Getting a loan for medical school

[palmpalm]

Hey all,

 

I've just been accepted to medical school and am going to need some serious money to cover tuition living etc., etc. I spoke to a loans officer at Scotiabank, Jesse, who told me that with the Scotiabank student professional student loan (really a Line of Credit (LOC)) I have to have a co-signer with some serious collateral (e.g. parents and their house..) this is not a possibility for me. And I was really surprised. Also, he told me that I have to make interest payments while I am in medical school!

 

Does anyone here know if all that is standard or if other banks will be the same? I mean, if I can't get the loans without a cosigner I'm basically screwed and can't go to med school. Also, I can't imagine how I would pay the interest while in school. Is Royal Bank or any other bank different? I'm starting to freak out a little here.

 

Any advice/help anyone can provide is greatly appreciated. :-)

 

Thanks.

[Kirsteen]

Is Royal Bank or any other bank different? I'm starting to freak out a little here.

Hey,

 

The Royal Bank does require interest to be paid during school, also.

 

Have you had a look at the National Bank? They were brought to light for me recently by MD Management. Their LOC seems very competitive.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Jochi1543]

From what I know, Royal Bank gives you up to 150K without a cosigner. Also, there are no "payments," while you're in school, though I do believe that the interest accumulates on the amount of money you withdraw from the LOC.

 

I can't get any cosigner either (no family in Canada), and my only potential collateral would be my car which is only worth like 15K, so I know what you're talking about.

[Smurfette]

I think other banks are different. There's a couple posts on this topic. Most Canadian med students seem to go for either RBC's professional LOC or National Bank (through MD management). You don't need a co-signer in most cases if you have a reasonnable credit history. You still pay interest on what you take out during med school, but it's changed into principal and you don't have to actually pay the interest during med school.

 

Scotiabank might actually have a better deal and you just didn't talk to the right person...I don't really know.

[Smurfette]

Haha, it seems that other people type faster than I do. LOL.

[flying kumquat]

On the RBC LOC, you do have to make an interest payment every month. It is automatically deducted from your chequing account, as opposed to just added to the amount you owe on your LOC (as I think it is with MDM). If you're like me, this is kind of annoying - you have to transfer the amount of interest you think you'll owe into your chequing account so you don't go into the red when they automatically take it out. After a few NSF fiascos, I learned my lesson and just got overdraft protection.

 

Also, I got a 150k LOC all up front with no co-signer, no problem.

[Jochi1543]

On the RBC LOC, you do have to make an interest payment every month. It is automatically deducted from your chequing account, as opposed to just added to the amount you owe on your LOC (as I think it is with MDM). If you're like me, this is kind of annoying - you have to transfer the amount of interest you think you'll owe into your chequing account so you don't go into the red when they automatically take it out. After a few NSF fiascos, I learned my lesson and just got overdraft protection.

 

Also, I got a 150k LOC all up front with no co-signer, no problem.

Yeah, that's probably the whole point - set it up so that there's the highest chance of you racking up stupid fees.

[Jochi1543]

On the RBC LOC, you do have to make an interest payment every month. It is automatically deducted from your chequing account, as opposed to just added to the amount you owe on your LOC (as I think it is with MDM).

Ok, so then how is it with MDM.....do you end up not getting the full $150,000 because interest gets counted towards that amount? Or is it $150,000 up front and then interest gets charged ABOVE that amount?

[drcave]

From what I know, Royal Bank gives you up to 150K without a cosigner. Also, there are no "payments," while you're in school, though I do believe that the interest accumulates on the amount of money you withdraw from the LOC.

 

I can't get any cosigner either (no family in Canada), and my only potential collateral would be my car which is only worth like 15K, so I know what you're talking about.

 

Aren't you the same person who was boasting about her dads 8 million dollar home and what its like to live the life of luxury

[clkt]

is 150K enough for most people? Do people usually graduate with less debt than 150?

[palmpalm]

Thank-you so much to everyone for your prompt responses. I've applied with RBC, TD, and BMO but all of them have told me that I need a cosigner and that they don't think my applications will be approved. I can't think of other banks to try, aside from National Bank, any ideas? Also, 150 is not gonna be enough, I need about 300 so I am thinking I am going to need two LOCs with two different banks, is that even possible, has anyone here done that?

[Jochi1543]

Aren't you the same person who was boasting about her dads 8 million dollar home and what its like to live the life of luxury

NEWSFLASH, just because your DAD has an 8 million dollar home, doesn't mean YOU don't have to work or take out student loans.

 

See, that's exactly what I was referring to in that original thread, if you ever mention that your parents are wealthy, everybody immediately thinks you're a stupid arrogant moron.

 

I personally don't find myself thinking that if someone's parents are poor then they are lazy and dumb, but maybe I should, just to keep things fair.

[Jochi1543]

Thank-you so much to everyone for your prompt responses. I've applied with RBC, TD, and BMO but all of them have told me that I need a cosigner and that they don't think my applications will be approved. I can't think of other banks to try, aside from National Bank, any ideas? Also, 150 is not gonna be enough, I need about 300 so I am thinking I am going to need two LOCs with two different banks, is that even possible, has anyone here done that?

Do you have bad or no credit? I've never heard of anyone here saying that they had to get a cosigner for the 150K, only for a bigger sum.

 

Are you going to the US? In Canada, 150K should be sufficient...you're not gonna roll in dough, but you'll get by even at the pricier schools. If you are going to the US, then yes, you will want more than 150K, it won't even cover tuition. Have you tried looking for any funding there? There ARE private foundations who don't care if you are a US citizen/permanent resident or not...I got my US student loans despite being on a visa.

[blinknoodle]

If you are heading abroad (not sure if you are, but $300k is a lot to rack up even in Canada), I can understand why the banks would be adamant about a co-signer.

 

Look into other avenues of funding.. student loans and the like.

 

Here is a link that might help: http://www.atlanticbridge.com/med/financial_aid/facanada.htm

 

Unfortunately I think you have to be a medical student at a Canadian school to be able to access MD Management (who uses National Bank for their competitive LOCs).

 

Good luck. I know someone who needed $250k upfront in a bank account before he could be acceptd to an American medical school. He couldn't afford it so ended up going to the Carribean which is surprisingly affordable.

[palmpalm]

Hey,

 

To answer your questions:

 

I have a perfect credit history and don't owe any money to anybody. Yes, I'm going to medical school at the University of Tel Aviv but I was told that cosigners are needed even for schools within Canada by scotia, TD, RBC, Bank of Montreal, National Bank, and HSBC. I'm also finding that most people I speak to at Scotiabank, with the exception of one young-lady who was somewhat ignorant of the LOC in general but rather nice, are rather incompetent and rude. I have been very disappointed with Scotiabank particularly in light of how wonderful, informative, and genuinely nice the people at RBC have been. This whole experience is causing me to consider switching banks to RBC as, currently, I do all my banking with Scotia.

[Talon01]

I sent you a PM

[Kirsteen]

but I was told that cosigners are needed even for schools within Canada by scotia, TD, RBC, Bank of Montreal, National Bank, and HSBC.

Hi there,

 

Co-signers are not always needed for LOCs for Canadian medical schools, at least. Most of the folks I know who secured a LOC did not have a co-signer. All they needed was to show up with their medical school letter of acceptance. Your case might be a bit different given that you are not going to be attending a North American medical school.

 

Also, with respect to loan amounts, MD Management recently noted that a couple of banks (Royal and National) will extend up to $200K in LOCs to medical students. The National Bank is a bit different from many. They will extend $150K at the outset of medical school then augment that to $200K if you have good credit, upon acceptance to a residency program. From there, they will increase the LOC by $20K per year of residency to a maximum of $250K.

 

Moral of the story: when it comes to LOCs, shop around.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[blinknoodle]

What city do you live in, palmpalm? The confuion may lie in that not all employees of the banks know the ins and outs of the medical student LOCs. If you are in a city with a medical school, see if you can hook up with the employee that deals specifically with medical student LOCs (there was an RBC thread that listed some reps here). At least they should be able to give you the most up-to-date info and whether you need a co-signer going to a medical school abroad.

[Jochi1543]

Hi there,

 

Co-signers are not always needed for LOCs for Canadian medical schools, at least. Most of the folks I know who secured a LOC did not have a co-signer. All they needed was to show up with their medical school letter of acceptance. Your case might be a bit different given that you are not going to be attending a North American medical school.

 

Also, with respect to loan amounts, MD Management recently noted that a couple of banks (Royal and National) will extend up to $200K in LOCs to medical students. The National Bank is a bit different from many. They will extend $150K at the outset of medical school then augment that to $200K if you have good credit, upon acceptance to a residency program. From there, they will increase the LOC by $20K per year of residency to a maximum of $250K.

 

Moral of the story: when it comes to LOCs, shop around.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

Oh wow, so the $200K will still be w/o a cosigner? (for most, anyway)

 

That would at least cover US tuition at most schools....though you still have to figure out the living expenses.

[palmpalm]

What city do you live in, palmpalm? The confuion may lie in that not all employees of the banks know the ins and outs of the medical student LOCs. If you are in a city with a medical school, see if you can hook up with the employee that deals specifically with medical student LOCs (there was an RBC thread that listed some reps here). At least they should be able to give you the most up-to-date info and whether you need a co-signer going to a medical school abroad.

 

 

I'm in the GTA. I did speak on the phone to an RBC rep in Quebec who was quite helpful and said it is up to the discretion of the underwriters regarding a cosigner but that he is 99 per cent sure they will require one because it is a foreign school. But when I say I don't have a cosigner I really mean it. I don't have anybody, not one person, who would do that for me. So I'm really not sure what to do, I'm waiting to recieve some info on financial aid from the school which should come in a week or two. I was checking out canhelp loans but apparently they are only for canadians studying in the usa? I've found conflicting info on that. If I could get that it would be an immense help.

[Jochi1543]

Have you thought about any financial institutions in Tel Aviv? It's not VERY likely that they'd give money to a foreign citizen, but who knows, it's worth checking it out.

[palmpalm]

yah, i'm looking into Israeli banks as well.... im being told by banks (scotia and TD so far) that not only do they want a cosigner but that that cosigner has to put up equity. sheesh. not only do they want someone i dont have, they want someone who is willing to put up their house for security. geez, but i am still optomistic.

[Jochi1543]

Wow, what a bummer! Put in all that hard work to get in and then worry about not being able to go for financial reasons. You don't have to reply if it's too personal, but out of curiosity, what's your story? Are you a Canadian citizen or permanent resident? Did you try applying to Canadian schools several times and just gave up eventually? Why Tel Aviv? Do you have connections to the area?

 

You can PM me if you don't wanna post it here.

 

Yeah, I'm surprised to hear about the equity thing...I really lucked out with my US loans, they wanted a cosigner, but they didn't care where that person was or what their income/assets were. I had my mother sign it, and she's in Russia and has been out of the workforce for 8 years now, lol. I applied for a small educational LOC with RBC a while ago, before I moved here (I did already have legal permanent resident status here at the time, but had never actually LIVED in Canada) - just $5000 or so - and they said that since my credit history was basically non-existent, they required a cosigner....I tried to play the mom card again, but they said she'd actually have to come to the bank to sign it (the US ones I just faxed) AND provide proof of income in Canada (impossible). So, there went my student loan from RBC!

 

I'm working my ass off to keep my credit rating as good as possible now so that I don't run into that crap again when I am about to go to meds.

[palmpalm]

just heard back from RBC (one thing i like is there 24/7 phone service). they won;'t give me the LOC either without a cosigner and equity. they said they are afraid i will never pay them back since i am going to be out of the country and they want someone in the country whom they can go to for the money....err

[Jochi1543]

just heard back from RBC (one thing i like is there 24/7 phone service). they won;'t give me the LOC either without a cosigner and equity. they said they are afraid i will never pay them back since i am going to be out of the country and they want someone in the country whom they can go to for the money....err

Have you revoked all your US offers already? You might want to try and see if this would change if you attended a US school, because if it changes things, it sounds like that'd be the only way out for you.