Ridiculous/Complicated Financial Aid Situation

<p>You have mentioned money/loans ad nauseum in this thread–such as will you get more money from OOS publics when your sibling attends school next year and your EFC is cut in half. But when well-meaning people give you sound advice about money/loans you jump all over them? Then you ask for more opinions on money/loans? Re-read the posts that already have been made for this type of advice. </p>

<p>There appears to be no place for practical considerations in your pursuit for what many would consider to be a prosaic pre-med education that can be achieved in practically any state public, including in Georgia, as you now admit “in hindsight.” “In hindsight”-- have you graduated already? I thought you were a rising sophomore. </p>

<p>Seriously, I am guessing your cultural/ethnic group sees large educational debt and going out of state to college as concrete demonstrations of your grasp of the importance of a striving for a good education. If that is the case, your group values may prevent you from accepting the types of practical advice that you are likely to get on CC.</p>

<p>My uncle is licensed for another state, but what he mentioned seems to be generic stuff that would hold true in all states. Idk what you meant about the $200 letter but as far as a lawyer, it will cost thousands. If its just a consultation, it won’t cost that much, but that won’t completely solve the situation.</p>

<p>Are you kidding me? Do you know how many institutions fold once they (the school and its legal dept) receive a strong letter from an attorney with a well thought out position as to why the institution is wrong and why the plaintiff is correct?</p>

<p>You may have intended on finding new ways to approach the college, but in reality you really don’t want to do what needs to be done.</p>

<p>Have you even contacted the legal office of this school? Has your uncle even called them? He doesn’t have to practice in that state to contact them and speak for you. I have 3 in-laws that are attys in other states. On rare occasions, I’ve had them call on an issue and the matter clears up fast. </p>

<p>But…since you seem to want to give up…take your big loans and when you’re sick of paying them back remember that you might have had less loans if you had been more aggressive with this school. </p>

<p>Yes, you can borrow $224k in federal loans (that doesn’t include private). That doesn’t mean that the feds think it’s easy for new doctors to pay that back. Since I have a pre-med son, this issue is very important to me. </p>

<p>To pay back $224k in federal loans (private loans are different), the payment is about $2680 per month - . Of course, since interest might be accruing during that entire time while in school, the balance may be larger than $224k when you’re done with school. Anyway…that’s $32,160 per year! </p>

<p>That’s not $32k off the top of your income. That’s $32k from your net income after paying taxes, FICA, etc. That’s also after paying for your normal living expenses. That’s why the guideline is that the payments shouldn’t be more than 10% of your income. </p>

<pre><code>**
</code></pre>

<p>Loan Calculator**</p>

<pre><code>Loan Balance: $224,000.00
Adjusted Loan Balance: $224,000.00
Loan Interest Rate: 6.80%

Loan Term: 10 years

Monthly Loan Payment: $2,577.80
Number of Payments: 120

Cumulative Payments: $309,335.90
Total Interest Paid: $85,335.90
</code></pre>

<p>Note: The monthly loan payment was calculated at 119 payments of $2,577.80 plus a final payment of $2,577.70.</p>

<p>It is estimated that you will need an annual salary of at least $309,336.00 to be able to afford to repay this loan. .**</p>

<p>Do you really think the gov’t thinks that newish doctors are making $300k within the first few years? I think you need to talk to some youngish doctors about debt and repayment.</p>

<p>Check and see how badly you’d be hurt if you transfer at the end of this year. If you look into this NOW, you can carefully select this year’s classes to best fit with a transfer school. Instate publics are generally VERY GOOD about accepting transfer credits. I know that our state flagship accepts almost any class from an accredited university (and UCLA and your current school would certainly be such schools). </p>

<p>Would you qualify for HOPE in your own state? or is it too late for that?</p>

<p>*When I made my decision during senior year, do you think that my parents and I were just sitting on our couches with our feet up on our recliners, thinking that taking out loans wasn’t a big deal at all, unaware of the consequences? *</p>

<p>You may think that you and your family are very savvy about money and colleges and doctors’ salaries, but you’ve already made one big mistake by going to UCLA first as an OOS student with loans. That was a big waste. With your stats you could have gotten great scholarships elsewhere as an incoming freshman.</p>

<p>You may also think that you “need” to go to go into debt to go to a “name” undergrad for med school success. That is so wrong. My son’s orthopedic surgeon went to a low-level Florida public, then went to Duke med school, and then went to The Mayo Clinic for his specialty. </p>

<p>Your plan seems to depend on getting into your cheaper in-state med school. But what if you don’t get in there? We would LOVE for our son to get into UAB (our best instate public med school with a high ranking) which has a lowish cost, but we have to assume that he won’t and have a backup plan. </p>

<p>Your plan also depends on your parents helping you pay for med school. No one knows the future, and sometimes well-intentioned parents fall on hard times and can no longer help (job loss, business decline, health issues, some other financial need occurs, death, divorce, whatever).</p>

<p>Does anyone know when new doctors begin paying back their loans? Is it when the get their MDs? Or… Is it when they’re done with their specialties (3-5+ years later)? When? Obviously, if it’s after they get their MDs, then income is really low. But, if it’s after they do their specialties, then interest will really have accrued and the balance is larger. </p>

<p>Is this University of Pittsburgh?</p>

<p>Even those figures look low…the grad plus rate is much closer to 8%, only undergrad is at 6.8%. The OP is not considering how taxes will take a bite, residents make much less (and that’s when loan repayment starts, though many defer which adds even more interest to the original debt). There’s an interesting story at the following link which gives real life details of a young doctor/lawyer couple - they had no debt from undergrad but, with her loans currently deferred and his payment under IBR, they only have around $1K a month after taxes, loans, and expenses:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>[Drowning</a> in Student Debt: Young Professionals at the End of Graduate School|The Coastal Research Group](<a href=“http://coastalresearch.org/2010/06/drowning-in-student-debt-young-professionals-at-the-end-of-graduate-school/]Drowning”>Drowning in Student Debt: Young Professionals at the End of Graduate School - Coastal Research Group)</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Every letter I’ve sent has been read and edited by my uncle (the lawyer), and he’s also added in his own info. It is carefully worded and it is well written. I know consultations don’t cost much. I even said that in one of my posts above.</p></li>
<li><p>I just got mad because I originally made this thread for advice on reinstating the scholarship (without extreme measures), not to get lectured about debt/loans. </p></li>
<li><p>Hindsight can occur after only one year…its amazing how much people can change in a year. You don’t have to graduate to have hindsight. </p></li>
<li><p>Criticizing my cultural background is pretty immature. My culture doesn’t directly advocate going into debt or going out of state, but they value education extremely highly to the point that many people are willing to go into debt to pursue the best education.</p></li>
<li><p>The people at these institutions weren’t born yesterday. None of the institutions will fold if I send a letter from my lawyer because I have no case. I can’t write a strong letter about why the institution is wrong and why we’re correct because all we have for our arguments are related to opinions, morals, and ethics (and while that should be enough…it sadly isn’t when it comes to legal matters). Since we have nothing strong to support our case, they’re not gonna fold. My uncle saw that we basically have no case, and I’m sure that the university will also see that too. They know that they are allowed to do what they did. It’s their scholarship money and they can do what they want with it. They know they didn’t break any rules. And I don’t want to contact the legal office at the college because even questioning them could be perceived as a threat (its the 21st century…people are so paranoid and jumpy these days)</p></li>
<li><p>Just because I said you can borrow 224K in federal loans doesn’t mean that I will. I just wanted to point out that that is the maximum the government thinks is acceptable to go into debt for med students. Even if it isn’t, I’m not borrowing 224K. I’ve said countless times in this thread that I’ll be borrowing at most 190-200K, and with a private loan. The private loan may sound bad to you, but its actually pretty good. There are no fees, and the interest rate is 5.75%, not 6.8% (and I can reduce it up to .50% after graduation). Its also a 25 year loan, not a 10 year loan, and its graduated repayment so the first 2 years’ payments are amortized off a 40 year loan. While I would pay the money off as quick as possible, in case I can’t the monthly payment is not too high.</p></li>
<li><p>Monthly payment here is less than $1200 (even less the first 2 years), not $2680. Thats only about 14K per year. Their recommended starting salary is 140K which is easy for a doctor. But if you make 6 figures, then instead of the 10% of income rule, 15% is a better way to measure the most you can pay. If I make 120K starting, then thats 40K in taxes, FICA, etc. and 50K in living expenses. That still leaves 30K. And thats just my income. If I’m married, I get to split living expenses, so thats even more money left over.</p></li>
<li><p>My parents are paying the interest while I’m in school (and plan to during residency) so it isn’t accruing. Seriously guys, I’ve seen loan calculators (especially on finaid . net website) and I know how amortization works (you’re talking to an econ minor here).</p></li>
<li><p>There are loan forgiveness programs. And the 190K debt is assuming they don’t meet my need in medical school, but the school does meet 100% of need. Even if they don’t, they will at least meet it partially. All 3 of my cousins who went to Medical College of GA didn’t have to give their parents info, and they all had their need met. They didn’t go a single dime into debt during medical school (they did have undergrad loans though)</p></li>
<li><p>I might consider transferring back in-state, but I’m definitely waiting til I get my financial aid info for next year. Obviously I’ll apply to my state’s univ, but if I get a decent amount for next year then I’ll definitely stay.</p></li>
<li><p>Seriously don’t call my college decision a waste. I might have taken out loans for that 1 year at UCLA, but I did learn a lot and had some experiences I probably wouldn’t have had elsewhere. I know you don’t have to go to a fancy undergrad school to get into a good med school, but did you ever think that I wanted to go to a big name undergrad anyways?</p></li>
<li><p>Yea I know I am counting on getting into my state’s med school. But it isn’t ranked all that highly so I figured that if I don’t get in there then my chances of getting into any med school aren’t that great. I think the average MCAT score for my state’s med school is like a 30, and thats not too hard (other schools have a much higher average)</p></li>
</ol>

<p>And no lol it isn’t the University of Pittsburgh. They were one of the schools I considered transferring too, but I ended up choosing another school (I actually turned in deposits/enrolled at a total of 3 schools, but then withdrew 2 of them (Pitt and UMaryland) when the scholarship offer came from my current univ (my current univ was the one I was planning on attending anyways…the other deposits were there just in case O.o). Looking back, turning in multiple deposits was kinda a dumb/useless idea. I mainly did it because none of the schools gave official financial aid letters until after we turned in the deposit.</p>

<p>sk8ermom- like I said above you’re talking to an econ minor. I know how finances work. I know about taxes, tax brackets, FICA, etc. I know loan repayment starts during residency, and I know about capitalization. Like I’ve said, the plan is for my parents to help me pay the interest until I start my career.</p>

<p>

Great.

I thought you said you took/are taking some Stafford loans?</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Some people need both.</p>

<p>*and the interest rate is 5.75%, not 6.8% (and I can reduce it up to .50% after graduation). *</p>

<p>You said that you’d be taking federal loans for med school. That rate isn’t 5.75%.</p>

<p>*There are loan forgiveness programs. *</p>

<p>For federal loans, not private loans.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The only Stafford Loans I’m taking in undergrad are subsidized. Since I’m getting the maximum amount of subsidized (and that shouldn’t change especially since my bro is going into college now), I’ll end up getting a total of 20K in that during undergrad</p></li>
<li><p>Never said I WILL take federal loans for med school. I just said I have that option in case my bank won’t give any more private loans (but the limit starts over when I enter medical school so I should be fine)</p></li>
<li><p>Private loans have forgiveness programs too. Not as many as federal loans. And they might not have the IBR repayment. But the forgiveness programs for private loans are still out there.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>good luck.</p>

<p>"All 3 of my cousins who went to Medical College of GA didn’t have to give their parents info, and they all had their need met. They didn’t go a single dime into debt during medical school "</p>

<p>I had no idea there was any medical school out there that “met full need” without loans and/or without parent info. Since nearly all medical students are full time with $0 income, they would all have $0 EFC without parent info, so the schools that do offer some need based grants usually require parent financial info.</p>

<p>If a $0 EFC has all their need met without loans, that must be $35-60k of need (depending on the tuition and cost of living in the area)…I am struggling with the concept that the medical school in GA is basically 100% free to everyone??</p>

<p>I think that this student was given some very wrong info about FA for med school from relatives. </p>

<p>I, too, realized that virtually every med student would have a 0 EFC without parents info and the school would have to fully fund every student every student without loans if this scenario were true.</p>

<p>I read the med school’s website and it indicates that loans are given.</p>