Med School Costs/Grad Plus Loans, Co-signers

[arc5005]

Hi there, I'm looking for any information that people have used in the past to help prepare them to tackle the cost of medical school.

1) What type of credit score is needed to qualify for the grad plus loan without a co-singer?
2) I've heard people saying physicians are least likely to default on their loans, but I don't know where I can find this data. If I were to need a co-signer, then I'm going to have to convince this person that I'm very unlikely to default on this loan.
3) What options are there if you don't have anyone to co-sign the grad plus loans?
4) Both the military and NHSC both seem super competitive, with thousands of people applying for a few spots, so while those are options, they are not guaranteed.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Chibucks15]

Hi there, I'm looking for any information that people have used in the past to help prepare them to tackle the cost of medical school.

1) What type of credit score is needed to qualify for the grad plus loan without a co-singer?
2) I've heard people saying physicians are least likely to default on their loans, but I don't know where I can find this data. If I were to need a co-signer, then I'm going to have to convince this person that I'm very unlikely to default on this loan.
3) What options are there if you don't have anyone to co-sign the grad plus loans?
4) Both the military and NHSC both seem super competitive, with thousands of people applying for a few spots, so while those are options, they are not guaranteed.

I don't have anyone co-signing mine. I have pretty good credit but I hadn't really ever heard of someone needing a cosigner unless their credit was pure garbage

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

You won't need a cosigner.

 

[Magus5454]

as long as you don't have an open collection or delinquency you should be fine

 

[Fennel608]

Hi there, I'm looking for any information that people have used in the past to help prepare them to tackle the cost of medical school.

1) What type of credit score is needed to qualify for the grad plus loan without a co-singer?
2) I've heard people saying physicians are least likely to default on their loans, but I don't know where I can find this data. If I were to need a co-signer, then I'm going to have to convince this person that I'm very unlikely to default on this loan.
3) What options are there if you don't have anyone to co-sign the grad plus loans?
4) Both the military and NHSC both seem super competitive, with thousands of people applying for a few spots, so while those are options, they are not guaranteed.

You likely won’t need a co-signer, but most loans go off the rule of thumb of mid 600s and lower need a co-signer. Like someone said, unless you have adverse credit history you’ll probably be fine.

Keep in mind that you also have unsubsidized loans that could be available to you. These are different than grad plus but typically don’t include COA. Grad plus allows you to borrow up to the COA. Grad plus has higher disbursement fees and interest rates, so I have tried to keep my graduate loans to unsubsidized loans only. You likely know some of that already, so I don’t intend to be redundant, I’m just making sure I have bases covered.

Grad plus do not currently have a lifetime cap, but unsubsidized have a cap around 138,000 and can typically only be used for tuition.

No idea how to get someone to co-sign. I suppose it likely should be a parent, but not everyone has that option. I have no idea how to sell it to someone. Maybe you have to take the person into a bank or credit union and talk about different outcomes for loans? Idk.

There are loan repayment programs that are state specific and specialty specific. I think Iowa has its own version of NHSC, not positive though. The NHSC also has a loan repayment program. I believe you can go military after medical school and have a certain amount of the cost reimbursed.

If you feel like you need more info, you can definitely call the financial aid office of the school you plan on attending and they will be more than willing to help you.

Anyone can fact check me if needed. This is the discussion that I had with DMUs financial aid office yesterday, but I could have been mislead or could have misunderstood.

 

[deleted953743]

4) Both the military and NHSC both seem super competitive, with thousands of people applying for a few spots, so while those are options, they are not guaranteed.

It depends on the branch. Army actually has EXCESS of HPSP spots, according to my recruiter. Don't let Army scare you though! 🙂 Lots of benefits doing military med in that branch compared to the others.

As for whether it's guaranteed.. it can be if you hustle now. My recruiter sent my app in mid-November and now I have a guaranteed spot with Air Force HPSP contingent upon receiving an acceptance. If you're interested in Air Force, you could be considered as MATRIX if you have above 503 MCAT (125 minimum in all sections) and 3.4 GPA. MATRIX doesn't require rec letters, essays etc. Even if you're not MATRIX, you could probably get the additional requirements in order quickly. The only required time sink is going to MEPS to get a health check-up. I guess a possible time sink would be getting medical documents together if you've had serious medical conditions in the past, but other than that, getting the app together and getting approved is pretty straightforward. You're also accepted already, so your recruiter will definitely be expediting your application!

 

[arc5005]

It depends on the branch. Army actually has EXCESS of HPSP spots, according to my recruiter. Don't let Army scare you though! 🙂 Lots of benefits doing military med in that branch compared to the others.

As for whether it's guaranteed.. it can be if you hustle now. My recruiter sent my app in mid-November and now I have a guaranteed spot with Air Force HPSP contingent upon receiving an acceptance. If you're interested in Air Force, you could be considered as MATRIX if you have above 503 MCAT (125 minimum in all sections) and 3.4 GPA. MATRIX doesn't require rec letters, essays etc. Even if you're not MATRIX, you could probably get the additional requirements in order quickly. The only required time sink is going to MEPS to get a health check-up. I guess a possible time sink would be getting medical documents together if you've had serious medical conditions in the past, but other than that, getting the app together and getting approved is pretty straightforward. You're also accepted already, so your recruiter will definitely be expediting your application!

you have to serve 1 year for every year they pay for med school, but does that start during residency or afterwards?

 

[deleted953743]

you have to serve 1 year for every year they pay for med school, but does that start during residency or afterwards?

It starts after residency, even if you match into a military base residency.

 

[ChiDr]

Question on the topic of loans.

What are people able to cover with their loans? What can they not include?

How do students cover housing, cost of living, etc? Do students use loans?

 

[Fennel608]

Question on the topic of loans.

What are people able to cover with their loans? What can they not include?

How do students cover housing, cost of living, etc? Do students use loans?

Some people have saved money, some are crazy and work during med school (not recommended), some have partners or family that support their living, but most people take out cost of living/attendance loans. The amount you can take out using federal loans is specified by the school to my knowledge. Unsure of private loan sources but I suggest sticking to taking out as little as possible.

You can use loans legally on the following:

Tuition and seg fees
Housing and meals
Transportation to and from school
Student insurance
Books and other equipment

There are differences like I said above regarding how much you can take out with unsubsidized versus grad plus, but you should call a financial aid office and talk to them about your specific financial situation.

 

[Fennel608]

I also want to say that you should check out the pages on the AAMC site that talk more about financial aid and paying for medical school.

 

[Dagrimsta1]

Question on the topic of loans.

What are people able to cover with their loans? What can they not include?

How do students cover housing, cost of living, etc? Do students use loans?

Your school will likely calculate a cost of attendance and a "cost of living" for you meaning they take into account all of the mandatory fees and tuition required by them as well as the cost of you paying your rent, food, books, etc. It may or may not be enough but you can alter that number in accordance to what you want/need. In my case, My school always over calculates so I reduce it accordingly. The max amount you can take out is a calculated number that is provided to your school by fafsa or your loan provider based off the info you provide them.

You are not allowed to use your loans to make any outside investments like real estate, stocks, bonds, or "assets". (Not really sure how that is controlled though tbh)

Most students I've seen use loans for all of their needs. (There is no chance of working through med school b/c you have little to no time for anything else)

Others I know are doing military programs where they pay for your school with an additional stipend but you have to "work for them" until you pay it back (usually 1 year of service for every year they cover your schooling).

Some have their parents pay for the full ride. (More than you think considering the fact they hide this fact to avoid being called spoiled or privileged)

In an above question - from what I understand, student loans CANNOT be defaulted (aka bankruptcy won't help).

The only ways that I know that your loans can be excused other than government programs and hospital repayment contracts is if your intuition cannot provide you with a degree for whatever reason. (Lost accreditation, burnt down, etc.) The other one is if you die...

I highly recommend everyone read their loan contracts before taking them on. Yeah it's long but it's not exactly a small amount of money you're borrowing. You WANT TO KNOW what they want from you.

 

[esob]

Your school will likely calculate a cost of attendance and a "cost of living" for you meaning they take into account all of the mandatory fees and tuition required by them as well as the cost of you paying your rent, food, books, etc. It may or may not be enough but you can alter that number in accordance to what you want/need. In my case, My school always over calculates so I reduce it accordingly. The max amount you can take out is a calculated number that is provided to your school by fafsa or your loan provider based off the info you provide them.

You are not allowed to use your loans to make any outside investments like real estate, stocks, bonds, or "assets". (Not really sure how that is controlled though tbh)

Most students I've seen use loans for all of their needs. (There is no chance of working through med school b/c you have little to no time for anything else)

Others I know are doing military programs where they pay for your school with an additional stipend but you have to "work for them" until you pay it back (usually 1 year of service for every year they cover your schooling).

Some have their parents pay for the full ride. (More than you think considering the fact they hide this fact to avoid being called spoiled or privileged)

In an above question - from what I understand, student loans CANNOT be defaulted (aka bankruptcy won't help).

The only ways that I know that your loans can be excused other than government programs and hospital repayment contracts is if your intuition cannot provide you with a degree for whatever reason. (Lost accreditation, burnt down, etc.) The other one is if you die...

I highly recommend everyone read their loan contracts before taking them on. Yeah it's long but it's not exactly a small amount of money you're borrowing. You WANT TO KNOW what they want from you.

If you become disabled, you can also have your loans discharged. I know of some vets that were rated 100% and it automatically qualified them for student loan discharge.