Loans for School and Living Expenses

[DPM2016]

I have not taken out any student loans for my prereqs so I am unfamiliar with them. I am just wondering, will we be able to get loans to pay for our entire tuition and living expenses while in school. I would like to go to school in NYC in January, but have no idea how I would afford to live there unless I get loans to pay for it.

I also know they offer some scholarships, but I am concerned with other living expenses aside from just tuition. Also, any idea how much they give you to live off of?

Thanks

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[fivescrew]

I was in the same boat recently and hopefully I'm telling you this right because it's confusing.

I found out that if you have borrowed $0 from the federal government previously you are pretty much guaranteed the maximum your school sets as total cost of attendance up to the yearly limits for medical students. You have to be a citizen, fill out forms, not owe previous loans or back taxes yada yada

So say the school calculates 35,000 as a yearly cost, you can borrow that much from the possible 40,500 a medical student can borrow each year up to a lifetime limit of 224,000. Their cost of attendance estimate includes things like tuition(obviously), book\supplies, transportation, living etc


The plan I settled on was to borrow only the exact tuition portion from the government and then pay for everything else out of pocket but that may not be for you.

 

[dyk343]

You should not have any problems getting loans from your school. They set everything up for you and usually over estimate the amount that you will really need. I only took out about 70% of what they recommended for my first year and did fine. They usually send you a letter a month or two before school starts with all your loan information on it.

 

[fivescrew]

Was that after any scholarships? If you don't mind me asking.

 

[DPM2016]

So it is definitely doable, and something that the school helps you figure out.

Is this something that should be discussed during the interview?

 

[dyk343]

So it is definitely doable, and something that the school helps you figure out.

Is this something that should be discussed during the interview?

Many of the schools actually have a financial discussion during their interview day. They break down costs and such... so you could ask questions then.

 

[dyk343]

Was that after any scholarships? If you don't mind me asking.

Yes after scholarships.

 

[DancerPod]

I have not taken out any student loans for my prereqs so I am unfamiliar with them. I am just wondering, will we be able to get loans to pay for our entire tuition and living expenses while in school.
Also, any idea how much they give you to live off of?

Thanks

I have A LOT of experience with this, my wife and I both took out loans throughout undergrad and grad school before I started my DPM at NYCPM.

The short answer is: Yes.

The longer answer is still yes, but more complicated. What fivescrew is talking about is if you only take out Stafford loans. Most of the students at NYCPM get by (living expenses included) on just that. If you need more you can tap into your GradPlus and other types of loans up to the maximum calculated financial need. This is based off of what the school calculates your total expenses will be (estimated cost of tuition + food + rent + fees + misc.). Each school determines this to be a different number, so it's best to contact the financial aid department.
Then, they subtract your EFC from this number. Your EFC is the amount calculated for you when you do your FAFSA. It's your "estimated family contribution" and is determined by how much money you made last year (as well as some other random financial info).
So: Total Estimated expenses - EFC = total amount you are allowed to borrow.

As I said, most students (at NYCPM) only need to tap into their stafford loans and never even touch the others, they aren't maxing out their loans, but if for some reason you need more money, it's there.
Good luck.
DancerPod

 

[DancerPod]

Also, any idea how much they give you to live off of?

Sorry, didn't answer this. I don't want to get into exact numbers, but let's put it this way. I am supporting a family off of my loan money. Is it easy? No, but we manage fine. If you're a single person, you should have more than enough to live off of. Assuming you don't want to take lots of expensive vacations and eat out every night...

Hope that helps.

 

[fivescrew]

Good info DancerPod, I did forget to mention the EFC. Should also be noted that if you have to go the GradPlus route there is a credit-check involved to tap into that money and I know of a few that had to have co-signers if their credit wasn't up to par.

 

[DPM2016]

Thanks guys! I am super excited. Hope I can make it into the January 2012 class!

 

[dleodyddlek]

@DancerPod

is there anyway to take out more than the CoA set by the school?

 

[DancerPod]

@DancerPod

is there anyway to take out more than the CoA set by the school?

Not through the Federal Government. Possibly through private loans, but I wouldn't recommend it. Chances are the interest rates will be higher, you will not be able to consolidate with Federal Loans (a nice option to have), and you will most likely (though not certainly) have to start paying the loans back before you are done with school. Each private loaner would have its own rules, strings and fine print. I'd check VERY carefully into the terms before taking out a non-federal student loan.