University of Maryland Class of 2012

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Is anyone planning to do the MD/ MPH program at Maryland? I know I brought this up before, but just wanted to check in again.
Does anyone who is already there know anyone in this program?
 
cugymnast06 said:
Is anyone planning to do the MD/ MPH program at Maryland? I know I brought this up before, but just wanted to check in again.
Does anyone who is already there know anyone in this program?
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Hey there. I am. I'm thinking about starting this summer and getting some of the coursework out of the way. Are you doing it too?
 
I was thinking about starting this summer... I am currently working (graduated in 06), and was planning to leave in June. Have you received any info on taking some of the coursework over the summer?
 
Has anyone received any info from the Financial Aid office yet?

Also, any MD residents having difficulty with getting in-state status for purposes of tuition? I have completed the petition and am still being denied in-state status. I am just wondering if anyone else has had this issue?
 
Financial aid stuff will come out in the next couple of weeks. I didn't go back to last year's thread to check, but I believe they came out around the 2nd or 3rd week of April last year.

As for having trouble getting in-state status, I don't know anyone who actually was a resident that had problems. What are the specifics of your living situation? Have you paid taxes in Maryland, have a Maryland Driver's license, etc? If they're denying you in-state status there must be something no quite up to snuff with their list of requirements and they can be strict about it. Try calling them up and asking (nicely) for clarification and maybe you'll get more info, or you might even find out there was some kind of error. I always recommend calling the office yourself, its the fastest way to get the info you want.
 
LucidSplash said:
Financial aid stuff will come out in the next couple of weeks. I didn't go back to last year's thread to check, but I believe they came out around the 2nd or 3rd week of April last year.

As for having trouble getting in-state status, I don't know anyone who actually was a resident that had problems. What are the specifics of your living situation? Have you paid taxes in Maryland, have a Maryland Driver's license, etc? If they're denying you in-state status there must be something no quite up to snuff with their list of requirements and they can be strict about it. Try calling them up and asking (nicely) for clarification and maybe you'll get more info, or you might even find out there was some kind of error. I always recommend calling the office yourself, its the fastest way to get the info you want.
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Here is the issue... I have lived in Maryland my entire life...paid taxes there for 22 yrs. After college, I took a research position in Boston (for two years). Despite the fact that my parents live there and have paid taxes there for 25 years, they have rejected my petition. I am going to do the appeal process, but am incredibly frustrated. I am not a resident of any other state, and they have given me such a hard time about the whole thing. My bf has the same scenario (in NY state), and he had no problem in getting in-state status. Let me know if you have any advice!
 
cugymnast06 said:
Here is the issue... I have lived in Maryland my entire life...paid taxes there for 22 yrs. After college, I took a research position in Boston (for two years). Despite the fact that my parents live there and have paid taxes there for 25 years, they have rejected my petition. I am going to do the appeal process, but am incredibly frustrated. I am not a resident of any other state, and they have given me such a hard time about the whole thing. My bf has the same scenario (in NY state), and he had no problem in getting in-state status. Let me know if you have any advice!
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I would call them. Because you've been living in Boston for 2 years, you've been paying Massachusetts taxes and that's a big strike against you. However, because you lived in Maryland and you have family in Maryland, etc, you have good shot of getting in-state status though it MIGHT take being here a year. It doesn't matter to them where your parents pay taxes, because as a med student you're independent now. This is about who is most likely to remain in Maryland after med school, as one of the big missions of the school is to train doctors FOR Maryland. So its about showing that you have roots in the community, not what your parents paid in taxes.

Again, definitely make sure you have a Maryland license, that your car is registered here, register to vote in Maryland. Give them a call and speak with them about the situation. The process for appeals is here: http://www.umaryland.edu/orr/status.html and it looks like that's where you're at right now. Note that it says your appeal request has to be in writing and within 15 days of their initial denial of your status request. So definitely knock out that letter and send it in in the next day or so. Then gather all the applicable documentation. If you can get a letter of reference from someone in the community (pastor, coordinator of a volunteering program, etc) that can write about your connection to Maryland and dedication to the community, etc, that would also help. I've been instate from the start but these are some things that people in my class have done when trying to get reclassified. Hope that helps.
 
So I have a question for all you med students. I applied to the PSP program a while back and just called today. Apparently I'm first on the waitlist. Now obviously I could get off, but theres a decent chance I won't. I really don't want to waste my entire summer just sitting around. Do you guys know of any research opportunities I can get my hands on at Maryland? I definitely wouldn't mind doing research or something else productive at the med school, but I have no clue where to begin to look, who to contact, etc. Any help is appreciated..thanks.
 
Wow- you guys are so helpful, thanks!

I was wondering if any current med students had an opinion on this: I'll be starting at UMDSOM in August (hooray!) , and my husband works in downtown DC. He's really interested in buying a house somewhere in the Anne Arundel County area near the lightrail, so that he can take the train down to DC and I could take the lightrail into Baltimore. Neither of us are very familiar with Baltimore or public transportation in Maryland in general, but does anyone think this is a very good or very bad idea? I'm a little concerned about getting to classes and, specifically, rotations on time. Does anyone know if any other med students actually do this?
 
Tali501 said:
Wow- you guys are so helpful, thanks!

I was wondering if any current med students had an opinion on this: I'll be starting at UMDSOM in August (hooray!) , and my husband works in downtown DC. He's really interested in buying a house somewhere in the Anne Arundel County area near the lightrail, so that he can take the train down to DC and I could take the lightrail into Baltimore. Neither of us are very familiar with Baltimore or public transportation in Maryland in general, but does anyone think this is a very good or very bad idea? I'm a little concerned about getting to classes and, specifically, rotations on time. Does anyone know if any other med students actually do this?
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Let me see if I can get SusieQ to answer this. She was an SDNer back in the day. They live in Bmore but her husband takes the lightrail to DC everyday. I know that Pontifex Maximus took the lightrail for a little while at the beginning of 1st year but found it was too much for him, which isn't to say that it can't be done, that was just his experience.

I will put out there that if anyone would like to speak to a Realtor and/or lender about options for buying a house that I can give you a lender's info or my husband's contact info (he's a realtor) if you want to send me a PM. Please do not think I am trying to push him on you or trying to make money off you guys. But I've offered the last couple years and I can at least say that he is sensitive to the needs of med students. Again, NO PRESSURE from me and I hope me putting this out here doesn't upset anyone as that is not my intent. That's the last I'll say of it here, as anyone who wants more info is welcome to send me a PM.
 
Tali501 said:
Wow- you guys are so helpful, thanks!

I was wondering if any current med students had an opinion on this: I'll be starting at UMDSOM in August (hooray!) , and my husband works in downtown DC. He's really interested in buying a house somewhere in the Anne Arundel County area near the lightrail, so that he can take the train down to DC and I could take the lightrail into Baltimore. Neither of us are very familiar with Baltimore or public transportation in Maryland in general, but does anyone think this is a very good or very bad idea? I'm a little concerned about getting to classes and, specifically, rotations on time. Does anyone know if any other med students actually do this?
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Hi guys! I've been dragged out of hiding by LS to answer questions (which is dangerous, because now I'll start spending way too much time on SDN!)

I can't speak for the Baltimore lightrail, since I walk to class every day, but my husband commutes from Baltimore to DC every day on the MARC train. From his perspective, it's doable but very tedious. Public transportation is...well...public transportation. Usually the trains are running on time, but occasionally stuff happens that can put them behind schedule. On a good day his commute is around an hour and a half (he goes from Baltimore's Penn Station to DC's union station, then catches the DC metro to Arlington). On a bad day, it can take more than 3 hrs, and is usually for something entirely stupid like wet leaves on the track (yes...unfortunately I'm being serious). He puts up with the commute because he knows that once I graduate he won't have to do that anymore, and because driving to DC every day is a complete nightmare.

So basically, keep in mind that occasionally the trains run late and that they will generally not run on holidays (the MARC is worse about this than the lightrail I think). Advantages are that you won't have to fight traffic, you can get stuff done while commuting, and the cost is reasonable (especially now with rising gas prices, plus you might be able to get student rates).

Also, you should know that we have to go places other than the main University Hospital during first and second year from time to time. My ICM (intro to clinical medicine) class this year is at Franklin Square Hospital, which is about 20-30 minutes from downtown and has no lightrail access, so I have to make that trip by car about once a week. I've also had to drive down to Annapolis for pediatric stuff, and will definitely have to go to other hospitals during 3rd/4th year rotations since there is just not enough room for all us med students at the main hospital. There is nothing wrong with living outside of the city, and indeed there are a few of our classmates that make commutes every day, but just realize that you probably won't be able to use the lightrail every day depending on where you need to go in Baltimore/MD.
 
cugymnast06 said:
Here is the issue... I have lived in Maryland my entire life...paid taxes there for 22 yrs. After college, I took a research position in Boston (for two years). Despite the fact that my parents live there and have paid taxes there for 25 years, they have rejected my petition. I am going to do the appeal process, but am incredibly frustrated. I am not a resident of any other state, and they have given me such a hard time about the whole thing. My bf has the same scenario (in NY state), and he had no problem in getting in-state status. Let me know if you have any advice!
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I second LS's advice to double check that you are meeting the basic requirements. I was an out of state student last year w/no ties to the state, but made sure to get my car title/plates changed for MD, changed my voter registration, etc as soon as I moved here and before classes started. My husband paid taxes in Maryland last year, and we bought a condo about a year ago. I qualified for in-state tuition...so if I managed to squeeze myself in there, I'm not sure why you are getting denied. It's difficult to get in-state tuition here, but definitely not impossible (I know of at least a few other classmates who also got reclassified after one year).
 
Wow- thanks soo much, that was really helpful! Lucidsplash, if we do decide to buy I will definitely be PMing you for your husband's real estate help- thanks!
 
I didn't so much have an issue with the light rail itself, just my disdain of commuting and med school combined irked me. Light rail is fine, but there are some delays occasionally. It is definitely doable if you're interested in that. It is better than sitting in traffic, in any case.
 
woot for public transport. I take the light rail every day to school and i find it much more convenient than driving...it drops you off pretty close to the school and its cheaper than parking (you have to buy a commuter pass from the office of transportation). yes there are some delays....but you have a greater chance of sitting in traffic anyway...i study or read on the train...sometimes its a bit ghetto...so i wouldnt ever take it when it gets dark...otherwise its fine. i mean commuting sucks, but if you have to commute, the light rail is fine, much better than the metro anyway.

as far as rotations...im not sure..the train doesnt run as early as you probably have to get to rotations in the morning...As for ICM, I requested that i not be placed at a site away from the hospital since I already commute to school an hour a day or more. So i think for the first two years its ok...you probably will need a car for year 3 and 4.
 
I got the UMD financial aid email today, and went to the SIMS website to generate my ID; however, when I try to log in, I get an error as if it does not recognize the ID number. I checked twice and I'm entering in the number they gave me, but I keep getting the error. Anyone else have this trouble?
 
Can any of the second years help me out with this, is the Neuro book any good? should I get it or should I save a few bucks
 
Was there a required neuro book? If so, I don't remember. I had an old copy of Kandel from grad school, so I didn't buy anything except the atlas. I used Kandel maybe 2 times. There's no reason you couldn't go to the library for that.

I agree that the atlas is a must-have. You can use it like one of those flip-book animations. 🙂 I wish that I just had a 3-D plastic model brain. That would have been SO MUCH MORE HELPFUL.

Good luck with neuro. Hang in there - you're almost done. 😀
 
LadyWolverine said:
Was there a required neuro book? If so, I don't remember. I had an old copy of Kandel from grad school, so I didn't buy anything except the atlas. I used Kandel maybe 2 times. There's no reason you couldn't go to the library for that.

I agree that the atlas is a must-have. You can use it like one of those flip-book animations. 🙂 I wish that I just had a 3-D plastic model brain. That would have been SO MUCH MORE HELPFUL.

Good luck with neuro. Hang in there - you're almost done. 😀
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Kandel is/was the required book. I was silly and bought it. I use it as a doorstop. If anyone REALLY wants it I will sell it to you for $15. It is absolutely brand new and never cracked. But I advise against buying it, even from me.
 
Here's a general UMD question: what are the athletic facilities like? There's not a lot of detail given on the website. Specifically, how's the weight room? I know it's probably nothing like a big undergrad one.
 
rogerwilco said:
Here's a general UMD question: what are the athletic facilities like? There's not a lot of detail given on the website. Specifically, how's the weight room? I know it's probably nothing like a big undergrad one.
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I cannot speak to what is currently there. However, I know that there is a brand new student center being built for the Fall/ Winter of next year. It will have an Olympic size swimming pool and great athletic facilities. As for what is there now, I have the same question! Also, are there gyms in the area that are fairly reasonable?
 
Ok, here is the deal with the current gym facilities: they are currently the entire top floor of one of the parking garages. The are also closing before you get here (June) and are being renovated; they will not open for at least 6 months, possibly a year.

The current facilities are adequate I would say. Basketball court, lots of assisted lifting weight machines, lots of free weights, racquetball courts, and some cardio equipment though I think there could be more. The group classes are currently held on one of the basketball courts that is sort of "roped off" from the other court and the are where all the assisted lifting machines are. There is a room that they used to have them in, but due to the construction of the new student center, that part of the gym is off limits, as the new student center will eventually be connected to the gym there and they've already cut through the wall of the building and then covered it up with plywood for the time being. The entire facility isn't very pretty, but it is functional, and I'm guessing it will be really nice when they are done with the renovations. I can't say what it will look like when they are done with the renovations, but the renderings of the student center look very nice. http://www.umaryland.edu/athleticcenter/ They haven't said much about what they are doing to the gym facilities. If you look at the photos page on the campus center website, they do have floor plans up and it looks pretty nice (as far as you can tell from architectural floor plans I guess). http://campuscenter.umaryland.edu/photos.htm

As you can see from that link, while the school facilities are closed, they are going to let us use the gym at the newly built BioPark. I have no idea how those facilities are but I assume they'll be at least adequate compared to what we have now, especially since its only temporary. The student center looks like its coming along well but I don't know if they're on schedule - LW might be able to say something about it as she's on Student Council and gets updates on this stuff sometimes.
 
LucidSplash said:
Ok, here is the deal with the current gym facilities: they are currently the entire top floor of one of the parking garages. The are also closing before you get here (June) and are being renovated; they will not open for at least 6 months, possibly a year.

The current facilities are adequate I would say. Basketball court, lots of assisted lifting weight machines, lots of free weights, racquetball courts, and some cardio equipment though I think there could be more. The group classes are currently held on one of the basketball courts that is sort of "roped off" from the other court and the are where all the assisted lifting machines are. There is a room that they used to have them in, but due to the construction of the new student center, that part of the gym is off limits, as the new student center will eventually be connected to the gym there and they've already cut through the wall of the building and then covered it up with plywood for the time being. The entire facility isn't very pretty, but it is functional, and I'm guessing it will be really nice when they are done with the renovations. I can't say what it will look like when they are done with the renovations, but the renderings of the student center look very nice. http://www.umaryland.edu/athleticcenter/ They haven't said much about what they are doing to the gym facilities. If you look at the photos page on the campus center website, they do have floor plans up and it looks pretty nice (as far as you can tell from architectural floor plans I guess). http://campuscenter.umaryland.edu/photos.htm

As you can see from that link, while the school facilities are closed, they are going to let us use the gym at the newly built BioPark. I have no idea how those facilities are but I assume they'll be at least adequate compared to what we have now, especially since its only temporary. The student center looks like its coming along well but I don't know if they're on schedule - LW might be able to say something about it as she's on Student Council and gets updates on this stuff sometimes.
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Thanks for the info! I don't need a place that looks pretty, it just needs to work. I'm used to lifting in gyms that resemble dungeons.
 
Does anyone know specifically what kind of computer the laptop we get is? Like brand/model name? I'd like to look into it more online to get an idea of what we're getting exactly.
 
LucidSplash said:
We currently have Lenovo Thinkpad T60p. The class below us has the same and so you can assume you will have it or something similar.
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This might be pushing it, but do you know what kind of stuff it has? Like how fast the processor is, amount of memory, hard drive size, etc? You don't have to get too technical, since I don't know a ton about computers in the first place.
 
2nd years, any chance I can get one of you to rattle off a list of books you absolutely needed this past year? I'm buying some off of a 4th year
 
Adelaida said:
2nd years, any chance I can get one of you to rattle off a list of books you absolutely needed this past year? I'm buying some off of a 4th year
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Hmmm, now that we are ALMOST DONE 🙂)🙂🙂🙂🙂) looking back at the past two years, these are the books that i feel like you absolutely need:

(Split up into required books from school, ones I think are incredibly helpful, and one that are nice to have)

School "required"

***Netter's Anatomy atlas (1st year)
Cell Physiology (1st)
Respiratory physiology (1st)
Neuroanatomy atlas (1st)

(They require Robbins Review of Pathology and Medical Microbiology for 2nd year, but neither are necessary and are sometimes too much --> good supplements tho if you must)

Ones I require

***BRS Physiology (1st)
Netter's Human anatomy flash cards (1st)
Netter's Neuroanatomy flash cards (1st)
Pharmcards (2nd)
***Clinical Micro Made Ridiculously Simple (2nd)
Katzung board review Pharm (2nd)
Lang Micro and Immuno (2nd -- for the practice questions and Immuno section, Micro is overkill)

Nice to have (for 2nd year)

USMLE Step 1 First Aid
Goljan Rapid Review Pathology


If I happened to forget anything, I'll throw it on there. These are the things that have helped me the most, no more, no less. My classmates will probably have different opinions and think I suck for suggesting certain things, but I like that because you can see the not-so-good stuff about these sources too. This is the opinion of only one man, and you should probably be cautious from taking advice from this man anyway :laugh:

In most cases, the powerpoints and lecture notes will suffice for the exams. Some of the sources I have down are very helpful for class, but more for board review (its apparent which ones those are). The policy is to not teach to boards here, which is great because of more "real life" medicine, but at the same time, there are certain details we have to brush up on independently. There's no need for you to worry or even think about Step 1 now, but you'll thank me when you get there for those shout outs.

If the fourth year you are buying them from has any of these, I would highly suggest getting them. Buying books from 4th years is the way to go, i got some incredibly cheap books from 4th years!
 
rogerwilco said:
This might be pushing it, but do you know what kind of stuff it has? Like how fast the processor is, amount of memory, hard drive size, etc? You don't have to get too technical, since I don't know a ton about computers in the first place.
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Class of 2010 Laptop Specs (the 2011ers have basically the same thing as far as I know):
Hard Drive: ~88 GB
Processor: Intel T2600 @ 2.16 GHz
RAM: 1 GB

We have Windows XP as does the class below us. I don't know if they'll switch you to Vista or not. Our tech guys are pretty smart so my guess is that they'll stay with XP if they can.
 
I agree with everything MSK said. I would add the Netter anatomy flashcards for anatomy (different from the neuro flascards).

I actually really like ALL of the physiology monographs we used but you definitely only really NEED the Cell Physiology one (this is the only portion of any course where the book is considered your notes, rather than supplemental notes which will be provided). From the current Functional Systems (physiology) course guidelines:

1. Blaustein, MP, Kao JPY, Matteson DR, 2004, Cellular Physiology, Elsevier/Mosby, Philadelphia, PA.
2. Levy MN & Pappano, 2006, Cardiovascular Physiology, 9th Edition, Mosby Year Book, Inc., St. Louis, MO.
3. Johnson LR, 2006, Gastrointestinal Physiology, 7th Edition, Mosby Year Book, Inc., St. Louis, MO.
4. West JB, 2004, Respiratory Physiology: The Essentials, 7th Edition, Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, MD.
5. Koeppen BM, Stanton BA, 2006, Renal Physiology, 4th Edition, Mosby Year Book, Inc., St. Louis, MO.
6. Porterfield S & White B, 2007, Endocrine Physiology, 3rd Edition, Mosby Year Book, Inc., St. Louis, MO.

I really wouldn't buy any books beyond these and the ones MSK cited. Among his "suggested" texts (ie ones they don't tell you to get but many people find useful, I also used: Netters neuroanatomy flash cards (1st), Pharmcards (2nd), Clinical Micro Made Ridiculously Simple (2nd) and honestly I probably should have gotten the BRS path.

For 2nd year GET Clinical Micro Made Ridiculously Simple. They will tell you at the beginning of 2nd year that they don't recommend it so I didn't get it until halfway through the class which was a HUGE MISTAKE.

Usually the provided notesets (especially 1st year) are more useful than textbooks.
 
LucidSplash said:
I would add the Netter anatomy flashcards for anatomy (different from the neuro flascards).
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Good call LS, that was the source I forgot...those anatomy flashcards are CLUTCH

Also when it comes to books, listen to us, not them lol. I say that in all seriousness, not because the faculty will give bad info necessarily, but when you hear us disagree with them its generally because its mostly a class consensus. For instance, when LS said they didnt recommend CMMRS to us, Id have to disagree highly because everyone who used it loved it, and it blows to hear how helpful something is and only get to use it halfway through the class (I feel your pain LS thats happened to me several times). So if you want any books, get them from the beginning and use them from the start. So yeah, listen to us and spread the wealth to your other colleagues 🙂
 
MSKalltheway said:
For instance, when LS said they didnt recommend CMMRS to us, Id have to disagree highly because everyone who used it loved it, and it blows to hear how helpful something is and only get to use it halfway through the class (I feel your pain LS thats happened to me several times).
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You mean you disagree with the faculty saying not to get it right? I swear they really did say that - it was in the course syllabus. But yeah. MSK is correct: moral = listen to the students in the class about you, NOT the faculty, when it comes to text selection. Of course listen to the faculty on everything else. 🙂
 
LucidSplash said:
You mean you disagree with the faculty saying not to get it right?
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You got it! It sucks they told you that, I think I also remember one of some of them saying that too, but I'm a stubborn man and don't listen unless I chose to :meanie:

Unfortunately there were other things I did listen to. Won't be doing that again; unless of course, I feel like they're right!
 
Sigh. Does anyone else feel like they're in over their head right now? 🙁
 
LucidSplash said:
Just "right now?" Holy understatement of all of medschool ever batman. 1 exam left though.
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MSKalltheway said:
Nope, cause now I'm done with MS-2 and am starting my board studying now 🙂:laugh:
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Hahaha. Always keeping things in perspective. That's why I love you guys. You keep it real. Even though I hardly ever see either of you anymore.

I did sit next to MSK at CC yesterday. Let's just say that he's a lucky man. And I don't (just) mean because he was sitting next to me. I'm refering to his ability to materialize out of thin air, just in the nick of time. 😉
 
I've got a question maybe someone here can answer . . . I haven't had much luck on the Financial Aid forum.

There's a form I have to fill out to choose my "FFELP" Stafford Loan Lender.....I have no idea who to choose. It doesn't list any choices and I'm kinda clueless. And is this the same lender through which I'd get the Grad Plus Loan I'll need to take out? It says to list the FFELP lender you used in undergrad, if any. I did get a Fed Stafford Loan (among other loans) in undergrad but never chose/saw any specific name.

Anyone have any helpful advice?!
 
rogerwilco said:
I've got a question maybe someone here can answer . . . I haven't had much luck on the Financial Aid forum.

There's a form I have to fill out to choose my "FFELP" Stafford Loan Lender.....I have no idea who to choose. It doesn't list any choices and I'm kinda clueless. And is this the same lender through which I'd get the Grad Plus Loan I'll need to take out? It says to list the FFELP lender you used in undergrad, if any. I did get a Fed Stafford Loan (among other loans) in undergrad but never chose/saw any specific name.

Anyone have any helpful advice?!
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You had to sign a promissory note in college. You should have a copy around somewhere. This should have your lender name on it. Regardless, you can use the national loan clearing house: http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/ You can find your info here (using the same pin you use for the fafsa) and get your lender info.

I'm not sure what to say about there not being any choices on the form, there were when I filled mine out 2 years ago. I'd call the financial aid office and ask. When you find out what the choices are, some will have incentives and you can compare them. When I did it 2 years ago, I made a spreadsheet detailing all the different incentives. But in the end, its pretty much a wash. It'll be a difference of a couple hundred dollars on your thousands in loans. I think most people chose to go with UMB but its really up to your personal preference. I'm fairly certain you can use the same lender for grad plus and stafford, but I haven't take grad plus, so don't quote me. Hopefully the financial aid packages will come out sometime this week; if you have any luck, you won't have any grad plus this year.
 
LucidSplash said:
You had to sign a promissory note in college. You should have a copy around somewhere. This should have your lender name on it. Regardless, you can use the national loan clearing house: http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/ You can find your info here (using the same pin you use for the fafsa) and get your lender info.

As for choosing a lender, you can check the websites of each of the lenders on the form. Some will have incentives and you can compare them. When I did it 2 years ago, I made a spreadsheet detailing all the different incentives. But in the end, its pretty much a wash. It'll be a difference of a couple hundred dollars on your thousands in loans. I think most people chose to go with UMB but its really up to your personal preference. I'm fairly certain you can use the same lender for grad plus and stafford, but I haven't take grad plus, so don't quote me. Hopefully the financial aid packages will come out sometime this week; if you have any luck, you won't have any grad plus this year.
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Thanks for the info so far! The financial aid info actually came out two weeks ago. I'm OOS so the estimated COA is just north of $72,000😱

The budget has a little under $28,000 listed as what I'll need to take out with a Grad Plus loan.

When you say the lenders "on the form" do you mean the form I have to turn in? Because it has no lenders listed whatsoever.
 
Also, I had no idea you could just pick the school to be your lender directly or whatever. Would I just write "UMB" in the space? Sorry about all the annoying questions.
 
rogerwilco said:
Thanks for the info so far! The financial aid info actually came out two weeks ago. I'm OOS so the estimated COA is just north of $72,000😱

The budget has a little under $28,000 listed as what I'll need to take out with a Grad Plus loan.

When you say the lenders "on the form" do you mean the form I have to turn in? Because it has no lenders listed whatsoever.
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Yes, I went back and edited my original comment after I wrote it because I actually reread what you'd written and only then noticed that you said there were no options on the form. When we filled out that form, I'm pretty sure there were like 5-6 options actually on the form. I don't know why yours doesn't, unless it has to do with some of the exposure recently about schools have too cozy a relationship with lenders, so they've left off the choices now.

Based on a quick search of the website, it does seem that you are now left up to your own devices to find a lender. This is not that hard, so don't worry. Most major banks and organizations are FFLEP lenders. Start with whoever is the current lender for your undergrad loans (based on what it says on that website). Otherwise, consider the banks you may have checking or savings accounts with, etc. Go to that bank's website and just use the search box to look for "Stafford" and if they are Stafford lenders (and/or Grad Plus) you will be able to find the information. For example, my lender is Bank of America and I easily found their informational site: http://www.bankofamerica.com/studentbanking/index.cfm?template=stb_stafford_loans&state=MD
ALL staffords are 6.8% interest (deferred or otherwise) and I think all Grad Plus are 8.5% so that shouldn't change between lenders. Other stuff like origination fees and specific incentives (a certain minuscule portion off your interest rate with a certain number of years payment, etc) will vary, but like I said before it will basically be a wash IMHO.
 
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