No On Campus Housing....What to do...HELP!!!!

[starrz329]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Ok Im sorry if this question sounds kinds retarted but im a naive 2nd yr pre-med student. ok ive have been looking at schools recently that I want to apply to and about half of them to not have on campus housing, so i would have to find a apartment. So to go about this, especially paying for the apartment would I have to take out a private loan to cover thngs like rent, utilites, ect, or do most people work part time, or have thier parents pay for the rent, just curious thats all, this question has been bothering me for a while....thank you for yoyr help.

 

[nerdgrrl]

Ok Im sorry if this question sounds kinds retarted but im a naive 2nd yr pre-med student. ok ive have been looking at schools recently that I want to apply to and about half of them to not have on campus housing, so i would have to find a apartment. So to go about this, especially paying for the apartment would I have to take out a private loan to cover thngs like rent, utilites, ect, or do most people work part time, or have thier parents pay for the rent, just curious thats all, this question has been bothering me for a while....thank you for yoyr help.

you will be paying for housing whether you live on campus, or not, and once you get into graduate housing, it tends to be just as expensive (or more!) to live on campus as off.

you won't have time to work. private loans are a given. med school is expensive, no matter how you look at it, though it is less expensive with in-state tuition at a state school.

my advice? you're only a sophomore in college. RELAX!! all of this falls into place later.

 

[rub1003]

I am taking out a loan that covers both my tuition, rent, and a bit of emergency money. Then leaving the rest for my parents 🙂 I have heard that some loan money doesn't come before school starts, so you might want to save enough for a couple months worth of rent and miscellaneous expenses.

 

[It'sElectric]

Ok Im sorry if this question sounds kinds retarted but im a naive 2nd yr pre-med student. ok ive have been looking at schools recently that I want to apply to and about half of them to not have on campus housing, so i would have to find a apartment. So to go about this, especially paying for the apartment would I have to take out a private loan to cover thngs like rent, utilites, ect, or do most people work part time, or have thier parents pay for the rent, just curious thats all, this question has been bothering me for a while....thank you for yoyr help.

Every school creates a budget that covers all of your basic needs, not just tuition. So in other words, they factor in rent, food, clothing, books, utilities, etc. You are able to take out loans that will cover the entire budget. Thus, there is nothing to worry about (unless you have kids and a wife, because then it becomes trickier). You will not need to work or beg for money. All that being said, I would highly recommend getting a part-time job through your school. A job in the library or doing some TA work is almost always easy and more than works around your schedule since you are there to learn, not work.

In other words, relax.

 

[Texas007]

Relax and enjoy college. You will miss your undergrad years once they are gone, trust me. Most people take out private loans to cover housing and misc. expenses. It all works out. Work hard, but enjoy your college experience.

 

[It'sElectric]

Most people take out private loans to cover housing and misc. expenses.

From my experience, this is very untrue....especially now that the Grad Plus loan exists. Every school's budget should cover your expenses for the year. In general, the only instances where people would need to take out private loans are individuals with families and people who have maxed out their federal allowance. The latter really wouldn't occur until about the 4th year for those particular individuals, unless that person took out an unbelievable amount of loans during undergrad.

 

[jonb12997]

From my experience, this is very untrue....especially now that the Grad Plus loan exists. Every school's budget should cover your expenses for the year. In general, the only instances where people would need to take out private loans are individuals with families and people who have maxed out their federal allowance. The latter really wouldn't occur until about the 4th year for those particular individuals, unless that person took out an unbelievable amount of loans during undergrad.

sorta... if you're at a state school where tuition is low, you can cover pretty much everything (tuition plus living expenses) with just your stafford sub and unsub loans. those of us at private schools where tuition is 30k and up will and do max out their yearly limit of the sub and unsub loans and have to go for private loans to make up the difference. there might be a lifetime limit for sub and unsub loans, I don't know exactly, but I know we're limited in the amount we can take out every year from that and have to supplement with the private loans.

however, relax, you're going to make enough money to pay it back when you're a doc. 🙂

 

[djnels01]

sorta... if you're at a state school where tuition is low, you can cover pretty much everything (tuition plus living expenses) with just your stafford sub and unsub loans. those of us at private schools where tuition is 30k and up will and do max out their yearly limit of the sub and unsub loans and have to go for private loans to make up the difference. there might be a lifetime limit for sub and unsub loans, I don't know exactly, but I know we're limited in the amount we can take out every year from that and have to supplement with the private loans.

however, relax, you're going to make enough money to pay it back when you're a doc. 🙂

FYI, It'sElectric and myself are both at a private school with tuition of $30k+ and I didn't have to take out a single private loan (unless the GradPLUS loan counts as private - but I don't think it does). So it can be done solely on gov't loans... however, I think there is a limit to how much you can borrow through Staffords, so it is possible that if you take out the max loan every year, by year 4 you may have to take out private loans to make up the difference (what you aren't able to get in staffords anymore). Really gov't money is the cheapest money you can "borrow", so it is in your best financial interest to stay away from private loans for as long as possible - which you should be able to do in med school!

Someone correct me if I am wrong...

 

[It'sElectric]

FYI, It'sElectric and myself are both at a private school with tuition of $30k+ and I didn't have to take out a single private loan (unless the GradPLUS loan counts as private - but I don't think it does). So it can be done solely on gov't loans... however, I think there is a limit to how much you can borrow through Staffords, so it is possible that if you take out the max loan every year, by year 4 you may have to take out private loans to make up the difference (what you aren't able to get in staffords anymore). Really gov't money is the cheapest money you can "borrow", so it is in your best financial interest to stay away from private loans for as long as possible - which you should be able to do in med school!

Someone correct me if I am wrong...

You are 100% correct. Grad Plus loans are government loans that are infinitely better for the average med student than most private loans out there today. There definitely is a limit on Staffords for the maximum lifetime, as well as a yearly maximum. The maximum amount of Staffords that health professions students can take out in a lifetime is $189,125. The yearly maximum is somewhere around $40,000. The good thing is that the Grad Plus loan will cover everything that wasn't covered by Stafford loans all the way up to your school's budget.

Thus, it was not uncommon for 4th year students to have to take out private loans during their 4th year. As the Grad Plus loan currently exists, this should no longer be the case, since there is no maximum limit on Grad Plus loans a person can take out (so long as it doesn't exceed the school's budget). Therefore, if you hit the maximum Stafford loan limit at the end of your 3rd year, you could entirely fund your 4th year with a Grad Plus loan (gov't loan).

Hopefully that all makes a little sense. All that being said, I hope to live off my fiance my last 2 years so that I won't have to take out nearly as many loans.😀

 

[starrz329]

thanx u guys so much, uve clared up alot of things for me, thanx for the info

 

[jonb12997]

I guess we never got any information about the gradplus loans... I'm gonna have to look into this now. Thanks for the info! 🙂

 

[djnels01]

I guess we never got any information about the gradplus loans... I'm gonna have to look into this now. Thanks for the info! 🙂

No problem! GradPLUS is very similar to a stafford loan (lower interest, no credit check required, in case of your "untimely demise" no debt burden goes to your next of kin, etc.) and as such is more attractive (IMO) than private loans.

Ask financial aid about this, I think this academic year was the first one that GradPLUS was made available so it may not be common knowledge yet-

 

[It'sElectric]

I guess we never got any information about the gradplus loans... I'm gonna have to look into this now. Thanks for the info! 🙂

What DJ said. Definitely look into it. It's the exact same thing as all of the other gov't loans (Staffords), but with a slightly higher interest rate. It is currently fixed at 8.5%, but at repayment, most companies reduce that to around 7%. You also don't have to repayment until after graduation/residency, whereas most private loans require you to begin repayment sooner than that.

Best of luck