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How are you arranging for finances?


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Will be going to Mac this fall. I have first year tuition arranged for through savings etc. OSAP will take care of part of living expenses & with support from parents, I am fine for the first year. Beyond that I do not know how to go about. Any suggestions? How you guys are managing?

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Go to a bank—they'll give you all the money you need/want. The big problem is interest. In second year, apply for all the scholarships and bursaries you can find. OSAP will continue to pay a chunk.

 

Otherwise, you "manage" by telling yourself repeatedly that it's an investment, and a debt deeper than the fiery pits of hell really isn't all that bad once you're making a decent income.

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Most med students rely on a Line of Credit to finance their education. There are lots of discussions of these on the forum, but the most important detail to remember is that any bank should be offering you an interest rate of Prime.

 

or subprime! i was shopping for a mortgage, and i mentionned i was starting pharm school next sept, and the girl offered me a LOC prime -0.5 (i believe its the same thing for med as well) .... ohhh and its soooo negociable! you call one bank and tell them another one is offering you such and such and they will match it and give you more.

also you get great deals on mortgages!!! I love professional programs ;)

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or subprime! i was shopping for a mortgage, and i mentionned i was starting pharm school next sept, and the girl offered me a LOC prime -0.5 (i believe its the same thing for med as well) .... ohhh and its soooo negociable! you call one bank and tell them another one is offering you such and such and they will match it and give you more.

also you get great deals on mortgages!!! I love professional programs ;)

 

Omg what bank is this?

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Most med students rely on a Line of Credit to finance their education. There are lots of discussions of these on the forum, but the most important detail to remember is that any bank should be offering you an interest rate of Prime.

 

I'm curious as to why this is - government student loans are cheaper financing than LOCs generally, and if you're four years out of high school, you are an "independent" (read: impoverished) student who does not have to specify parential income/resources. I have my LOC set up as well, but it will only be needed to supplement the Canada/NS loans.

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I'm curious as to why this is - government student loans are cheaper financing than LOCs generally, and if you're four years out of high school, you are an "independent" (read: impoverished) student who does not have to specify parential income/resources. I have my LOC set up as well, but it will only be needed to supplement the Canada/NS loans.

 

I don't know if maybe Dal has tuition similar to McGill IP levels, but in Ontario, our tuition is generally around $17,000/year. This is more than OSAP's maximum possible loan (our Canada/Ontario loan). So, most students need a LOC to cover the remainder of their tuition and all of their living expenses. I believe the 2004 statistic was that the average Ontario med school grad had $180,000 of debt total.

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180k? Yikes. Dal's tuition is about $13,500/year, but this year the NS government increased aid for med/law/dent students so that the total Canada/NS loan covers all of tuition and about half to two thirds of living expenses (probably just under 20k for me). And ~$1500 of the aid is a grant. Of course, tuition has been at about this level for several years, so they've only now changed the aid system to reflect such costs.

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I get 12500$ per from the prets et bourses du Quebec (8000$ of which is a gant and 4500 as interestless loan) for some 3000$ of tuition. I get to pay my living expenses with the rest.
Is there a way to ban from this thread students attending a university where medical school tuition is less than $10,000? Clearly, these people—a prime example being the one above—don't have to do much "arranging" for their finances at all.
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Is there a way to ban from this thread students attending a university where medical school tuition is less than $10,000? Clearly, these people—a prime example being the one above—don't have to do much "arranging" for their finances at all.

 

 

Ah ah! one of the (very perks) of living in Quebec : MD degree at ridiculously low cost.

 

Should I also mention that we get the same LOC deals too??

 

Or have I teased enough :D ...

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Is there a way to ban from this thread students attending a university where medical school tuition is less than $10,000? Clearly, these people—a prime example being the one above—don't have to do much "arranging" for their finances at all.

 

Hahaha. I'm quite jealous.

 

Anyway, I don't understand the discrepancy between provinces, especially when the level of education/degree is the same. Granted, there is a lot that I don't know about funding issues in health care/education, but to the student, the only difference lies in where you are a resident.

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Hahaha. I'm quite jealous.

 

Anyway, I don't understand the discrepancy between provinces, especially when the level of education/degree is the same. Granted, there is a lot that I don't know about funding issues in health care/education, but to the student, the only difference lies in where you are a resident.

 

The discrepancy is due to the differences in each province's priorities. Quebec takes care of its students, especially its med students! It invests the money it takes to bring down tuition costs like that. Ontario, on the other hand, figures that we're fine with our $180,000 of debt and that we'll all magically gravitate toward family medicine despite the severe financial barriers faced by most students.

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its Desjardins (its the largest bank in Qc, I believe they have branches pretty much in all major cities in canada), they even advertise it on their website, you can check it out.

 

can't seem to find any reference to a prime -0.5% on their website... is this only if you're getting a mortgage? or is it offered as their standard/negotiable line of credit to med students?

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or subprime! i was shopping for a mortgage, and i mentionned i was starting pharm school next sept, and the girl offered me a LOC prime -0.5 (i believe its the same thing for med as well) .... ohhh and its soooo negociable! you call one bank and tell them another one is offering you such and such and they will match it and give you more.

also you get great deals on mortgages!!! I love professional programs ;)

Nope, not the way it works. See, the royal bank has a standard ''prime'' or rate or whatever you want to call it. Let's say 6% interest rate. Other banks just decide to add 1-2% on that initial 6%, making it 7-8%. They're fooling clients by telling them they have reduced interest rates (let's say 6.5% for med students instead of 8% for the average joe). You're still not under the standard 6% set by the government....

 

Banks aren't your friends, remember that.

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I have a question about 2 different scenarios concerning line of credits:

 

If I got one, and used up the full amount (150000) by the end of my second year, would I be paying the interest on this 3rd and 4th years?

 

 

If I got one but didn't use any of it years 1 and 2, would I still need to pay anything during years 1 and 2?

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