Loans/Scholarship/Tuition Reimbursement Questions Thread

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ChemistI

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Just got accepted to an out of state program. I got an award letter and the amount award on federal loans covers the tuition, books, and a little extra. It doesn't cover the housing, food and transportation costs. For those of you in a similar situation as myself, how are you guys financing the difference. Personal savings can only cover so much. Isn't it wise to stay away from additional loans as much as possible? I was thinking of trying to get a job but I do not know if the class schedule would allow me to work and attend school full time.

I don't want to end up with a hefty loan payment after graduation.
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I've heard that some companies will help pay off your loans.
 
North Carolina pays for your school loans after working in the state for 5 years. You might want to see what the rules are in your state if they have this option.
 
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I believe this topic was covered already earlier in the month. That being said, you will most likely have to take out all stafford loans offered and some to all grad plus loans offered. It depends on your school and what they set the estimated cost of attendance for how much you can take out. Hopefully, it is a different number for out of state students so you won't have to get a job to help pay for rent, utilities, etc. I would avoid private loans at all costs b/c the re-payment terms aren't as nice.

Yes, you don't want to take out more than you need, but you also have to look at how much that job will cost you. By cost, I am talking about time. The time you're working could be taking away time that you could be studying, relaxing, or getting to know your classmates better. The people sitting next to you are going to be your contemporaries and the pharmacy world is a pretty closed circuit.
 
Why, simple, of course. I'm writing a check right now in the amount of $160,000 to cover all of my expenses for the next four years. Case settled.
 
For me I will be taking out the maximum amount of loans possible and also work part-time to pay for my education perhaps.
 
AsianGuy26 said:
For me I will be taking out the maximum amount of loans possible and also work part-time to pay for my education perhaps.
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The problem I find with working part-time to finance my education, apart from student loans, is that the money you earn while working 10 or even 15 hours at most is chump change in comparison to the cost of education. You're going to work to make $200-300 at 10-15 hours per week and try to pay your way for tuition and living expenses that add up well into the tens of thousands of dollars? It's futile and simply doesn't make much sense to me in terms of any financial benefit. If it's a relatively high paying job, say, $20/hr, then it might be worth it. But if you're going to work making $8-$10.00 to put yourself through school, it doesn't work. You might as well use that kind of change for your personal leisure/entertainment expenses and not for very real and deep expenses. Just my opinion though.
 
DoctorRx1986 said:
The problem I find with working part-time to finance my education, apart from student loans, is that the money you earn while working 10 or even 15 hours at most is chump change in comparison to the cost of education. You're going to work to make $200-300 at 10-15 hours per week and try to pay your way for tuition and living expenses that add up well into the tens of thousands of dollars? It's futile and simply doesn't make much sense to me in terms of any financial benefit. If it's a relatively high paying job, say, $20/hr, then it might be worth it. But if you're going to work making $8-$10.00 to put yourself through school, it doesn't work. You might as well use that kind of change for your personal leisure/entertainment expenses and not for very real and deep expenses. Just my opinion though.
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Yeah, working part time isn't to pay for education. You do that just for experience. Hopefully where they allow you increasing freedom as your education level increases. To pay for it, you take loans then work your butt of after graduation, or work for someone that has loan repayment available. IHS, certain hospitals, etc.
 
Thanks for the info everyone. Unfortunately, like many of us in this forum, I do not have the luxury of asking mom or dad for money. I've had the privilege of living debt free (except for a mortgage) for the last 4 years and nothing beats being without debt. It feels good putting X amount of money in your savings account and still sparing extra change to do things you want to do. I will be going to school in the state of Illinois. Anybody knows of any programs in that state?
 
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Do you currently work in a pharmacy and if so, have you worked there very long? If yes, I would recommend talking with a district manager if you work retail or a vice president if you work in a hospital.

I work in a hospital and I approached the vice president my pharmacy director reports to and asked about the possibility of my hospital paying my tuition while in pharmacy school. She said yes and now all I need to do is get in.

With this luxury, I will still need to take out stafford loans to pay all my living expenses so I don't have to work while I'm in school. I'll be committed to work for my hospital for 5 years post graduation.
 
ChemistI said:
Thanks for the info everyone. Unfortunately, like many of us in this forum, I do not have the luxury of asking mom or dad for money. I've had the privilege of living debt free (except for a mortgage) for the last 4 years and nothing beats being without debt. It feels good putting X amount of money in your savings account and still sparing extra change to do things you want to do. I will be going to school in the state of Illinois. Anybody knows of any programs in that state?
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I work for Cardinal Health and they will pay $5,000/yr towards my education expenses. I have to agree to work for them for x # of years if I use their funds - I think it is 1 year after I accepted the funds. So basically if I work for them through pharmacy school, then I would have to work for them 1 year after pharmacy school and they would have paid $20,000 towards the 4 years of school. However, they will pay this even for undergrad school (pre-pharmacy). Stipulation is I have to work 20 hours per week consistently.

I have read that some hospitals will pay up to $12,000/year for your education if you work for them for a year after the date you accept the funds. Hospitals seem to be willing to pay the most money. You have some leverage once you are a P1. A lot of hospitals seem to want to hire you more if you are a P1 as opposed to pre-pharmacy. I spoke to the DOP at a VA hospital the other day and was told they only hire full-time. However, when I told her I was planning on being a P1 in Fall 2009 she said if I wanted to work there then that they would make a "student" position for me and I could work whatever hours I wanted. But as long as I was just pre-pharmacy they would not do this.

Ask around! The VA has a program where if you work for them after graduation, they will pay back a large portion of your loan tax free - I was thinking it was like $20,000/year for every year you work for them - but I can't remember and I can't find it right now.

Anyone else know of any programs? Share!

------------------------------------------------------------
"Give what you cannot keep so you can receive what you cannot lose." - Elliott
 
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Sparda29 said:
I've heard that there are companies in Alaska who are offering $1 Million for a 3-4 year contract. I'm surprised that nobody is picking up and moving there.

Plenty of land to buy, clean fresh air.
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Thats only a rumor. For me, it will be a nice, fat loan payment every month.
 
1) Loans
2) Part time work (for non school related expenses)
3) Loan paybacks through work
 
Sparda29 said:
I've heard that there are companies in Alaska who are offering $1 Million for a 3-4 year contract. I'm surprised that nobody is picking up and moving there.

Plenty of land to buy, clean fresh air.
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Point, I've also heard of that but I've been called a liar. Thats a sign on bonus I believe on top on a nice salary. The cost of living is high though there.

I've talked to a few pharmacy students and I think they just want to stay local. :laugh:
 
Sparda29 said:
I've heard that there are companies in Alaska who are offering $1 Million for a 3-4 year contract. I'm surprised that nobody is picking up and moving there.

Plenty of land to buy, clean fresh air.
Click to expand...

I'd move to Alaska for that when I'm a pharmacist. But I've researched all about many different places in Alaska, and none of the pay comes close to that. All the places I looked into except one paid almost exactly the same as I would be paid in Texas. So no benefit there. One place paid more, but not enough to offset the cost of living difference and the isolation difference - and we are talking isolated - no roads in, no roads out. I love living rural, but there has to be a LOT of monetary incentive to live THAT rural. I'm used to living in a town of about 500 people, with good shopping within an hour drive. For most of you even that is barbaric. :)

But find me a place that pays $300,000/year to move to Alaska and I'm there! (once I'm a pharmacist).
 
Me too! I'd brave the cold for a million bucks! If only it were true...
 
Sparda29 said:
I'm pretty sure the cost of living in Alaska is low compared to New York and California.
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Actually, the cost of living is pretty high in Alaska. Many supplies have to be shipped there from the continental US. However I learned this factoid from Wikipedia.
 
Sparda29 said:
I'm pretty sure the cost of living in Alaska is low compared to New York and California.
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I've done a lot of research on Alaska, because I would love to live there, and the cost of living for the most part is about even with California. Cost of gas and goods is much higher (in rural areas where they need pharmacists we are talking around $8 for a gallon of gas or milk), but no state income tax and no property tax. So that evens it out a bit. However, once you add in the cost of traveling to civilization once in a while, you may actually be above the cost of living for CA. But if you grow your own food in a greenhouse, or hunt and fish, gather and chop your own wood, and don't care to travel much, you could probably live much cheaper in Alaska than CA.

I like at least some amentities and travel. The highest paid pharmacy job I have come across in Alaska is $65/hr. That was only 1 job. I looked at dozens of others that were offering $55/hr. Not nearly enough to account for the additional cost of living. I can make $55/hr in rural Texas (or anywhere in TX for that matter). Also no state income tax. Inexpensive housing. Inexpensive property tax. Financially it's a better decision. And hey, I love Texas.

I'd love to live in Alaska someday, but I don't want to make less overall doing so. So if any of you come across that million $$$ job in Alaska, please be sure and share the info!
 
1. loans
2. mommy
3. brother
4. becoming someone's boy toy
5. panhandling
 
Gas wells and oil wells. Let's hope they keep producing. If not, then I'll resort to loans.
 
Odublar said:
North Carolina pays for your school loans after working in the state for 5 years. You might want to see what the rules are in your state if they have this option.
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I'm applying to schools in NC so this caught my eye, where can I find more info about this? I googled but only found something pertaining to loan forgiveness for teachers in NC, nothing about pharmacists or anyone else.
 
I just did a search for "pharmacist loan forgiveness" and lots of sites came up. Here's one regarding NC

The first link on the page says it is for "borrowers who plan to seek loan forgivenss by practicing full-time as a...pharmacist...in a qualified position in North Carolina."
You can probably call them to get more info.

Here's several other interesting links about pharmacist loan forgiveness programs through various employers or States:

http://www.sphosp.com/Employment/Student Loan Program.htm

http://www.comphealth.com/permanent...tion/192b5fab7d986b4501881149ac12cdd66ddbfe2a

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/orhpc/funding/loans/pharm.html

http://www.aurorahealthcare.org/jobs/hotjobs/pharmacy/tuition-details.asp

http://www.enloe.org/for_our_employees/documents/Pharmacist.doc
 
Sparda29 said:
I've heard that there are companies in Alaska who are offering $1 Million for a 3-4 year contract. I'm surprised that nobody is picking up and moving there.

Plenty of land to buy, clean fresh air.
Click to expand...

Yeah, my doctor told me that when I went in for a physical--she said someone she knew had just graduated from pharmacy school and was offered something in the millions to work in Alaska--I think was for like 5 years or something and for the total--not yearly.
 
Does anyone know which schools provide scholarships? Or does anyone know which Pharm.D./Ph.D. program offer scholarships? Thanks.
 
Seems like most schools offer scholarships but actually getting one is a different story. And they usually don't give you very much money. I think the PharmD/PhD programs give you stipends (basically a salary) when you are doing the PhD portion.
 
there are plenty of scholarships that you can get depending on the area where the school is at... at Texas Tech (abilene campus) there is a ~$4000 scholarship if you plan on staying as a pharmacist in rural area. $1000 academic scholarship for first yr (pretty easy to get).

I've looked into it as well when i got accepted and it looks like more are available after your 1st yr in Pharm school (show u can hack it).

But yea, they are available but getting it is a different story. Check Fastweb
 
In undergrad, grants were given out to students to pay for tuition. I heard this is not the case for graduate school. If so, what is the point of filling out the FAFSA forms? Is it for the federal loans?

Do the majority of pharmacy students even apply for FAFSA or do they apply for loans through other companies? I would assume interest rates would be low anywhere for students with good credit scores.
 
koercive said:
In undergrad, grants were given out to students to pay for tuition. I heard this is not the case for graduate school. If so, what is the point of filling out the FAFSA forms? Is it for the federal loans?

Do the majority of pharmacy students even apply for FAFSA or do they apply for loans through other companies? I would assume interest rates would be low anywhere for students with good credit scores.
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Without the FAFSA, you won't be eligible for any federal money, meaning no Stafford or Plus loans. I can't speak for all pharmacy students, but from the financial aid presentations and information I have received from pharmacy schools, the FAFSA is the first place you should look for funding.

The government loans do not have the same interest rates and are not based on your credit score as far as I know. Additionally, the terms and conditions for government loans are much more forgiving than those for private loan companies (Sallie Mae, etc).

Even throughout my undergraduate experience at two expensive private schools, I was advised to stay away from taking out private loans if at all possible. The interest rates are generally higher, you usually need a co-signer, and the interest tends to accrue immediately after the loan is disbursed. Also, the deferment and grace period associated with the repayment of the private loans is often non-existent from what I have heard.
 
koercive said:
In undergrad, grants were given out to students to pay for tuition. I heard this is not the case for graduate school. If so, what is the point of filling out the FAFSA forms? Is it for the federal loans?

Do the majority of pharmacy students even apply for FAFSA or do they apply for loans through other companies? I would assume interest rates would be low anywhere for students with good credit scores.
Click to expand...

Pharmacy school is not graduate school. It is professional school (like M.D., D.D.O., D.V.M., etc.). It is up to the university as to how financial aid will be handled. At my univeristy, we are classified as undergrads for P1 and P2 and as grad students for P3 and P4 (as far as financial aid is concerned). Just recently, though, we can be classified as grad students for financial aid for the P2 year if we have a bachelor's degree.

Regardless of how financial aid is handled at your school, it does not hurt to fill out the FAFSA. I personally fill out the FAFSA and get loans from the university and also from my bank (private loans).
 
I could talk forever about this but I'll try to keep it short and to the point.

1. Fill out the FAFSA. I actually filled it out yesterday and it only took 30 minutes - easy money.

2. The above posts are correct. You cannot receive federal loans unless you fill out the FAFSA. Also, federal loans have much better interest rates than other independent institutions' loans. The most important difference = most federal loans have a fixed interest rate whereas many other loans are not set at a fixed interest rate or may only temporarily be at a fixed interest rate. Last, with the current econ crisis, loans other than federal loans will be hard to find no matter what your credit score. Of course you have a better chance with a good score.

3. Professional school works a lot different from graduate school in terms of financial assistance. Most grad students go to school essentially for free (majority) while scholarships and grants are very rare for prof students; however, loans are extremely easy to get. When finishing the FAFSA you'll find out that your EFC (expected family contribution) will most likely be zero, nada, nil, nothing. This is just because of your professional classification. Financial aid through a lot of schools usually don't care if you (or your parents) are loaded...although it would be dumb to take out a loan if you could outright pay for it (unless you're a financial guru, then it would actually be slightly beneficial).

Hope this clears a few things up. Just fill out the FAFSA. You don't have to accept the loans in the end. Also, take note that the FAFSA says it's due in the summertime but some schools require it as early as March 1st (that's the earliest I've seen)
 
CaptainCurl03 said:
I could talk forever about this but I'll try to keep it short and to the point.

1. Fill out the FAFSA. I actually filled it out yesterday and it only took 30 minutes - easy money.

2. The above posts are correct. You cannot receive federal loans unless you fill out the FAFSA. Also, federal loans have much better interest rates than other independent institutions' loans. The most important difference = most federal loans have a fixed interest rate whereas many other loans are not set at a fixed interest rate or may only temporarily be at a fixed interest rate. Last, with the current econ crisis, loans other than federal loans will be hard to find no matter what your credit score. Of course you have a better chance with a good score.

3. Professional school works a lot different from graduate school in terms of financial assistance. Most grad students go to school essentially for free (majority) while scholarships and grants are very rare for prof students; however, loans are extremely easy to get. When finishing the FAFSA you'll find out that your EFC (expected family contribution) will most likely be zero, nada, nil, nothing. This is just because of your professional classification. Financial aid through a lot of schools usually don't care if you (or your parents) are loaded...although it would be dumb to take out a loan if you could outright pay for it (unless you're a financial guru, then it would actually be slightly beneficial).

Hope this clears a few things up. Just fill out the FAFSA. You don't have to accept the loans in the end. Also, take note that the FAFSA says it's due in the summertime but some schools require it as early as March 1st (that's the earliest I've seen)
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Hi,
I was wondering if you haven't gotten accepted at any school yet, should you fill out the FAFSA anyways? Do the FAFSA ask for which school you are applying for? If so, how would you know what to put there since you don't know what school you are going to? Sorry, I am new at this. Please help. Thanks!
 
I was all excited when I heard that the majority of pharmacy school students qualify for financial aid. My first time gettin' financial aid! Yeayuh!

Then I learned that pharmacy school financial aid = loans.
 
iwannafarm said:
Hi,
I was wondering if you haven't gotten accepted at any school yet, should you fill out the FAFSA anyways? Do the FAFSA ask for which school you are applying for? If so, how would you know what to put there since you don't know what school you are going to? Sorry, I am new at this. Please help. Thanks!
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You can still go ahead & fill it out without including any school. Whenever you are sure of the intended school, you can go back and make corrections on it....via which you add your school.

But you can only make corrections after your initial application has been processed, which takes about 2-3 weeks, if I'm not mistaken. And you can submit a correction up to 7 times; no more than that. Each submitted correction takes about 3 buisness days to be processed. :)

You can visit their site for more info; www.fafsa.ed.gov
 
Electrode said:
You can still go ahead & fill it out without including any school. Whenever you are sure of the intended school, you can go back and make corrections on it....via which you add your school.

But you can only make corrections after your initial application has been processed, which takes about 2-3 weeks, if I'm not mistaken. And you can submit a correction up to 7 times; no more than that. Each submitte:)d correction takes about 3 buisness days to be processed.

You can visit their site for more info; www.fafsa.ed.gov
Click to expand...

You can put in all the schools you are applying to- accepted or still waiting. Some people make decisions on where to eventually go depending on the final package they get from the particular school.
 
The above two posts covered everything I wanted to say...well done.
 
Electrode said:
You can still go ahead & fill it out without including any school. Whenever you are sure of the intended school, you can go back and make corrections on it....via which you add your school.

But you can only make corrections after your initial application has been processed, which takes about 2-3 weeks, if I'm not mistaken. And you can submit a correction up to 7 times; no more than that. Each submitted correction takes about 3 buisness days to be processed. :)

You can visit their site for more info; www.fafsa.ed.gov
Click to expand...



Thanks for your help.
 
Should I wait til I receive this years W-2 to fill out the FAFSA?
 
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