this helped a lot i will look into that private repayment option.
Unfortunately those options I mentioned were all federal repayment options (ie, for stafford, gradplus, etc.). However, you can sometimes negotiate with a private lender as they usually prefer to get some money instead of nothing. Usually you do this when you can't afford payments and are at risk of defaulting.
However, since you defaulted on
private loans, I'm not so sure you're ineligible federal loans. The Dept of Ed website is pretty clear if you're in default on any federal loans you can't get any more federal aid until you're out of default, but it doesn't mention anything about the consequences of defaulting on private loans. It probably still has the same effect, but it wouldn't hurt to talk to a financial aid adviser or someone with the department of education and clarify things.
If you plan to go to medical school, here's what you need to do:
1) Boost that GPA. You might actually need to re-take all the science pre-reqs if you're 5 years out--I think some schools have a limit on how far out you can be. It wouldn't be a bad idea to re-take them anyway if you're going to be taking the MCAT. A post-bac/special master's program may not be a bad option for you as a way to take those courses, but know two things: One, it's still going to be a bit of a long-shot, and two, you'd have to accumulate even more debt to pay for that program.
Consider that if you got another 4-year degree and got
all A's, that 4.0 in that 4-year program, it would average with your current 3.2 to give you a 3.6 GPA. 3.6 is a good GPA to be working with (though still usually below average for MD schools, I believe), but I'm just trying to show you how hard it is to bring up a GPA and how much effort it's going to take you. It takes a long time to bring up your GPA--you really need to get only A's and A-'s from this point forward as the odds are you aren't going to be getting another 4-year degree so there's no way you can get your GPA up that high. What you can do is hopefully boost up your science GPA and show a strong and sustained upward trend (I believe DO schools still only look at the best grade in a particular science class if you retake the course, vs averaging for MD schools--so it's easier to raise your GPA if you apply to DO programs). I would argue you need at least two years of A and A- performance for programs to consider you.
2) Get your private loans out of default and make regular monthly payments on them. Call your lender and set-up a plan.
Keep in mind private loans often have a limit to how much in-school deferment you're eligible for, so it's possible if you did go to medical school that you will still need to make regular payments on those loans.
You're sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place between your GPA and your credit. Plus, the amount of debt you're likely to be in (assuming you're successful) when all is said and done is no small thing either.
I think you can tell the odds are quite against your here, but it's not impossible. You just need to get the facts on federal loan eligibility with defaulted private loans and work on your GPA, and then really study for the MCAT. I guess the scoring system has changed with the new MCAT because I have no idea what Goro means by a 525, but you really should only take the real MCAT when you're consistently scoring high on practice MCATs.
TLDR: Boost that GPA, and call the Dept of Education to find out how private loan default affects federal loan eligibility.
