Jump to content
Premed 101 Forums

Lines of Credit for Medical Students (Scotia is the best option)


Recommended Posts

She would NEVER go for that, she won't even let me pay $700 while she pays $600 (because $600 was her initial budget but the place we are looking at is $1300). Anyway, she won't have it lol. We are both very financially responsible individuals (dating back to well before we met each other) and both want to contribute as we feel it is the most fair way to go and the best way to keep financial matters from causing problems.

 

I would have to agree as that being a good approach. 50/50 :) Sometimes means the higher earner has to drop back a bit to what they want and sometimes puts a bit of restraint on the lower earner but it creates a good level of fairness I think

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Scotia was MUCH more informed than anyone I talked to at RBC. This ultimately made my decision for me. I think RBC is losing out on the market simply by having uneducated individuals handling the LOCs. The person I talked to was advising me to buy a car with my LOC and spend the full $250k because it's "so easy" to pay back. That's just not sound financial advice!

 

 

omgwtf! He advised you to buy a car and max it out? O.O"

This sounds insane. Every rep I've talked to have impressed on me the importance of budgeting well to avoid overspending. No one should need anywhere near the 250K during their medical education unless you have exceptional circumstances. I wonder if that RBC guy was specialized in professional student LOCs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I went in to speak to a specialist at RBC in downtown T.O. Offered me the standard stuff as anyone else has (as well as Avion Infinite card) and the full $250K but basically, because I am in a three year program (250K/3=83K), she said once I exceeded $83K in the first year (in the off chance that somehow I blow it all), I have to email her just to release the next $83K. So, I am "restricted" in that sense but she said it was simply a safeguard just so she is aware that I've spent over an unusually large amount in one year.

 

Not a big deal as I won't even get close to $83K in any year but I was concerned as I thought RBC usually just offer $250K all at once. Is this familiar to anyone?

 

Also, all they need for LOC release is an email from Mac (Wendy) confirming enrollment so maybe for UT, Leslie can just send an email for you guys (?). I am thinking about Scotia or TD too and I might meet with them in the next week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I went in to speak to a specialist at RBC in downtown T.O. Offered me the standard stuff as anyone else has (as well as Avion Infinite card) and the full $250K but basically, because I am in a three year program (250K/3=83K), she said once I exceeded $83K in the first year (in the off chance that somehow I blow it all), I have to email her just to release the next $83K. So, I am "restricted" in that sense but she said it was simply a safeguard just so she is aware that I've spent over an unusually large amount in one year.

 

Not a big deal as I won't even get close to $83K in any year but I was concerned as I thought RBC usually just offer $250K all at once. Is this familiar to anyone?

 

Also, all they need for LOC release is an email from Mac (Wendy) confirming enrollment so maybe for UT, Leslie can just send an email for you guys (?). I am thinking about Scotia or TD too and I might meet with them in the next week.

 

TD doesn't have an "official" professional LOC and will require you to get a co-singer. Also, they don't guarantee prime.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just got approved for an LOC with Scotiabank - I picked them over RBC because of the free Scotia Gold Passport Visa (as opposed to RBC where you have to pay for the Avion card after first year), and the fact that I already bank with them so things were just simpler.

 

I'm at Mac so if anyone is curious about how it works there: they give you $67K per year for your 3 years, then the same deal in residency as other schools ($20K per year up to $75K total). And they just needed my acceptance letter as proof, which is great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, all they need for LOC release is an email from Mac (Wendy) confirming enrollment so maybe for UT, Leslie can just send an email for you guys (?). I am thinking about Scotia or TD too and I might meet with them in the next week.

 

Leslie's on leave and the e-mail confirmation which the substitute admin provides (upon request) isn't considered enough by the banks. It doesn't confirm enrollment- it only confirms proof of deposit payment.

 

This is what the most flexible branch said:

 

It is required to have some kind of proof of enrollment to gain access to funds. There are a variety of different ways that we can gain the proof of enrollment. I have attached the list below.

 

-Verify that the student appears on a University-supplied list of enrolled students.

-E-mail the University's Registrars Office requesting confirmation of the student's enrolment.

-Obtain a copy of a University Enrolment Letter which contains the Associate Dean's seal.

-Witness the student pay the current year's tuition fees with a Customer Service Representative or have the customer make their payment in Branch via Scotia OnLine.

-Have the student log into their University student account at the Branch confirming they are a student and are enrolled in an approved program.

 

^ All of those cannot be done with UT until August 26, lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone feel restricted by Scotiabank's $200K limit and is there any wiggle room to get the extra $75K earlier? I feel I won't have a problem as its a lot of money (and I am going to a 3 year school) but I just wanted to get everyone's take on it.

 

I don't see how you could be restricted by that. Even if you live frivolously (not crazy, but not like a student at all) I can't see you spending more than the $67K that gives you per year of your 3 year program (even $50K/year is plenty for 4 year schools). Plus, if you need that much, you likely qualify for other help like OSAP and other bursaries, but even without them that should be enough to get your through no problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone actually recommend RBC then or is it a consensus for Scotiabank?

 

I'll be going with RBC. I can live just fine on the $50K+/year of a resident so I don't care about extra during residency. Plus, I already have an infinite avion VISA w/ RBC with the fee waived, my mortgage is with them, etc. In order words, there really isn't any reason for me to go with any other bank as there seems to be no benefit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My family has all of their banking with CIBC and right now it looks like they are prepared to offer me a LoC with a $225 000 maximum limit with interest rate at prime, no cosigner, and the annual fee on my already existing aerogold visa waived. Anyone think of any reason not to sign with them if this offer pans out?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't see how you could be restricted by that. Even if you live frivolously (not crazy, but not like a student at all) I can't see you spending more than the $67K that gives you per year of your 3 year program (even $50K/year is plenty for 4 year schools). Plus, if you need that much, you likely qualify for other help like OSAP and other bursaries, but even without them that should be enough to get your through no problem.

 

I have gone of course through the entire process now - never felt "restricted" at all. Seriously with OSAP and bursaries etc, etc, I didn't use anywhere close to the max amount. There is so much left over that after dealing with OSAP I could as a resident go out and buy a 400K house with mortgage rules for residents and the use of the LOC and still not be hurting - and that mortgage would be at the lowest rate possible (I would have met the full down payment rule to not have to pay the extra insurance rate - which may people ignore in their calculations (extra few percentages added on - my true rate would be 2.79%).

 

Think about it - tuition is about 20K. You get with OSAP and your LOC yeah about 67K. That means you would have to spend more than about 45K a year on everything else to run into trouble. What on earth would you be spending that kind of money on? You are still a student. Other factors - electives are expensive - the OMA gives you 9K to handle that. Still not enough? You can get another 1500 from the ontario government to handle in province away electives (I stayed downtown TO for 2 weeks on that in a hotel and walked to PMH each day. Cost me nothing to do that). We still haven't talked about the bursaries with are quite often thousands more, OSAP forgives a huge part of that loan....

 

We are so darn lucky with all of this it is a bit crazy at times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My family has all of their banking with CIBC and right now it looks like they are prepared to offer me a LoC with a $225 000 maximum limit with interest rate at prime, no cosigner, and the annual fee on my already existing aerogold visa waived. Anyone think of any reason not to sign with them if this offer pans out?

 

Not really - the amount is slightly lower than some of the others but not really much. If you like them, and are comfortable with the bank (to be honest in the long run this is pretty important) then you would be fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not really - the amount is slightly lower than some of the others but not really much. If you like them, and are comfortable with the bank (to be honest in the long run this is pretty important) then you would be fine.

 

If anyone has experience with CIBC in Kingston, that'd be great info to get a hold of. Being a NS resident my whole life, I have no experience with the actual branches of any of the banks at Queen's. But yeah, right now it's looking like I will sign with them if this offer comes through. If I get to Kingston and don't like them, I'll entertain the prospect of switching.

 

Also, wish I was an Ontario resident so I could get OSAP, seeing as they pay back half of it. I talked to NS student loans today and they said they don't have a similar program. Unless the person I was talking to didn't know what they were talking about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone actually recommend RBC then or is it a consensus for Scotiabank?

 

Going with RBC since my representative is somewhat financially sound. Told me to use the LOC as little as possible, since provincial loan is interest free for the time being. The fact that RBC has no annual limit means that I can pay back my provincial loan with the LOC. Provincial student loan interest rate in BC post residency: prime+2.5%.

 

Also the LOC from RBC is good for life. In essence, after I pay it back, I will always have a LOC at prime with a 250k limit. The difference in credit cards seems irrelevant in comparison.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe scotia will also offer similar LOCs after graduation - I asked about this when I met with them, because I had heard the same thing when I met with RBC. I was assured that once you graduate you move from being a professional student to simply a professional, and they have lots of programs in place for that. The scotia gold card will still be free, etc.

 

As for using the LOC to pay off student loans after graduating, at that point you will have access to the full LOC with scotia as well, so as long as you haven't spent the full amount (anywhere from 240K-275K depending on length of residency) you should be good.

 

The 2 banks were really similar, but I'll be going with scotia because the credit card offer is way better, and that seems like the biggest difference. Having the LOC limited to 50K per year isn't a concern for me, in fact I think I prefer it that way, it would be harder to go crazy and spend way too much

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone actually recommend RBC then or is it a consensus for Scotiabank?

 

You will find it is likely pretty evenly split between the two :) There is a reason they are the two most popular - I mean if you are only going to check out two banks (and you should probably check out at least two) those would probably be the ones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone know if I can request for the removal of the annual limit on my LOC to help pay off part of my parents' mortgage?

 

The banks that have limits often can discuss changing them for specific cases. I have seen something similar in the past - you have to bring it up with your banker. Of course you have to be careful not to put yourself in a bind down the road.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I recently signed on to get an RBC line of credit to finance med school, and would like to get the RBC Avion card. I read on here that some were able to get the first year fee of $120 waived, but was told by the account manager that this was not possible (I would like this card for the out of country health insurance it provides). He told me that people who got this waived were likely not also getting the student banking package, which guarantees free banking.

 

Anyways, just wanted to see if that was the case for anyone else.

 

Also, he told that the funds will only be released once I forward them the enrolment letter (acceptance letter not sufficient). Apparently, this can take until July to be sent. Any way to get this sooner? I could use the funds...

 

I am a UBC student, enrolled in the Southern Medical Program.

 

TIA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...