensive?

Also, bananaface, I know what you're talking about for husbands. I thought I would qualify for workstudy for the first time because I wasn't putting my parent's info down when I applied and my husband sure as hell isn't rich... yeah, that was a no go. They said that we should contribute more that 1/3 of husband's income to my schooling. Which wouldn't have been such a big deal, but the government has already taken 1/3 out in taxes! 😱

 

[bananaface]

If schools are state run (excluding CA) they are usually cheaper than a private school. That is why the cost your undergrad education at a private school was more than the professional tuition at U of K will be.

I think if I work full time over the entire summer I can make enough to cover my half of the mortgage until next summer. My husband will just have to pay the rest of the bills for now. Private loans are not something I am interested in, since I already have a mortgage to pay and my regular gov't loans accumulating. Maybe I'll cave later.