Private loans for med school....help!

[TRPMinus]

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[raiderette]

CHiP and WIC are both obvious options that should be utilized. If your wife is going to be a stay-at-home mom, she can learn so many ways to save money like using thrift stores, making cheap meals. If you can live in a small place, that can help a lot.

 

[libertyyne]

I don't think you can take private educational loans above the coa.

 

[libertyyne]

Yes, I'll definitely have to look into these. I'm not looking to cover my tuition or educational expenses @libertyyne, just the day to day expenses like food and clothing

You can take out a private loan that will have repayment start 45 days after you take it out and at10% interest. You can't go to a bank and say I want an educational loan above what the school is listing as COA.

 

[fball22]

Med School with stay-at-home mom and kid(s)

 

[UGA Non Trad]

I don't think you can take private educational loans above the coa.

You can definitely take out private students loans, depending on your credit. See Discover, WF, etc.

 

[grapefruit17]

first step is checking with your school. typically they can raise the COA for certain reasons. Although the raise may be 1-2k, still beats pursuing private loans.

 

[libertyyne]

You can definitely take out private students loans, depending on your credit. See Discover, WF, etc.

Medical School Loans for Health Professions | Discover Student Loans

How much can I borrow?

• Each year, you can borrow up to 100% of your school-certified cost of attendance (including tuition, housing, books and more) minus other financial aid. Aggregate loan limits apply.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

will be three of us living on 25k/yr)

What? 3 people should be able to live on 25k a year. We did it in undergrad with less and there were 4 of us. Look into WIC, food stamps, Medicaid, and any other help programs available. There are lots of med students with families that pay for everything just with governement help programs and their governement loans.

 

[fball22]

What? 3 people should be able to live on 25k a year. We did it in undergrad with less and there were 4 of us. Look into WIC, food stamps, Medicaid, and any other help programs available. There are lots of med students with families that pay for everything just with governement help programs and their governement loans.

I agree, but it depends on the area. The 4 of us lived with less than that just fine in undergrad. My old 2 bedroom apartment was 650+utilities, for a similar apartment within 30 minutes of my med school it's looking like 13-1400+utilities... 😢

 

[PreMedMissteps]

You can only borrow up to COA, but sometimes COA can be adjusted to include dependents. COA may also be increased to cover health insurance purchased thru school.

Yes, look into food stamps, WIC, and whatever Medicaid your family might qualify for. If you're moving to a new state, there may be a delay in qualifying, so look into that.

The above advice is good in regards to becoming a bargain shopper, cooking from scratch (rather than buying pricier premade convenience foods). And inexpensive (under $20) rice cooker and a good cookware set can be foundations for many economical meals for the family.

Splurging occasionally with fast food can be a relief from kitchen duties....the McDonald's app (click on "Deals") will offer many 2for1 deals on their sandwiches, including their new more-upscale sandwiches. I know this is random info, but many places offer discounts from their phone apps. If the school is in an area that uses the Hooked app, that can be another source for cheap eats.

At some point, your wife may want to bring in some money, even if it's just from babysitting another med student's child, pet-sitting, or other ways that don't require her to need daycare for your child. Another option is to find an apt complex where your wife can do some light "management chores" and you'd get a break on rent in return. The "chores" could be simply collecting rent from others in the building, letting maintanence workers into other apts, etc. These are all things that she can easily do while still being a full time mom.

She could also get creative and provide some errand services for other med students who are willing to pay to have someone do their grocery shopping, etc.

 

[Wjldenver]

One avenue which hasn't been explored on this thread is to look into various crowd funding alternatives.

Crowdfunding Medical School Tuition

A number of high net worth individuals are moving into this space with investment $'s. No COA maximums to worry about here. Contingent upon whatever APR's you can negotiate, I would probably select this avenue over other companies like Discover, etc.

 

[libertyyne]

One avenue which hasn't been explored on this thread is to look into various crowd funding alternatives.

Crowdfunding Medical School Tuition

A number of high net worth individuals are moving into this space with investment $'s. No COA maximums to worry about here. Contingent upon whatever APR's you can negotiate, I would probably select this avenue over other companies like Discover, etc.

This is fascinating. I wonder if the rates are competitive to institutional lending.

 

[Wjldenver]

From what I've seen, the APR is Prime Rate + (as a function of the applicants credit score). For a number of these sites, you can fill out an on-line form and get an APR quote in minutes. Upstart.Com is an interesting site/company which was started by a few ex-Google employees.


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[AnatomyGrey12]

I agree, but it depends on the area. The 4 of us lived with less than that just fine in undergrad. My old 2 bedroom apartment was 650+utilities, for a similar apartment within 30 minutes of my med school it's looking like 13-1400+utilities... 😢

Very true, we are going from a medium COL location to a low COL location so it works out well for us. I don't know what we would do if we were moving to somewhere like NY.

 

[fball22]

Haha yeah if my rent wasn't ~$1000/month it may not be a problem. Also, newborns tend to be quite expensive. It isn't just "three people". I do agree though, if I can get healthcare through Medicaid I could certainly live on this allowance.

Medicaid is key for sure.

 

[Hakuna Matata]

first step is checking with your school. typically they can raise the COA for certain reasons. Although the raise may be 1-2k, still beats pursuing private loans.

This. Talk to your financial aid office. Ours would adjust for daycare expenses, etc. so you were able to borrow more because they increased your specific cost of living.

Haha yeah if my rent wasn't ~$1000/month it may not be a problem. Also, newborns tend to be quite expensive. It isn't just "three people". I do agree though, if I can get healthcare through Medicaid I could certainly live on this allowance.

Rent something smaller/cheaper than $1000/mo. We had our first kid during our first year of med school and it worked out just fine. Budgeting is key! Say goodbye to date nights and other unnecessary fun stuff. Make your dates be cooking dinner together, etc. No Starbucks, no eating out. Just budget like crazy. Can your wife get a job? Yes, then you'll have daycare costs but again you can get your cost of living increased to make up for this.
Good luck!


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[Giovanotto]

One avenue which hasn't been explored on this thread is to look into various crowd funding alternatives.

Crowdfunding Medical School Tuition

A number of high net worth individuals are moving into this space with investment $'s. No COA maximums to worry about here. Contingent upon whatever APR's you can negotiate, I would probably select this avenue over other companies like Discover, etc.

Your post excited me, but those loan providers are not going to work for most people. Interesting though.

 

[njtrimed]

This. Talk to your financial aid office. Ours would adjust for daycare expenses, etc. so you were able to borrow more because they increased your specific cost of living.

Rent something smaller/cheaper than $1000/mo. We had our first kid during our first year of med school and it worked out just fine. Budgeting is key! Say goodbye to date nights and other unnecessary fun stuff. Make your dates be cooking dinner together, etc. No Starbucks, no eating out. Just budget like crazy. Can your wife get a job? Yes, then you'll have daycare costs but again you can get your cost of living increased to make up for this.
Good luck!


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My family of 3 (soon to be 4) is living on student loans in an expensive area. Under $1000/month doesn't exist here, unless you choose to live in a studio apartment in an unsafe area. Budgeting is key. My school will raise COA to meet our basic needs, but we didn't need to do it at all during my first year. We probably will this year, since working weekends won't be possible for me with a newborn and boards coming up, but you'd be surprised how little you can live on if you're really frugal and mindful about every little expense. You likely won't need private loans unless you have trouble cutting out all the little things you take for granted while working.