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

[Olaf]

I will say first off I can say from personal experience your contact at Western is a pretty solid guy in case that was a concern.

 

You can pick an adviser from another place though - usually I would say as a medical student it was more convenient to have someone close by. As a resident I still use my adviser from my medical school days and documents as needed go to whatever branch I want them to for me to look at/sign.

 

Find someone you can work with. Ideally this is a very long term relationship.

Thank you! I've never had a LOC or anything like this before - how often do you end up needing to meet/consult with the advisor during the school year? As in, how big a thing is the convenience of having them in the city in which you study? Obviously it is most convenient right now to meet with someone in Ottawa but I want to keep the long-term in mind as well!

[rmorelan]

Thank you! I've never had a LOC or anything like this before - how often do you end up needing to meet/consult with the advisor during the school year? As in, how big a thing is the convenience of having them in the city in which you study? Obviously it is most convenient right now to meet with someone in Ottawa but I want to keep the long-term in mind as well!

 

mostly in the beginning it is useful. The rest is "in case" something comes up that requires advise or attention.  Not sure if they still do it but at Western my banker came to the school twice a week. 

[ScotiabankMedsAdvisor]

mostly in the beginning it is useful. The rest is "in case" something comes up that requires advise or attention. Not sure if they still do it but at Western my banker came to the school twice a week.

[ScotiabankMedsAdvisor]

 

mostly in the beginning it is useful. The rest is "in case" something comes up that requires advise or attention. Not sure if they still do it but at Western my banker came to the school twice a week.

[ScotiabankMedsAdvisor]

I would say it's very important to deal with a specialist. If you don't you may not receive all of the perks you are eligible for. You do also need to provide proof of enrolment on an annual basis. We have a system in place here in London that we get it automatically on your behalf so you don't need to worry about it. I do also still come to the school twice a week if customers ever want to meet up.

[Goku]

To those going with Scotiabank, why do you need 2 credit cards?

 

Edit: referring to the amex + visa

[TechToMD]

To those going with Scotiabank, why do you need 2 credit cards?

 

Edit: referring to the amex + visa

Amex is the superior card but not all places take Amex, so in that case you can use Visa.

 

The points between the two cards can also be combined.

[rmorelan]

I would say it's very important to deal with a specialist. If you don't you may not receive all of the perks you are eligible for. You do also need to provide proof of enrolment on an annual basis. We have a system in place here in London that we get it automatically on your behalf so you don't need to worry about it. I do also still come to the school twice a week if customers ever want to meet up.

 

ha good to hear

 

I would second the need for the specialist - that is a given. My point was whether it absolutely has to be at the city where the school is. I think it is strongly preferred but I suppose not completely necessary if again  you have someone that knows LOCs elsewhere (and by know I mean they are a core part of their job)

[rmorelan]

I would say it's very important to deal with a specialist. If you don't you may not receive all of the perks you are eligible for. You do also need to provide proof of enrolment on an annual basis. We have a system in place here in London that we get it automatically on your behalf so you don't need to worry about it. I do also still come to the school twice a week if customers ever want to meet up.

 

(side note people - that is what I mean by service and commitment, it is one of the differences from dealing with someone that is a LOC specialist. )

[Incisor94]

Amex is the superior card but not all places take Amex, so in that case you can use Visa.

 

The points between the two cards can also be combined.

 

You can also negotiate for other cards..such as Infinite Momentum Visa/AmEx combo or Infinite Momentum/ScotiaGold which are great combos imo

[schmitty]

I would say it's very important to deal with a specialist. If you don't you may not receive all of the perks you are eligible for. You do also need to provide proof of enrolment on an annual basis. We have a system in place here in London that we get it automatically on your behalf so you don't need to worry about it. I do also still come to the school twice a week if customers ever want to meet up.

 

Definitely better to deal with specialist. 

 

NB: RBC only requires the initial proof of enrolment and nothing else (used to require it annually, but got rid of that requirement last year).

[Clover_236]

So for people getting 2.45% - are you signing a new contract, or is it just kind of ad hoc and they can raise it back to prime again whenever they feel like it?

 

I signed a new contract that specified prime minus 0.25, rest of the LOC terms were kept exactly as before.

[rmorelan]

I signed a new contract that specified prime minus 0.25, rest of the LOC terms were kept exactly as before.

 

pretty sure the fine print says they can increase that anyway at any point. I mean we all know it is mostly competitive pressures that keeps them all in check anyway here. 

 

I was stunned we got prime. I am even more stunned that we are getting something less than that. Now if we can just keep these interest rates down where they are, ha, it will complete the set

[thestar10]

pretty sure the fine print says they can increase that anyway at any point. I mean we all know it is mostly competitive pressures that keeps them all in check anyway here. 

 

I was stunned we got prime. I am even more stunned that we are getting something less than that. Now if we can just keep these interest rates down where they are, ha, it will complete the set

I keep saying that they are going to rise soon but I keep being proven wrong. I'm happy because I landed in the sweet spot but people starting over the next couple years will likely see rates rise.

[JohnGrisham]

Or you know, government loans could actually cover total cost of attendance so that people without rich parents don't need to rely on private bank loans(no matter how great they are!)

[rmorelan]

I keep saying that they are going to rise soon but I keep being proven wrong. I'm happy because I landed in the sweet spot but people starting over the next couple years will likely see rates rise.

 

Yeah I feel you have to be aware about how low it is historically. Insanely low. 

 

I fear the "rage" against the tuition increases has been muted because the rates are so low that the payments are not that different than the past even though the principal now is huge. When that comes back up it will be painful. I mean right now the rates could double and still would be meh average. Yet that would mean for mean something like 600 more dollars a month in payments. Living in TO for residency, 1000 or more interest, 1800+ in rent, living expenses and exam fees/tuition etc sounds like a problem. 

[rmorelan]

Or you know, government loans could actually cover total cost of attendance so that people without rich parents don't need to rely on private bank loans(no matter how great they are!)

 

or heaven forbid not have the tuition so high in the first place. 

 

You want more family doctors? How about not having people leave with 200K in debit going into residency. Regardless of how that can be paid off the shear size of it scares people and changes things. 

[PurpleLancer]

Currently sitting through the MD Financial Webinar on finances. They basically made the decision to go with Scotia for me.

Edit: To elaborate, they cited prime + 2.5% as the usual LOC interest rate, and claim no one else defers repayment until after residency. At best, those statements are misleading, at worst, they just don't know anything about the competition. Either way, not what I'm looking for. If you're at all literate financially, there doesn't seem to be any reason to go with MD Financial.

[justwannabeadoc]

is there any advantage to going with MD financial over say TD or something? the only difference I noted was that you don't need to make the monthly interest payments until the start of residency.

[northo60]

Has anyone gone with the LOC through MD Financial Management (National Bank)?? I like how they do the financial planning with you on an annual basis. The other one I am considering is Scotiabank. TIA.

[PurpleLancer]

is there any advantage to going with MD financial over say TD or something? the only difference I noted was that you don't need to make the monthly interest payments until the start of residency.

If they don't charge interest until residency and I somehow missed that, I'll redact my comments above. But I think you might mean that you don't have to start paying off the balance until after residency. They did claim this, but my understanding is that all major bank LOCs offer this as well. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

There's no reason to believe they will offer anything spectacular in comparison to Scotia/CIBC/RBC/TD LOCs, as they operate through National Bank, which works more or less within the same market restrictions as all others. Once again, correct me if I am wrong.

[northo60]

Currently sitting through the MD Financial Webinar on finances. They basically made the decision to go with Scotia for me.

 

Edit: To elaborate, they cited prime + 2.5% as the usual LOC interest rate, and claim no one else defers repayment until after residency. At best, those statements are misleading, at worst, they just don't know anything about the competition. Either way, not what I'm looking for. If you're at all literate financially, there doesn't seem to be any reason to go with MD Financial.

The prime +2.5% was in reference to provincial/federal loans I thought like OSAP was it not? They were just discussing the differences btw provincial loans vs LOCs in general at that point.

[justwannabeadoc]

From what I understood interest accumulates as soon as you withdraw money but you don't have to make the interest payments until after you complete the MD program, whereas it seems like with other banks you need to make interest payments right away? Someone plz correct me if i'm misunderstanding (and there's a high chance I am)

 

If they don't charge interest until residency and I somehow missed that, I'll redact my comments above. But I think you might mean that you don't have to start paying off the balance until after residency. They did claim this, but my understanding is that all major bank LOCs offer this as well. Correct me if I am wrong.

There's no reason to believe they will offer anything spectacular in comparison to Scotia/CIBC/RBC/TD LOCs, as they operate through National Bank, which works more or less within the same market restrictions as all others. Once again, correct me if I am wrong.

[rmorelan]

From what I understood interest accumulates as soon as you withdraw money but you don't have to make the interest payments until after you complete the MD program, whereas it seems like with other banks you need to make interest payments right away? Someone plz correct me if i'm misunderstanding (and there's a high chance I am)

 

effectively you have to make interest payments immediately for every single LOC. Now some banks make that convenient and just charge the interest directly to the LOC, others make you withdraw money, put it in your chequing account, and have the payment come out from there. The end result is exactly the same - you LOC increases each money by the amount of interest you are charged. 

[PurpleLancer]

The prime +2.5% was in reference to provincial/federal loans I thought like OSAP was it not? They were just discussing the differences btw provincial loans vs LOCs in general at that point.

I may be remembering the graphic incorrectly, but I recall the descriptions were (among other things):

 

Savings: N/A

Student Loans: Lowest interest rates

LOCs: Low (Prime +2.5%)

Credit Cards: Highest (9-29%)

 

If I'm misplacing the Prime + 2.5% and that was intended to represent student loans, then their claim that student loans have the lowest rates would become false. Which, it isn't. So really, there isn't a way I can see them having told the truth to the best of their abilities, and that seals it for me.