•••quote:•••Originally posted by COMP Bound:
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I was wondering if you guys could help me.
I have all of my Stafford loan eligibility (did not take out any Stafford loans in undergrad). But here's the problem. My credit is in shambles. You see, because I didn't qualify for any federal or state aid in undergrad (I was not yet a U.S. citizen)I had no choice but to use mostly credit cards to pay for my undergrad. This was a last resort. If I had not done it I would not have been able to attend school and would not be where I am today.
But after using all that credit and not being able to jump right into the workforce to start paying it all back because I was applying to med school, I found myself getting behind and now my credit is completely ruined.
•••••If you are now a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you should be able to take out Stafford and Perkins loans, which have nothing whatsoever to do with your credit (i.e. they don't require a credit check). You may even be able to make a special case to your particular school regarding the credit card debt due to previous educational costs, depending on how flexible they are in dealing with extraneous financial circumstances. In the meantime, I'd look at
<a href="http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/StudentGuide/2002-3/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/StudentGuide/2002-3/index.html</a>
as well as the web pages of the med school(s) you're considering to determine your options for aid.