Loans

[RayneeDeigh]

I'm really frustrated and my dad and all his coworkers are tired of listening to me whine (I'm hanging out at his clinic to get some thesis work done) so I'm here to express my discontent.

There's really only one loan program for Canadians who want to study in the US, so they basically have a monopoly on it... and today I found out you can only defer payment from 4 years from the date that they give you money.

So... you can postpone payment for 4 years, but as we all know you don't get a PhD until the end of your 5th year (provided you get into an internship site which seems to be getting harder if this forum is any indication).

Oh, but of course they make exceptions for med students because they're the only ones who get internship requirements. *rolls eyes*

So I'm having a bit of a problem figuring out how it would be possible for me to go to PGSP.

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[paramour]

I'm really frustrated and my dad and all his coworkers are tired of listening to me whine (I'm hanging out at his clinic to get some thesis work done) so I'm here to express my discontent.

There's really only one loan program for Canadians who want to study in the US, so they basically have a monopoly on it... and today I found out you can only defer payment from 4 years from the date that they give you money.

So... you can postpone payment for 4 years, but as we all know you don't get a PhD until the end of your 5th year (provided you get into an internship site which seems to be getting harder if this forum is any indication).

Oh, but of course they make exceptions for med students because they're the only ones who get internship requirements. *rolls eyes*

So I'm having a bit of a problem figuring out how it would be possible for me to go to PGSP.

bleh. That sucketh. You could try really, really hard and finish in four, I suppose. I know there are some who do but I suspect they're few & far between and it likely varies by what the program will allow, of course.

There is a student in my lab who is running into a financial dilemma herself. She's been accepted to a PsyD program in San Francisco, and she is only just now realizing that she has to pay a substantial amount of money to attend. At this point, she is constantly changing her mind about whether to go ahead, suck it up, and attend with massive debt in her future, or re-apply another application cycle.

Maybe you can find a sponsor? Like they do for fundraisers, charitable events, and such? Donate $1,000/$5,000/$10,000 for every month that RayneeDeigh completes of grad school . . .

G'luck!

 

[RayneeDeigh]

bleh. That sucketh. You could try really, really hard and finish in four, I suppose. I know there are some who do but I suspect they're few & far between and it likely varies by what the program will allow, of course.

There is a student in my lab who is running into a financial dilemma herself. She's been accepted to a PsyD program in San Francisco, and she is only just now realizing that she has to pay a substantial amount of money to attend. At this point, she is constantly changing her mind about whether to go ahead, suck it up, and attend with massive debt in her future, or re-apply another application cycle.

Maybe you can find a sponsor? Like they do for fundraisers, charitable events, and such? Donate $1,000/$5,000/$10,000 for every month that RayneeDeigh completes of grad school . . .

G'luck!

I like the way you think!

My friend was like "oh, I saw this thing on TV where big American corporations have to give away money for tax purposes at the end of the year. You should write letters to all of them and plead your case. Lie and say you're missing limbs or something!"


I guess re-applying isn't such a huge deal... as long as I actually get in to a University program next time. It just might break my heart to turn down an acceptance of any kind though, even if it IS a school that costs a billion dollars a year like PGSP. lol

*unrelated grumbling*: I really hate how expensive SPSS is. I'm running out of computers to install the 14-day free trial on. lol

 

[tkj]

...

 

[RayneeDeigh]

While re-applying is certainly a lot of work, I don't necessarily think it's a bad idea. If you're going to go into massive debt, you want to make sure that a) you have a very good reason for doing it (school, professors, and program are all a great match for you), and b) you have a reasonable chance of repaying that debt in a respectable period of time. A PhD in psych is not like a law degree or med degree where you'll easily be able to pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt without blinking.

Not to say that you couldn't go into debt for this program, but is it really, really necessary? If you re-apply, you have time to gain some more research experience (I'm not saying that's a weak point in your app, I'm just saying it's something that is always helpful to have more of) and you can attempt to address certain deficiencies in your application. Presumably this will make your application more competitive, or at the very least you'll have a better feel for the types of schools that fit you best next year and you'll stand a better shot at getting into more programs that suit your goals.

Moreover, if you find programs that are a good match for you, you'll possibly be able to obtain funding so that you don't incur any (or less) debt over your 5 year tenure in graduate school. Obviously that's far from guaranteed, but it certainly wouldn't be impossible.

An acceptance is a nice thing to have (and should certainly not be taken for granted), but don't overlook your options just because they are so scarce (an application that garners one acceptance this year may be able to earn several more the next year from simply tightening it up, going against a different cohort, and selecting programs that are even better fits). I think the key point is just to stay focused on what your main goal is. Despite the hassles of reapplying, another year is relatively minuscule if it means you'll be able to find a program that is a better fit, or at least more economically feasible.

That was worded so tactfully, and definitely what I needed to hear. Gracias!

In a weird way I guess I'm a little excited to reapply. I felt it was rushed this year because I was doing my honours thesis at the same time, so this way I can network over the summer and do things at a nicer pace.

Plus, the extra year spent with my family is definitely something I can't complain about. I've been a student since I was 2 years old so maybe a year off is good.

Sure PGSP is a nice fit for me and everytime I call the people seem very nice, but I'm not sure that's worth the $200,000 debt I would be in by the age of 26.

Oh what would I do without this forum? hehe.

 

[CheetahGirl]

So I'm having a bit of a problem figuring out how it would be possible for me to go to PGSP.

Hey RayneeDeigh...

Could you defer acceptance for one year, work in a clinic psych research position, $save big time to help with living expenses, reapply to schools that provide funding, and either 1) go to PGSP in 2008 because it's really what you want to do, or 2) get into another program and write PGSP a nice letter saying you decided not to attend?

I don't know if it's possible. But, worth looking into...

Is $200,000 CAD? If so, it's dilemma a lot of people are going through with programs that cost $120,000 USD, which boils down to "how badly do you want to start on that path to being a doctor?"

 

[RayneeDeigh]

Hey RayneeDeigh...

Could you defer acceptance for one year, work in a clinic psych research position, $save big time to help with living expenses, reapply to schools that provide funding, and either 1) go to PGSP in 2008 because it's really what you want to do, or 2) get into another program and write PGSP a nice letter saying you decided not to attend?

I don't know if it's possible. But, worth looking into...

Is $200,000 CAD? If so, it's dilemma a lot of people are going through with programs that cost $120,000 USD, which boils down to "how badly do you want to start on that path to being a doctor?"

I'm pretty sure they don't defer, but it's worth looking into.

Unfortunately where I live, there are really no paid research positions. I've been looking though, and I'm hoping to find something.

It's $200,000 USD. So that's... a ton of money. lol

I have a call in to the loan program to argue about how they're making it hard for Psych students. Hopefully they'll call me.