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FYI - THE is no longer accepting apps for Residency/Relocation loan as of Nov 19, 2008. Just thought I'd pass the info along.
THE Residency and Relocation Loan
- Thread starter akpete
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Citibank is still accepting applications and loaning money.
I was approved for a loan, but the interest rate seems pretty steep. Anyone have personal experience with these loans?
I was approved for a loan, but the interest rate seems pretty steep. Anyone have personal experience with these loans?
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whats the rate? Im curious.
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Hi all. So I have heard of these residency/relocation loans, looked into the Citibank one a little (on their website) and had tons of questions so I called Citibank who seemed to know even less about how the loan worked than I do.
(Question #1): It says I can borrow up to a maximum of $18,000. I wanted to know if I can only take out one loan, as a one-time thing, or if I could take out (for example) $5000 now to cover my upcoming interview expenses and then take out some more again (up to $13,000) at the end of the school year IF I need more money and actual RELOCATION time. (And when I had a better idea of how much my actual relocation expenses will actually be.)
Citibank Lady's answer: These are loans for moving expenses, not for interviews.
Me: (Read to her about the loan from the CITIBANK website.)
Citibank Lady: OK, please hold.
(holding)
Citibank Lady: So, yes, they are to cover you RELOCATION expenses like moving and going on interviews.
Me: So is it a one-time thing? Do I have to know right now how much I'll eventually need? Or can I take out enough to cover my interviews for now and if I need more at for actually moving at the end of the year, can I take out an additional loan then?
Citibank Lady: I would recommend you take out one loan, take out whatever you think you are going to need.
Me: But is it *allowed* to take out an additional loan if I don't take the full amount now? Because I really don't know how much I might end up needing and I don't want to borrow more than I have to, and start paying interest sooner than i would have to.
Citibank Lady: Well, you school's financial aid office knows how much you need, they know what your expenses are. Say you're moving from California to New York, they know how much that costs.
Me: Well, I don't even know WHERE I'm moving, my expenses right now are just for INTERVIEWING...
etc., etc., etc.
So - I'm hoping maybe someone here on SDN knows a little something about these loans & can fill me in.
(1)Do I have to take all $18,000 up front? Or could I take $5000 now and some more (up to $13,000) at the end up the year.
(2)Do I really have to go through my school's financial aid office? Does this mean that I am going to have to ask for "budget increases" [so that the total amount the school will allow me to borrow increases?]
(3)How does the money get disbursed? Does it go through the school like my previous student loans. Or is it totally "outside" and private with a check that comes straight to me? (Basically, I'm wondering if this money gets disbursed through my school account, is it going to screw up my existing financial-aid packet because I'll have already RECEIVED what the schools says I'm allowed to borrow...)
And yes, I plan to talk to my schools financial aid. I called just now & got put through to voice mail so I thought maybe I could get an answer more quickly here on SDN...
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So many banks offer 2 different disbursement dates, so I don't see why that would be a problem. Depends on the bank though. I ended up with Sallie Mae - which is not the company I wanted to work with btw, but kinda ended up with - and they offered 2 dates on the application form. Your financial aid office may be able to help with what banks they would recommend.
Residency and Relocation loans at this point are private, above COA loans. Because of various changes in the banking industry, I do not guarantee that these will be above COA in future years. That is kinda messy right now in legislature/financial aid land. You do not have to go through your school.
Although it's hard to say how much you'll need, I took the whole amount. For one, I figure I'll probably need it all because as an intern, I won't get paid until like August 1. So that's June and July living expenses not covered, in addition to relocation costs.
Because of the economy, I am getting a one time disbursement. I am paranoid about the bank not having the money later, such as some banks (like THE) running out of funds - I'm worried I won't get my 2nd disbursement even though it was approved. But this is probably my own paranoia, I don't know that it could in fact happen.
I hear ya on the citibank customer service. I was going to go through them, and their online application only listed Madison and Marquette for medical schools in WI. I tried on the phone to explain to them that Marquette does NOT have a medical school and the Milwaukee med school is private from them. They did not understand and just kept reiterating that they offer residency and relocation loans to Marquette students. So frustrating.
Residency and Relocation loans at this point are private, above COA loans. Because of various changes in the banking industry, I do not guarantee that these will be above COA in future years. That is kinda messy right now in legislature/financial aid land. You do not have to go through your school.
Although it's hard to say how much you'll need, I took the whole amount. For one, I figure I'll probably need it all because as an intern, I won't get paid until like August 1. So that's June and July living expenses not covered, in addition to relocation costs.
Because of the economy, I am getting a one time disbursement. I am paranoid about the bank not having the money later, such as some banks (like THE) running out of funds - I'm worried I won't get my 2nd disbursement even though it was approved. But this is probably my own paranoia, I don't know that it could in fact happen.
I hear ya on the citibank customer service. I was going to go through them, and their online application only listed Madison and Marquette for medical schools in WI. I tried on the phone to explain to them that Marquette does NOT have a medical school and the Milwaukee med school is private from them. They did not understand and just kept reiterating that they offer residency and relocation loans to Marquette students. So frustrating.
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akpete: thanks for the input/info
also good to know others have found citibank customer service to be "confused" - i just looked at them because i have some other loans with them... (i also have other loans with sallie mae so maybe i'll look into them next.)
yeah, the citibank lady was SO CONFUSED. not only did she keep telling me how it was only for moving expenses but she kept insisting this would go through my school's financial aid (that the SCHOOL would establish an amount that i was allowed to borrow, because they "know" how much it is going to cost me to go on interviews and then relocate to a given city...)
i'd previously been at the financial aid office and overheard them talking to another student about these loans and was pretty sure they said they were totally private & had nothing to do with the financial aid office, but since i wasn't looking into these loans back then I didn't pay THAT much attention to the conversation i was overhearing, so i wasn't 100% sure about that. (although i told the citibank lady about it like i was 100% sure.)
(she even said i NEEDED to talk to my SCHOOL to get these questions answered like whether it's a one-time thing or if i could take part now and more later...)
so - when i finally got ahold of the school's financial aid office, they said they really couldn't answer a lot of my questions because they are NOT involved with these types of loans AT ALL, but they knew that they existed and they also knew that the citibank lady was totally confused. they said the most they ever get "involved" with these loans is that sometimes the lenders will contact them to verify the student is actually in their FINAL YEAR of med school (and thus WILL legitimately be acruing these types of expenses. but they only verify you "final year" status, no dollar amounts, etc.)
ok, that's more info that anyone needed. i guess i just needed to vent some more about my really frustrating experience with citibank. and THANKS AGAIN AKPETE FOR THE INFO!
also good to know others have found citibank customer service to be "confused" - i just looked at them because i have some other loans with them... (i also have other loans with sallie mae so maybe i'll look into them next.)
yeah, the citibank lady was SO CONFUSED. not only did she keep telling me how it was only for moving expenses but she kept insisting this would go through my school's financial aid (that the SCHOOL would establish an amount that i was allowed to borrow, because they "know" how much it is going to cost me to go on interviews and then relocate to a given city...)
i'd previously been at the financial aid office and overheard them talking to another student about these loans and was pretty sure they said they were totally private & had nothing to do with the financial aid office, but since i wasn't looking into these loans back then I didn't pay THAT much attention to the conversation i was overhearing, so i wasn't 100% sure about that. (although i told the citibank lady about it like i was 100% sure.)
(she even said i NEEDED to talk to my SCHOOL to get these questions answered like whether it's a one-time thing or if i could take part now and more later...)
so - when i finally got ahold of the school's financial aid office, they said they really couldn't answer a lot of my questions because they are NOT involved with these types of loans AT ALL, but they knew that they existed and they also knew that the citibank lady was totally confused. they said the most they ever get "involved" with these loans is that sometimes the lenders will contact them to verify the student is actually in their FINAL YEAR of med school (and thus WILL legitimately be acruing these types of expenses. but they only verify you "final year" status, no dollar amounts, etc.)
ok, that's more info that anyone needed. i guess i just needed to vent some more about my really frustrating experience with citibank. and THANKS AGAIN AKPETE FOR THE INFO!
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No problem StillKickin. Glad I was able to help. My financial aid office does a good job of letting us know those loans are out there and recommended some banks, but beyond that does not involve themselves in the process either.
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When I called to get information on this loan I was told that it had to be certified by my school and I had to have all my residency information. Well how the heck are you supposed to have that if the money is needed for interviews and such, I won't know where I am going until I match. Am I missing something, what information do they really need and what do you send them.
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Sounds so similar to my phone conversation with Citibank. (Is that who you called, too?) Yeah, so frustrating.
Relocation loans can be called by other names but all are based on the same premise: schools cannot fund costs for interviewing/moving. Citi (and a few others) does have a loan that may be accessed on their homepage under grad health professions. They should be able to take a document that you are in the last year of med school in lieu of a residency contract. The max for Citi is $18,000 and you may apply for a piece now and the rest later (split it as the previous poster asked). In the past (before the credit crunch) I would have recommended to split it for my kids: enough to cover apps, travel to interviews, etc and for them to save a piece to tap into to cover their actual moving expenses to their new school (I'm dental by the way). It made sense to do it that way since their app fees were due in Aug, interviews through Nov and then decisions in Jan. Once they had decided where to attend, they would most likely have another $12,000 to tap into to help cover not only moving but first, last, security, modest car, disruption to their salary/stipend if they were to receive one etc...
With the credit crisis, I have seen Citi change their rates 2 times already and their fee structure and their credit criteria as well. All of my kids who applied for the $18,000 got an approval for $500 and had to call in. If that happens to you, call. There is a piece of me that thinks you should tap the $18,000 now before things tighten even more and rates rise-- the calc for Citi is currently prime + 1 to prime +7, variable with no cap and then loan fees of 0-3% ish; all dependent upon your credit. It used to be prime +1... If you borrowed $10,000 more now and had to eat the extra interest over the 4 months for borrowing it a bit early, it may cost you about $200 extra. I'm basing my rough math on $10,000 at 5% per year since the prime is down borrowed 4 months earlier so it would accrue about $43/month additional.
It is a bit of a gamble: do you go for the entire $18,000 now or take your chances that you can split it and take the rest in May? Some may want to gamble and try to save the few 100 and some may want to just go for it all and eat the extra interest for piece of mind. That doesn't mean that in May when you stay where you are for residency you blow the rest on something useless-- you can always prepay on these loans and I would consider it if you don't need the extra money after all.
There are about 3-4 players doing these types of loans and I have definitely see the numbers dwindle. These loans are not certified by the FA Office and the check is mailed directly to the borrower. I hope that helped.
A short word about customer service anywhere: this is a job and not a career for them; some are good, some are bad.
With the credit crisis, I have seen Citi change their rates 2 times already and their fee structure and their credit criteria as well. All of my kids who applied for the $18,000 got an approval for $500 and had to call in. If that happens to you, call. There is a piece of me that thinks you should tap the $18,000 now before things tighten even more and rates rise-- the calc for Citi is currently prime + 1 to prime +7, variable with no cap and then loan fees of 0-3% ish; all dependent upon your credit. It used to be prime +1... If you borrowed $10,000 more now and had to eat the extra interest over the 4 months for borrowing it a bit early, it may cost you about $200 extra. I'm basing my rough math on $10,000 at 5% per year since the prime is down borrowed 4 months earlier so it would accrue about $43/month additional.
It is a bit of a gamble: do you go for the entire $18,000 now or take your chances that you can split it and take the rest in May? Some may want to gamble and try to save the few 100 and some may want to just go for it all and eat the extra interest for piece of mind. That doesn't mean that in May when you stay where you are for residency you blow the rest on something useless-- you can always prepay on these loans and I would consider it if you don't need the extra money after all.
There are about 3-4 players doing these types of loans and I have definitely see the numbers dwindle. These loans are not certified by the FA Office and the check is mailed directly to the borrower. I hope that helped.
A short word about customer service anywhere: this is a job and not a career for them; some are good, some are bad.
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AMDFAO - Thanks for your input!
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Just want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly: If I apply for $18,000 they'll probably only "approve" me for $500? But if I call in they will then approve me for [$18,000?] [or less?]
Thanks!
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I did the online application and was immediately approved for $500. A few days or so later, I got an email saying that I was approved for 18k.
It seems to be some magical number this year with Citi and I have no idea why that is (I spoke to a colleague at another D School who noticed the same trend of the $500 approval). You may be approved for the $18,000 but the only way you'll know is if you call and tell them that you applied for the $18,000 etc and go from there.
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Has anyone looked at Wells Fargo's MedCAP-XTRA Loan?
Also, I think I might not be eligible for a relocation loan...they all say "The aggregate limit is $250,000 including all other educational debt for allopathic (M.D.) or osteopathic (D.O.) medicine and dentistry; or $180,000 including all other educational debt for all other disciplines." Is this including interest? Or the amount that I have borrowed, excluding any interest that has accrued?
Also, I think I might not be eligible for a relocation loan...they all say "The aggregate limit is $250,000 including all other educational debt for allopathic (M.D.) or osteopathic (D.O.) medicine and dentistry; or $180,000 including all other educational debt for all other disciplines." Is this including interest? Or the amount that I have borrowed, excluding any interest that has accrued?
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I was literally within a few hundred dollars of the aggregate limit and I got approved, so I don't think this counts for this loan.
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What happens if I don't match this year? Am I going to have to repay the relocation loan back asap or something since it is for residency? (I'm not talking about forebearance, deferment). I've heard that if you drop a semester after financial aid is awarded, you have to immediately repay all of your loan refund for that semester.
I'm really nervous to cash my check, yet at the same time, I really need it since my engine on my car is toast.
I'm really nervous to cash my check, yet at the same time, I really need it since my engine on my car is toast.
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At the beginning of my 4th year, I decided to take a leave of absence for a public health related project. I got stuck for cash at the start but as I was technically still a 4th year, and my school status was as someone who'd graduate in May 2009, I took out a R&R loan. The thought was that I'd need it in a year anyway, so aside from interest accruing that much longer, what would be the huge difference ?
Now, I'm wondering--is it possible to take out a 2nd R&R loan? I'll be a 4th year but graduating instead in 2010. What if due to my pro-bono public health project, I need more funds for residency and relocation costs? Has anyone ever heard of people taking 2 of these loans? Is there any fear in this economy that these loans will stop being offered to medical students?
Now, I'm wondering--is it possible to take out a 2nd R&R loan? I'll be a 4th year but graduating instead in 2010. What if due to my pro-bono public health project, I need more funds for residency and relocation costs? Has anyone ever heard of people taking 2 of these loans? Is there any fear in this economy that these loans will stop being offered to medical students?
