<p>I got accepted and would like to attend an international medical school. I am firm on this decision and do not want to wait to apply to domestic schools next year.</p>
<p>I am in need of financial aid. My parents were originally going to fund my schooling, but a recent series of disagreements has changed this. </p>
<p>The school does not meet the criteria for me to receive federal funding - it's not on whatever list that says which international schools are eligible. They do not have any loan agreements or arrangements with US banks. The school said that I could co-enroll in a graduate program based in the US (online) and then apply for financial aid through that. I am not opposed to that, but how does that work? How much aid are you allowed to apply for? For example, I am a NY resident, so if I decided to do a SUNY program and the cost is, say, $5000 a year (I'm making this up), can I borrow what would end up being the cost of medical school? Like $100,000. Or would I need to apply to and enroll in an expensive program, like at a private school, so that the school says that the program will cost much more money to make me able to take out that much in loans? I have no idea how these things work; my school has always been paid for by my family.</p>
<p>Hmm, okay, so it would make more sense to apply to an outrageously expensive program, take out the loans, and either complete it or not? I do intend on paying them back, but the personal loan interest rates I have found are really quite absurd and cannot be deferred. Though if there are any suggestions of banks or loan institutions that will provide this type of loan with deferment and reasonable interest rates, I am happy to set up an appointment with them to see what we can do</p>
<p>As a graduate student, there are no ways to take out loans for educational expenses without cosigners? I thought we were considered independent, which seems to be true, but the whole not being on the DOE’s list of approved international medical schools list is causing me loads of problems</p>
<p>The banks want a reasonable assurance that you will pay back the money. They will not "trust’ you. Also, educational loans are not dismissed in bankruptcy.</p>
<p>If you were eligible for U.S. Federally funded loans, you could take out an unsubsidized Direct Loan or a Grad Plus loan in YOUR name.</p>
<p>If you take the loan for some phantom exoensive program and do NOT complete that program, you will not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress, and you will not be eligible for future federally funded loans until you do.</p>
<p>You will need to seek a private loan to fund this out of country medical school. And you will need a cosigner because these are private loans…and YOU don’t have the collaterol to be eligible for a loan in your name only.</p>
<p>If you attend a legitimate US medical school, Wells Fargo has a loan program for med students at a very decent interest rate and you do not need a co-signer.</p>
<p>I would also be VERY CAREFUL and want documentation that graduates from the school you are considering find residencies and jobs in the US after graduation. Otherwise you are going to be paying back a whole lot of debt without a job. If I were your parent, I probably wouldn’t spend a dime or co-sign any loans without good proof of this. </p>
<p>Do you understand how difficult it will be for you to get a residency after completing this “med school”? What good will it do for you to graduate from this program if you can’t get a residency afterwards? </p>
<p>Is this a Caribbean med school? </p>
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<p>Please clarify…is the US program a grad school program or a med school program?</p>
<p>It has to be a Caribbean school. OP, just realize the residency placements from such schools…I ddon’t have the link but it has been put on here several times. You won’t get funding…for a good reason.</p>
<p>You might want to ask these questions on SDN where people are likely to be more aware of these issues, particularly as they pertain to med school students studying out of the country.</p>
<p>Sorry, in reference to the online program the school mentioned, it would be an online MS/MA concurrent with a very much in person and on campus MD. SDN has a huge issue with Caribbean medical schools, and I’ve received a lot of negativity from posters on there.</p>
<p>Someone asked, so I will reply: Yes, I have a BS. I also have a MS, actually. Both from top schools (Ivy league and a top 5), hence why SDN is quick to jump at me and insist I apply domestically next year, but I have multiple personal reasons encouraging my decision to go this route instead. I did indeed research match rates, board pass rates, and so on. My decision was discussed in detail with advisors from my undergraduate and graduate school, as well as family friends who are physicians and involved in admissions and administration at US medical schools. I am just trying to find a way to pay myself if I cannot bargain with the school for money, which I am currently in the process of doing, or if my family is really going to stick with not paying. </p>
<p>Where are YOU going to get a credit card with a line of credit large enough to pay for four years of medical school and living expenses? Nevermind that the interest will be almost onerous and you will need to start repayment immediately the month after your first charge.</p>
<p>If you want to attend this school abroad, you will need to take private loans to fund it…and you will need a cosigner to do so. Maybe your parents will cosign a loan with you. If you do this, I would strongly suggest you all purchase life insurance in case something happens to either of you loan signers.</p>
<p>oh good heavens! If you’re smart enough to be a doctor (and attend an ivy and top 5 school!!!) then you should be smart enough to “do that math” and realize that you can’t/shouldn’t borrow your way thru med school with CREDIT CARDS!!!</p>
<p>Ok…HARSHNESS ALERT!!!</p>
<p>You’re making a HUGE mistake that only an impulsive, impatient person would do. You need to take a breath and fast-forward your life about 4-5 years from now when you’ll be loaded with debt, you can’t get a residency, and you’ll be realizing that if had just waited a year, then your undergrad credentials could have gotten you into a US MD school here. </p>
<p>There’s a reason why the SDN folks aren’t supportive of your plans…your plans are a roadmap to disaster. </p>
<p>I suspect that the “disagreement with the folks” is what is largely driving this “jump from the frying pan into the fire” thought process. Hose yourself off and put on your thinking cap.</p>
<p>You already have completed an MS so you should know just exactly how difficult it would be to try to combine the demands of an MD program with that of a distance ed MA/MS. I’m completing a second masters degree right now through distance ed. The workload is not somehow magically easier than the first one that I did years ago. In many ways it is more difficult because of the lack of face-to-face interaction with my professors and classmates. I would never recommend this type of program to anyone who did not have a tremendous amount of focus, and a specific professional need to complete a program that was not available in a “live” format. </p>
<p>I have not needed to borrow in order to pay for my studies, so I cannot say with any certainty that you would or wouldn’t be able to borrow the full cost of a distance ed MA/MS and magically have enough left over for your MD program and your living expenses. But to be perfectly honest, it is extremely difficult for me to believe that the math would work out in your favor.</p>
<p>i haven’t applied to any domestic schools. i’m confident that i could do perfectly fine with the support of my former schools and by doing well at the caribbean school. i consulted many people before deciding to apply to the handful of schools i put in applications to. i’m not upset about my school choices, just the finances, as they were pulled from me recently because of somewhat ridiculous disagreements between my parents and me.</p>
<p>but i spoke with my mom for a bit today. i’m helping my siblings apply to graduate schools and she seems pleased about that. maybe another day or two of her watching us work together will lead to another conversation about paying for school </p>