Need Advice! Paying for Post-Bacc

[MDmePLEASE]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So here is my situation...

I'm doing my post bacc in a "do it yourself" route, at a full time pace (12 hours/semester). However, both of my local universities cap your hours as a non-degree student such as myself at 8 per semester, whereas i need to take 12. My solution has been to take 8 hours at one, 4 hours at the other. It's a pain, and a lot of paperwork and all that, but they aren't far away so i'm swinging it.

So that problem's solved, which presents another.... getting loans for it. Federal and private loans are both capped at ONE university's cost of attendance, which by default is the PART-TIME cost of attendance for whichever i choose. And then i'm left paying for the other 4 hours out of pocket. So as it stands now, i'm getting part time aid, but i'm a full time student, without much time to work, and paying for additional classes out of pocket...

The way the numbers look now... i'm barely covering rent much less any other fixed expense.

I seem to be stuck. Help!

 

[DrMidlife]

i need to take 12

Why? What's forcing this? Student loan deferrals?

Getting financial aid for a postbac is stupid hard. There's no magic secret.

In your shoes I'd regroup and rework the plan around where the money's coming from. For now you could focus on getting a stable job with benefits (ideally, a job at a university where you can take classes for free). Get yourself accepted into a degree-seeking program (such as a 2nd bachelors) so that you're eligible for financial aid, but that won't cover cost of attendance. You can look at private loans to cover the balance, but don't carry those into med school - get all private/consumer debt paid off.

If you're needing to improve your GPA in addition to getting prereqs done, it's best to not be too in love with a schedule. It takes too much luck to fit in a schedule.

Best of luck to you.

 

[MDmePLEASE]

Well, basically i want to take 12 hours a semester because i want to finish the post-bacc in a year. I'm hoping to finish my pre-requisites in about a calendar year (starting this fall) and apply to medical school late next year.

I just quit a stable job with benefits in order to be able to pursue this (one so time consuming though it left absolutely zero time in which i could take any sort of class). I realize now there's no option except to work part time once i get settled back into school.

I was accepted into the closest formal program in my area, however the aid situation is no better there, because full time cost of attendance at that school is actually the same as PART time attendance at the school that i discuss above and plan to go to. And plus, the school with the formal program is about a 3 hour roundtrip commute from where i live now, and i can't move at the moment, so that would not be a good option for my wallet or my sanity.

I think if i get the max federal/private loans up to the part time cost of attendance at my local university, use every penny of savings i have, and start working part time once i see where my free time lies, i can scrape by for a year.

Not going to be easy, but somehow it will work out...

 

[DrMidlife]

apply to medical school late next year....

Worrisome plan; please reconsider. If you visit the reapplicants forum you'll see lots and lots of posts from perfectly well qualified applicants wondering why they didn't get in, and it always comes out that they applied late (August or later),

To get an early med school app done, you have to be looking at MCAT exam dates around April.

Maybe a two year plan would cover the financial & MCAT & app timing issues...

Best of luck to you.

 

[MDmePLEASE]

Thanks Dr. Midlife.... I've actually come to that same decision after speaking with an admissions officer at my #1 school (and by fortunate coincidence, the dean of that same medical school!). They both advised me not to rush but instead to present the best possible application.

Instead of aiming to finish by next summer and apply late, i'm going to stretch it out till the next spring when i'll be taking my last pre-req along with an MCAT review course, so that i can take the test in April and put in my application right when they open.

This also helps with my aid situation, because at least i will be receiving part time aid and actually taking classes part time, leaving more time to work/volunteer, etc. The only downside being I have to try and stretch my savings two years instead of one.

I think since I am starting all of this later in life than most i just wanted to push it along as fast as possible to catch up, however now i see just how much that would have been to squeeze in in one year.

Good advice, thanks.

 

[plauto]

I see that you have solved your problem...on a different note, you could just declare a major to overcome the 8 credit rule and take whatever classes you need. That's what I did...

 

[galaxyx]

Have you spoken with a continuing education adviser at the two schools you are taking classes at? The school I take classes at limits credits to 7 for non degree seeking, but this is waved if you already have a degree. It's a pain signing up for classes because I have to do it in person at the continuing ed office each time, but it's not hard. They do look at my grades every time before granting the extra units, so if you have a poor academic record I think it would be harder to get an exception.