Paying for US med school as a Canadian citizen

[xtekian]

I found out 3 days ago, after waiting forever on 3 waitlists, that I got into Eastern Virginia Medical School 😎😎

Unfortunately, I now have a huge problem. Here are my circumstances: I'm a Canadian citizen, and I have spent my last ten years living in the US -- I went to high school and college in the US, and I'm currently working in the US. My parents are also Canadian citizens and also have lived in the US for the past ten years. My family doesn't have the money to finance my med school for all four years, which is ($50k tuition + $15k living costs) x 4 years.

I'm also in no man's land in terms of getting a loan--
1. I cannot get any American-based student loan without an American cosigner. I can't find a cosigner, especially since they gets no benefit from signing and only take on risk.
2. I cannot get any student line of credit (loc) at a Canadian bank for three reasons
2a. some banks only give loc for students going to Canadian schools
2b. some banks require the student to be a resident of Canada (to have lived in Canada in the past year)
2b. some banks require the cosigner to be a Canadian citizen living in Canada
2d. All the banks I have checked have limitation(s) a, b, and/or c.
3. Since I haven't lived in Canada for over 10 years, I haven't looked at provincial/government loans since I don't have any residency in any provinces.

So the problem is, I can't get a US loan because my parents can't cosign such a loan as Canadian citizens. But I can't a Canadian loan because my family doesn't live in Canada and don't have any credit in Canada.

I really am not sure what I can do at this point to secure loans for med school. The only option at this point is to get money from family, but I don't want my parents to put all their savings into my first year of med school without me somehow knowing that I can pay for the last three.

Any help would be immensely appreciated.

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[PistolPete]

First of all, congrats on getting into a great med school! But wow, tough situation dude! I'm a Canadian citizen only and got a LOC loan from a Canadian bank to finance my education. You have to try and do this, that is your only way. Try and explain your circumstance to as many banks as possible. You are a Canadian citizen and so are your parents, so some bank should be able to give you something, somewhere. That's my only advice. You won't be able to get a US federal loan if you are not a US citizen, or a private US loan if you can't find a US cosigner, which would be your only other option, I think.

Good luck!

Try internationalstudentloan . com, maybe that'll give you some ideas?

 

[docbill]

First of all, congrats on getting into a great med school! But wow, tough situation dude! I'm a Canadian citizen only and got a LOC loan from a Canadian bank to finance my education. You have to try and do this, that is your only way. Try and explain your circumstance to as many banks as possible. You are a Canadian citizen and so are your parents, so some bank should be able to give you something, somewhere. That's my only advice. You won't be able to get a US federal loan if you are not a US citizen, or a private US loan if you can't find a US cosigner, which would be your only other option, I think.

Good luck!

Try internationalstudentloan . com, maybe that'll give you some ideas?

I don't know about that. You have no credit in Canada, no family in Canada, it will be difficult to convince someone that you have interest in returning there to pay your loans.

It is a difficult situation and I must say, you better off not starting if you can't afford to finish. Sometimes life sucks like that.

 

[xtekian]

I don't know about that. You have no credit in Canada, no family in Canada, it will be difficult to convince someone that you have interest in returning there to pay your loans.

It is a difficult situation and I must say, you better off not starting if you can't afford to finish. Sometimes life sucks like that.

That is basically the reason why I can't get a LOC from a Canadian bank. The banks I have called more or less won't budge on this issue, and I am losing hope as to how I can get any private loans. I may be able to qualify for an Alberta Student Loans since that is the last province I have lived in while in Canada, but it has been 10 years and I've changed my name and I'm going to a foreign med school, too many uncertainties in that application 😕

There must be a way though. Maybe there are educational organizations which I can contact to get sponsorship from? Maybe I can scrape by med school for the first two years and hope for some changes in loan regulations? I can't give up hope now, I am so close..

 

[nonamesleft]

are you considered a US permanent resident? If so, wouldn't you qualify for US federal loans?

also, have you tried asking EVMS? maybe they have fin. aid or scholarships for such cases?

good luck!

 

[xtekian]

are you considered a US permanent resident? If so, wouldn't you qualify for US federal loans?

also, have you tried asking EVMS? maybe they have fin. aid or scholarships for such cases?

good luck!

I'm not a permanent resident =/ I did call EVMS financial aid, unfortunately they don't provide any sort of financial aid to international students. They already told me that there are two other upperclass Canadians who are already a semester behind in tuition because of changes in lending policy so they can no longer obtain loans 😱

 

[Cyradis]

Do your parents have their green card? US private loans often only require your co-signer to be a perm resident, not necessarily a citizen.

Also, even if a lot of banks SAY they require a US citizen/perm resident co-signer, try calling them. From what I've heard, banks tend to be fairly lenient on loan conditions for medical students (since medical students are generally a pretty low risk loan).

 

[MontereyMD]

Not a problem:

Here's how you get med school funded, a monthly salary and a green card all from Uncle Sam:

EARN YOUR CITIZENSHIP WHILE YOU SERVE THE UNITED STATES

Around the world, more than 29,000 non-U.S. citizens are currently serving in uniform, with more than 8,000 new legal, permanent foreign-born residents enlisting each year.
Under a 2002 order signed by the President of the United States, the U.S. Army has worked closely with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to make it easier for service members to obtain American citizenship. Nearly 43,000 non-citizen members of the armed forces have attained their citizenship since 2002.
Eligibility
To qualify for citizenship and other benefits with the U.S. Army Medical Corps, you must have lawful permanent residence, or be legally present in the US and eligible under a new Department of Defense program called “Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest.” In addition, you must:

• Be a practicing physician in the United States
• Be board-certified or board-eligible from an American board, based on specialty
• Be able to read, speak and write English fluently
• Have completed an accredited residency program in the United States
• Have lawful permanent residence (a “green card”) OR have held a non-immigrant legal status for at least two years and not have traveled outside of the US on a single trip of more than 90 days during that time (qualifying non-immigrant statuses include asylee, refugee, TPS, E, F, H, I, J, K, L, M, O, P, Q, R, S, T, TC, TD, TN, U or V)

As a F-1 Student you qualify
Only 2 year commitment.
Likely you'll just be sent to some place in the US

 

[yougotit]

I was wondering if someone found more info about this. I am in my 3rd year and completely ran out of money. I don't have a cosigner in the US nor a cosigner in Canada. My credit is good in Canada but they won't give me any money without a cosigner...

 

[DubZteR]

do you have a social security number? if so you might be able to get some loans for med school.

 

[duppyconqueror]

Does anyone know if you can take out multiple LOC to satisfy tuition (+living expenses) at american schools that easily go beyond the 200K loans?

Also, I heard, that banks give you more money as needed in later years? Is that true?

Thanks

 

[PistolPete]

Yes. I have two separate Lines of Credit from two Canadian banks to cover my medical expenses here in the US. I had to put up our house for collateral and had a co-signer. Can't wait to get to residency and start making money finally!!

 

[Giovanotto]

How did this end...good lord!

 

[eel]

Ya I am curious to know how it ended also. Sounds nightmarish. I am freakishly worried that I will gain acceptance but not find a way to fund it. I have heard anecdotally about students getting double LOCs from separate Canadian banks, a la @PistolPete. I wonder how easy this is to do if I do not have a house to put up as collateral...

 

[PistolPete]

Yup, it ain't easy folks. I have two LOC's from private Canadian banks. If anyone has other bright ideas, I'd be curious what they are.

 

[UBC2014]

You should figure out funding before applying - it ain't cheap. No point applying if you won't be able to afford it. So if you don't have parents or family that can help out, i would do your research first.