Tulane ACLP 2019-2020

[YCAGA]

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@everyone who has finished the program thus far:

Do you feel like most of the people in your cohort were able to fund their education through help from family as opposed to private loans?

Also, I'm wondering if you've heard anything additional about this year's applicants. Do you know if the program received way more applications this year? (I wouldn't be surprised, given the sheer amount of waitlists people are on)

This program is impossible to fund with loans so people either had family support, savings before they started, or a combination of the two. It is possible to get a job and work a ton after anatomy but I don't know of any job that you can work at while going to histology TBLs and leadership lectures and pays enough to cover living expenses PLUS $16,000 in tuition.

 

[smallscrapes]

Come on... This is not a real answer.

Banks have protocols and regulations in loaning money. The real world will hit you hard if you banks just give out money like this. Plus the big issue is paying immediately. See @memdoctobe reply.

This attitude is uncalled for. I understand wanting to be open and realistic about finances, but I bank with a credit union that definitely is open to listening to appeals for personal loans on a case by case basis.

 

[YCAGA]

I would be willing to pay 25% apr if I could defer payments while I was in medical school or have like a 10-15 year repayment term. But none of that exists. It’s 3-5 years, MAYBE 7 if you have 800+ credit score and good income, and more importantly it’s immediate repayment.

Trust me, I would love so much to be proven wrong and get in contact with a bank that could help me. But so far I’ve either gotten vague solutions or silence. @Mastjt129 might have come across harsh but I know he was coming from a good place. He doesn’t want future students to get their hopes up about such a good opportunity without being realistic about finances.

 

[YCAGA]

@potatoyam My guess as to why this program has never gone through the steps to become more official in the eyes of Tulane University or lenders is because they simply don’t need to. There are thousands of premeds that have wealthy parents or significant savings and would pay far more than $16,000 cash to get an almost guaranteed spot at a US MD school. In other words, I doubt finding 20 people willing to put up the money has been a problem for the past 21 years and I doubt it will be a problem in the future, with medical school admissions getting more and more competitive.

 

[Turam]

Maybe it’d be possible to plan on doing the military’s HPSP scholarship after being accepted to Tulane and using the signing bonus to pay off the loan you took for ACLP. Would lock you into a military commitment but it might be a way to make it work.

 

[YCAGA]

Maybe it’d be possible to plan on doing the military’s HPSP scholarship after being accepted to Tulane and using the signing bonus to pay off the loan you took for ACLP. Would lock you into a military commitment but it might be a way to make it work.

That’s a creative idea but I am medically disqualified from joining the military. Already have looked into it extensively 🙁

 

[deleted861396]

@everyone who has finished the program thus far:

Do you feel like most of the people in your cohort were able to fund their education through help from family as opposed to private loans?

Yes, I would say the majority of us were able to.
Some people made deals with their family to pay for tuition while they would take care of living expenses with previous savings, others were able to borrow from extended family, etc.

 

[lvten]

Any update?

She responded saying that there has been waitlist movement, but she didn't answer my original question about the difference between the two lists, so...

 

[smallscrapes]

I have been accepted off the waitlist.

 

[lvten]

Accepted off the alternate list just now!

 

[Musty Goose]

Accepted off the alternate list just now!

Primary or secondary?

 

[lvten]

Primary or secondary?

My guess would be the primary list. I received my original decision on the first day, June 7.

 

[Hello789]

My guess would be the primary list. I received my original decision on the first day, June 7.

Congrats! Do they call or email to let you know you're off the wait list?

 

[lvten]

Congrats! Do they call or email to let you know you're off the wait list?

Thanks! Shannon sent me an email.

 

[YCAGA]

Officially withdrew my acceptance. Extremely disappointed that I could not attend due to financial reasons.

I ran the numbers for different combinations of the following: multiple 0% APR credit cards with balance transfers, personal loans, taking out max loans in medical school to pay off the former two options, joining the military with a medical waiver, working 60-80 hours a week after anatomy, living in my car, commuting a long way to New Orleans. Long story short, the numbers just don’t work. The only way they do is if 1) you have significant savings 2) you have significant family support 3) you have a career that allows you to take three months off and then allows you to come back after anatomy to work remotely and pays $30+/hour 4) some combination of 1-3

It’s important to note that the conversations I had with ACLP administration and previous students reflected very highly of the program — they were responsive, helpful, and kind.

So...a warning to future applicants: please don’t apply to this program if you or your family don’t have at least $10,000 of liquid assets to put towards tuition on day one. “This program does not qualify for traditional student loans” doesn’t do justice to the difficulties you will face. You’ll basically be throwing away your application fee. If you are lucky enough to be accepted, while you try to find a way to pay for the program and eventually realize that you won’t be able to without taking on insurmountable debt that will suffocate you in medical school, you’ll constantly be reminded of why medical school classes are so heavily biased in favor of students with high socioeconomic backgrounds.

If you can afford it though, this truly is the best premed post-bacc program in the country. The risk vs. reward ratio is unmatched.

Thanks again for everyone’s support 🙂

 

[tennisgoat]

Got an update, the program is now full for this year....

I was on the secondary waitlist fyi.

Anyone on the first alternative list not heard back yet?

I am currently on the primary alternative list but no update has made

 

[Musty Goose]

I wonder how many people were on the first alternate list.

20 on primary and 20 on secondary

 

[tennisgoat]

Is the primary waitlist unranked or is it ranked?

 

[lvten]

Is the primary waitlist unranked or is it ranked?

Unranked

 

[tennisgoat]

Just got in!

 

[potatoyam]

Just got off the waitlist at Georgetown! Hopefully my spot goes to someone else.

 

[lvten]

If you are applying to other schools and you receive interviews during anatomy, is this program flexible enough to let you attend interviews during the week (and miss the mandatory sessions)?

Yes, the program is flexible. I knew several people who went on interviews during anatomy. All the lectures are recorded and as long as you communicate with Dr. Korndorffer (director of the program), your lab director, and lab group, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[lvten]

Awesome, thanks! While I have you here, could I ask you what the cost of attendance of the program comes out to? I know the tuition is $16k, but can't find information on all the other fees, student insurance, whether there is student housing and how much it is, etc. on their website. I am estimating something like ~$50k when all is said and done, but maybe that's way too high?

My budget for this program is $30k. I live in Deming Pavilion which is the graduate student housing and I have a small studio apartment which is $925/month. For insurance, I am still covered by my parents, so if that's an option I would go with that. Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[Isc1998]

Would anyone here be willing to potentially talk/ pm me about what they put in their letter of intent/statement of purpose. I basically figured that they will see my AMCAS personal statement, and so I focused mine on how the program will enhance my application, and how I hope to attend Tulane med. Is that what they are looking for? Lol im not sure if this warrants a phone call to the department.

 

[YCAGA]

Would anyone here be willing to potentially talk/ pm me about what they put in their letter of intent/statement of purpose. I basically figured that they will see my AMCAS personal statement, and so I focused mine on how the program will enhance my application, and how I hope to attend Tulane med. Is that what they are looking for? Lol im not sure if this warrants a phone call to the department.

That’s what I wrote about and I was accepted.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

 

[Isc1998]

That’s what I wrote about and I was accepted.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN

thank you so much for the feedback!!

 

[Turam]

I created a new thread for the 2020 - 2021 ACLP application here.