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Best LOC?


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I'm starting medical school this cycle (was accepted last year and deferred) so I'm looking to get my LOC set up soon. I was hoping people could share their experiences on what the "best" place to get a LOC is in terms of limit, rate (anyone get prime?), cosigners, etc?

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No cosigners required. They are all pretty much the same but it is essential that you deal with a banker who specializes in LOCs for med students. If not, you will be wastting your time and speaking with an idiot who does not know he/she is an idiot. I met with BN and RBC and went with one of them.

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When I signed up for my LOC they were all identical so I can't comment on that. What I will say is f_d is correct, make sure you talk to someone who is an actual med rep or they won't know what they're talking about. I basically phoned up all the major banks and went with the guy that I liked the most.

 

Don't settle for anything other than prime and no co-signer. Idk what limits are like now but the difference between 200 and 250k probably isn't significant unless you plan on buying some very expensive things (e.g. luxury car).

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They are more-or-less all the same. The best option is the one with the most convenient branch to where you live/go to school. After that, go in and explore your options - while the 'meat' of the offers will all be the same, some banks will offer better 'gravy' than others (e.g. free cheques, credit cards, etc)

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Do many of you use government student loans in addition to your LOC? What is the advantage of this?

Interest starts accumulating immediately on whatever you take out of your LOC. Student loans are interest free until you graduate. Plus some of your student loan comes in the form of grants which you don't have to pay off after you graduate i.e. free money.

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They are more-or-less all the same. The best option is the one with the most convenient branch to where you live/go to school. After that, go in and explore your options - while the 'meat' of the offers will all be the same, some banks will offer better 'gravy' than others (e.g. free cheques, credit cards, etc)

 

I would say the "good ones" are mostly the same - there a couple of banks that just don't seem to be up to par. To me it seems Scotia and RBC seem the most competitive. There are some basic things to check for:

 

1) no co signers

2) prime interest rate during medical school AND residency. Both or no deal

3) 200K is the usual MIN to get started. Really that is even over kill.

4) Good quality service. Varies by location - some places one bank just goes the extra mile. At Western that is Scotia (school sponsor, actually hold "office hours" in the cafe over lunch etc). Other schools might have something different so ask around.

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Has anyone had any success bargaining with banks on LOCs? Has anyone attempted this?

 

I'm not trying to get an interest rate sub-prime, but how about increased credit or premium credit cards?

$5000 credit limit seems standard. Scotiabank's offering their Passport VISA for free for medical students, I've got a Momentum that I unsuccessfully tried to waive the annual fee for.

 

If you mean increase your LOC limit, you really shouldn't need to. If you find you need to you might want to start getting government loans if you haven't before, and possibly rethink some spending habits.

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Scotia, RBC and BMO are all good. I have dealt with each (I have moved around a few times for various reasons, nothing bad).

 

If you go with RBC get s Avion Visa. Refuse to accept anything less.

 

Have you moved around with credit cards as well? What features do you like best with the Avion? I am looking at the specs for the Avion Visa, is it the infinite or platinum you have? Why would RBC not give you this card?

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$5000 credit limit seems standard. Scotiabank's offering their Passport VISA for free for medical students, I've got a Momentum that I unsuccessfully tried to waive the annual fee for.

 

If you mean increase your LOC limit, you really shouldn't need to. If you find you need to you might want to start getting government loans if you haven't before, and possibly rethink some spending habits.

 

yeah you get in Ontario at least access to almost 275000 over the 4 years if you include osap and the 9K bursary. To say that is tons is a serious understatement :)

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Have you moved around with credit cards as well? What features do you like best with the Avion? I am looking at the specs for the Avion Visa, is it the infinite or platinum you have? Why would RBC not give you this card?

 

Infinite I think. I hear they sometimes give the med students hassles to keep them from getting one. I switched to RBC as a resident.

 

It's better for free flights than Aeroplan (no black outs, no ****ty routing). It also comes with a load of travel insurances if you use it (cars, hotels, health etc.).

 

I had a Scotia Moneyback card for a while. It was sweet when I could use it to pay tuition and get 2% back on it. Now that my tuition is only 500 or so it's not as great.

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Infinite I think. I hear they sometimes give the med students hassles to keep them from getting one. I switched to RBC as a resident.

 

It's better for free flights than Aeroplan (no black outs, no ****ty routing). It also comes with a load of travel insurances if you use it (cars, hotels, health etc.).

 

I had a Scotia Moneyback card for a while. It was sweet when I could use it to pay tuition and get 2% back on it. Now that my tuition is only 500 or so it's not as great.

 

You were able to pay your tuition with a credit card?

Also, I was just wondering why no one mentions MD financial? Is it really sub par compared to the other banks listed above?

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Sorry to semi-hijack, but has anyone been able to get the Avion cards free while in residency or after transitioning to a full physician plan with the bank?

 

Also, any full fledged docs here know which bank offers the most competitive post-residency packages for newly minted docs?

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You were able to pay your tuition with a credit card?

Also, I was just wondering why no one mentions MD financial? Is it really sub par compared to the other banks listed above?

 

Yeah my undergrad/MD school lets you.

 

I was shocked when my residency school didn't.

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For students who are interested in attending med school in the USA, I have a really great set-up with RBC. They approved my LOC relatively quickly (BMO gave me a lot of trouble). Importantly, they have a US bank that you can transfer money to from your Canadian Royal Bank account for NO FEE and the transfer is instant. The US Bank (RBC Bank USA) has a really cheap account ($3/month - fee is waived if your account balance is $700+; or if you have a balance over a certain amount on your LOC, you can get their premium US account for free which also gives you a guaranteed preferred exchange rate). If you talk to the account manager, you might be able to negotiate a way to get him or her to manually do the currency conversion for you and get you a preferred exchange rate too.

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I've been accepted to start in the fall. When does one typically set up their LOC?

 

Hey future classmate! I think most Dal people end up going with RBC for whatever reason. I'm meeting with a friend in first year to pick her brain next week, I'd PM you what I learn but I don't think that's working.

 

f_d who/what do we ask for when calling the banks? A med loan adviser? Or a professional loan adviser?

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Hey future classmate! I think most Dal people end up going with RBC for whatever reason. I'm meeting with a friend in first year to pick her brain next week, I'd PM you what I learn but I don't think that's working.

 

f_d who/what do we ask for when calling the banks? A med loan adviser? Or a professional loan adviser?

 

Thanks f_d, will do, I look forward to getting the ball rolling!

 

Mae Fleur: nice to (kinda) meet you! That sounds good, let me know what info you gather... even if it needs to be through the Dal forum. I looked through the Don't Panic Guide but I know they weren't all represented.

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You want a specialist in prof loans for med students. Speak to that person on the phone to make sure you have the real deal and you won't be wasting your time with a dufus. At the meeting, confirm the overall limit, the interest is at prime and remains at prime until it is paid off, and ask about credit cards, etc. You want the loan administered simply so you can access the money from your account (where there is not much money) and the LOC will kick in. Go to 2 or 3 banks, become educated, find out if that person will remain there, etc.

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One downside I found with Scotia was they hold any non-scotia cards against your overall limit. So if you have a $10k limit platinum visa with RBC, they will take 10k off your total 4 year line of credit for as long as you keep the other card (so you get 200k-10k). If you get rid of it at any point, you get the credit back on your LOC.

 

I just ditched my other credit cards when I went with them. It wasn't a huge deal for me. But if you have some kinda super sweet card it might be an issue.

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