Taking out a private loan for med school applications

[Skull Pell]

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I tried to search for this question but nothing really popped up on my queries so I made this post.

My deal is that I have my application season this year and I was wondering if other applicants take out loans for the cost of applying to med schools.

I have a per diem job at a hospital for a entry level nurse tech. I'm independent when it comes to finances since I just work my hours to get food and gas money. My parents have enough on their plate already with mortgage and car payments and I don't want to add burden to them. I did ask them for help for med school app costs but they could just never afford it. With the application cycle looming in, I would need to take out a private loan to cover for all the costs (i.e. initial app, secondaries, transportation etc.). I applied for FAP but I was immediately rejected since the financial aid I put in as non-taxable income was around 40k (which is how much my private school costs me a year for) plus my annual salary for the past year.

Given that I just work per diem at my job and work and wouldn't be able to rake in hours since I would be studying for the MCAT for the June exam, how much money do you guys, if you've had taken out a private loan, borrow for an application to 15-20 schools.

tl;dr. How much money (estimate) would I have to take out for a private loan for application to 15-20 med schools?

edit: grammar

 

[noleknight16]

Seems like a credit card would be a better move.

 

[Boolean]

AMCAS has a $160 registration fee as of the 2012 application year, but there's also a charge of $33 for each medical school designation after the first; for most applicants, this means fees accumulate quickly. Many undergraduate institutions also charge for official transcripts. Additionally, some schools have varying fees for applications, plus you'll have to travel and you'll need a suit. At least $2500 I'd say.

 

[Pacna]

Seems like a credit card would be a better move.

What? No. A private loan is a much better option.

 

[noleknight16]

What? No. A private loan is a much better option.

I don't know. I suppose it would depend on the terms of each.

 

[Pacna]

I don't know. I suppose it would depend on the terms of each.

That's fair. In general, private loans will be better in the long run.

If you could get a no interest for 6-12 months card, that would be a different story.

Then again, if you don't already have a credit card, good luck getting a $2,500 limit.

 

[darkjedi]

Get one of those promotional no-interest credit cards. With a solid income, you should be able to qualify for a credit card. However once you are able to you MUST ABSOLUTELY pay off the entire balance before the promotional period ends.

 

[Skull Pell]

Thanks for all your input guys. I'm in the middle of writing my orgo 2 lab report and I never saw the replies pile up. I'm mostly trying to apply to schools that are within a drivable range from CT (CT resident) to nearby states like NY, NJ, PA to offset the costs of hotels and air fare. As for a suit, I already have one from all the formals that I've been, I just have to get it tailored to fit me better than a curtain drape.

Thanks again for the replies!

 

[DoctorLacrosse]

Your thread is legit word for word my life and concern for the upcoming cycle haha.

I worry about this daily. how am I affording this app cycle? I was under the impression loans for simply applying were unavailable. what kind of loan would you even seek? just a standard private loan?

as you can see I have no idea about how you'd go about that and would also love some info. a loan would be amazing if I could get one

 

[Espadaleader]

Get one of those promotional no-interest credit cards. With a solid income, you should be able to qualify for a credit card. However once you are able to you MUST ABSOLUTELY pay off the entire balance before the promotional period ends.

This. Capital One has a interest free credit card for a year

 

[medic86]

Shop for credit card offers here:

https://www.mint.com/credit-cards/?v=1

Excellent resource, imo.

 

[NickNaylor]

That's fair. In general, private loans will be better in the long run.

If you could get a no interest for 6-12 months card, that would be a different story.

Then again, if you don't already have a credit card, good luck getting a $2,500 limit.

One of the many advantages of getting credit back when the banks were going bonanza. Thanks for the $5k limit you gave to a 19 year-old, BoA.

 

[medic86]

One of the many advantages of getting credit back when the banks were going bonanza. Thanks for the $5k limit you gave to a 19 year-old, BoA.

Hahaha, yeah. BoA gave me $4,500 when I was 19.

You can guess what happened there.

 

[bigloley]

I used an 18 month interest free credit card for my application cycle and paid it off with my medical school loans once I got in. It sucks and you'll probably have to take out the max during your first year med school but its definitely financially worth it. My advice is don't be frugal with your application - you'll have to pay more but spending a couple of grand extra to make sure you get in somewhere is worth the opportunity cost of reapplying.

 

[chenzt]

Thanks for all your input guys. I'm in the middle of writing my orgo 2 lab report and I never saw the replies pile up. I'm mostly trying to apply to schools that are within a drivable range from CT (CT resident) to nearby states like NY, NJ, PA to offset the costs of hotels and air fare. As for a suit, I already have one from all the formals that I've been, I just have to get it tailored to fit me better than a curtain drape.

Thanks again for the replies!

You are still in school? Can you still take out an extra stafford or parent PLUS loan? Then you can use that for living expense and save your money from the per diem job towards application fee (and this will allow you stay kosher with DoE rules)

 

[Skull Pell]

Your thread is legit word for word my life and concern for the upcoming cycle haha.

I worry about this daily. how am I affording this app cycle? I was under the impression loans for simply applying were unavailable. what kind of loan would you even seek? just a standard private loan?

as you can see I have no idea about how you'd go about that and would also love some info. a loan would be amazing if I could get one

I'm still trying to figure what kinds of loans are available for me so I'm gonna ask my family's accountant on how to go about it. I'll post updates on here on how it goes.

I used an 18 month interest free credit card for my application cycle and paid it off with my medical school loans once I got in. It sucks and you'll probably have to take out the max during your first year med school but its definitely financially worth it. My advice is don't be frugal with your application - you'll have to pay more but spending a couple of grand extra to make sure you get in somewhere is worth the opportunity cost of reapplying.

You are still in school? Can you still take out an extra stafford or parent PLUS loan? Then you can use that for living expense and save your money from the per diem job towards application fee (and this will allow you stay kosher with DoE rules)

I didn't think about it this way; I'm always thinking about spending less is good but somehow in the long run it could just pay off. I still have one more year of undergrad to go so I'm not sure how I'd be able to take out more money for federal loans. I filed my FAFSA and my EFC is >5000. If I could take out loans in terms of federal aid, that'll take care of everything. It's just a matter of when they'll give it out versus applying now/paying now. I just haven't done that yet since I always just take out enough loans for tuition and fees and I just cover my extra expenses on books, gas, and daily living with my per diem job.

 

[Gauss44]

Get one of those promotional no-interest credit cards. With a solid income, you should be able to qualify for a credit card. However once you are able to you MUST ABSOLUTELY pay off the entire balance before the promotional period ends.

Yes, if I remember correctly, here's the way to do the 0% promotional interest rate thing with credit cards:

1 . Find a card that offers a 0% promotional interest rate on balance transfers (or 0% apr on bt's) for some time period. Request a balance transfer check written to yourself so you can deposit it in your checking account (under the terms of 0% apr on balance transfers).

(alternative method #1) 1. Alternatively, you can just find a credit card with a 0% interest rate on "purchases." If you do this (the purchase option), be CAREFUL. Prior to making some purchases, you will need to ask how your payment will be processed, "as a purchase" or "as a cash advance." In all likelihood, cash advances will come with a terrible interest rate, fees, etc. You need to make that distinction. A balance transfer is a better way to go.

2. Number of cards/credit pulls. Be aware that every time you apply for a credit card your credit may be checked (pulled). If you apply for too many cards, your credit score will be lowered. I would suggest checking your credit score, or being aware of it, before applying for cards. Then I would go to a website like www.bankrate.com to find out which cards I am likely to qualify for based on my credit score, and then apply for my top 2 choices in the same day. (It is also worth noting that it usually takes a few days for something to impact your credit score, so if multiple places are going to be checking your credit, it's worth getting it all done in the same day. It's also been said that it helps to have a lower debt to income ratio, meaning that the lower your balances on other cards at the exact moment you apply, the more credit you're likely to be offered on your new card.)

3. Fees. Ask about the balance transfer fee, or look it up. A balance transfer fee is usually 3-4%. (When Chase introduced it's Slate card, they had a 0% apr card with no fee. This sort of "no fee" thing is rare because some people will use those cards to make money: They will do a balance transfer to themselves, and use an interest baring account, then withdraw the principle and repay prior to the expiration of 0 % apr. But I digress...)

4. Minimum payment: Even though interest is at 0% for a while, you still need to make monthly minimum payments. Monthly payments are very small, often less than 10% of the balance. If you don't make those payments, your promotional apr might be replaced with a penalty apr which won't be zero.

5. Don't max out cards: I think it's recommended to only charge up to half the amount offered on a card. If you charge too much, you will get a special note on some of your credit reports about having a "high balance." Not good.

6. Paying off cards with other cards: If you cannot pay off your card before the 0% apr expires, you might be able to apply for another 0% promotional apr on a different card, and use that to pay off your current card. Existing credit cards are often willing to offer a 0% apr deal if asked, and new cards have these offers all the time. The key then is to qualify. Keep the best credit score possible by never missing payments, timing your applications so that you have an income or more income at the time you apply, and staying at the same address and not moving all help.

Entering medical school with debt: This begs the question of what to do with debt prior to entering medical school. My sense is that it is more difficult to maintain a high credit score while in medical school partially due to a lack of high income.

 

[darkjedi]

Excellent advice, the only thing I would say is that balance transfers is usually not a good idea and something I would advise against due to all the fees. It should be easy enough to charge all your med school application expenses to a credit card easily enough. If you open a cash rewards card, you can even get a 1-3% discount on things.