Guest 9sal3 Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 Hi there This is my first posting but I have visited this site often. Just want to say thank you to Aneliz (were you from queen's?), TimmyMax, the realcarackers, and Icloh for all the time and sincere advice they gave in this forum. I was just wondering when should we apply for a LOC?: Now? I heard that if we wait until after school starts that banks would give better deals. Is this true? For anyone else who has already applied for LOCs, can you give some advice or share any bad experiences so that others can avoid it. Thanks a lot. See you all in O-week. :b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 9sal3 Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 Just another question, will there any bank representatives at Western during O-week? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TimmyMax Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 Hey, The best time to apply for LOCs is when you have your UWO acceptance in hand. If you have a conditional acceptance, then you may want to secure confirmation from Admissions that the conditions of your acceptance have been met to avoid any possible snafus the banks could throw your way, but it may not be necessary. THe best time to apply is any time after you have recieved your UWO acceptance, so anytime this summer. Now what to get and where: Rule #1: No matter which bank you go to, DO NOT settle for any interest rate above prime! I'm not sure what prime is right now (either 4.75% or 5%), but do not agree to anything with an interest rate above this. If your local bank will not give this to you, then it would be best for you to deal directly with a London branch- they have special officers charged with dealing with med students, so they will offer you the best deals that your local branches may not. The London banks know that you are UWO medical students and will treat you accordingly. Branches outside London may not necessarily recognize this fact and may still treat you like @#%$. Finally, the best deal. This has been discussed numerous times elsewhere within this forum and others, so look around a bit. IMHO, Bank of Montreal offers the best deal, so look to them first. Royal offers a good deal as well, but they are a bunch of crooks (can you say service charges?). AFAIK, the MD Management deal that UWOMED2005 got is no longer available, so don't waste your time going to CitiBank. SO that's it- my experience thus far with LOCs. I hope that it helps! Best of luck! Timmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 Yeah, sorry about all the posts I have stating how great the MD management plan was. It sucks that it collapsed, but the other plans are decent as well. And don't fret too much about the decision. . . you can always switch, like if MD Management offers a new plan that's even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest adlinner Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 Hey I just signed for a Bank of Montreal LOC yesterday (took about a week for the whole thing to go through). Here's my experience: I called the 1-800 number off the Web site. They were extremely friendly and helpful - we were done in 15 minutes. BUT they called back saying they needed a co-signer. A day later, my poor dad goes and puts his name on my LOC over the phone too. I went to the Masonville branch of BMO yesterday (2 min walk from my condo during the year) to actually sign the papers and they knew more about the plan because they deal with so many UWO med students. They took my dad's name off as a cosigner (so if he had to take out a lease or a loan in the future, it'd be easier for him) - "now why would they go and do that to your dad when you'll be able to pay it off" the branch manager said. The lesson learned, as TimmyMax said, is that it might be best to deal with branches closest to where you live and go to med school during the year. They would have done the med school loan lots before and you can see them in person for chequing or LOC anytime you want during the school year. Mine is like this: $25k/year during med school $12.5k/year during first two years of residency at 5% (prime) Monthly interest payments until two years after med school, then it's interest + prinicple (about 1% of principle for 1st year, climbing 0.5% to 1% per year). $5000 mastercard, with up to $60 of options (travel insurance, medical insurance, cash back etc.) waived Free chequing account (a higher end account) It sounds pretty standard for BMO - is this what everyone else got? Yours ad linner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TimmyMax Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 Hey adlinner, Yeah, I think that is a pretty standard BMO deal, but it is a lot better than what I got from RBC. Can't wait to switch over! Timmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rmac77 Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 I am thinking about royal over bmo--- royal doesn't need a co-signer (seems like less hassle). TimmyMax-- why do you say that BMO seems like a better deal? Royal is giving me a similar deal... is it the fees that are an issue? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lcloh Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 Hey rmac77, I'm with Royal and I can say I'm pretty much happy with them, they treat me good... and give me cash. It's about the same deal that any other bank has. The warning I have is that Royal takes into account your OSAP when determining your LOC limit, so you won't be getting a full 125k. But other than that, the money's easily accessible, and well... it's there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lcloh Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 I don't know if there will be bank representatives. There were some last year at some sponsored events (e.g. BMO Pancake Lunch, or RBC had a little shindig as well.) I can't recall otherwise. But yeah, there should be some around. And if not, you can always make appointments in a London bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TimmyMax Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 Hey rmac77, As adlinner noted above, BMO does not require a cosigner. Though their package is very similar to RBC, I feel that the BMO package is much better, for the reasons of the extra money offered during residency (which you will probably need, but if not, it will be nice to have available) and that they don't count OSAP against you (UWOMED2005, please feel free to correct), unlike RBC. Also, RBC hasn't exactly treated me all that well, has a bunch of hidden fees, and for that reason, among others, I am looking to switch over to BMO. Best of luck! Timmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 No correction - the major disadvantage (and reason I switched from RBC) is that they count OSAP AND any other LOCs/credit cards you have against you. If you want to go with RBC, better cut up all those MBNA mastercards you have lying around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ceds Posted July 19, 2003 Report Share Posted July 19, 2003 Hey all, I actually work at a bank and deal with Credit Applications (I won't say which bank, but it starts with TD and ends in Canada Trust ). IMHO, I would agree that BMO offers the best deal for professional students. Just so everyone knows, prime is currently at 4.75%, just dropped this week. Ceds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted July 19, 2003 Report Share Posted July 19, 2003 One thing you absolutely have to check, though, is the repayment plan!!! It's something easy to forget about until Residency, where you might find you're paying both (an increased) interest rate and sig principal payments, leaving you with a nothing but a cardboard box and Kraft Easymac you have to cook up at the local ESSO pit stop. The nice thing is you can always check that stuff later (ie in 3rd year) and then switch to a better plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.