n00b Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Since there isn't a thread and this topic is actually pretty important and relevant, we should get it going. Are people pretty much relying on savings, parents, and then loans? Also, are you obtaining a US or Canadian bank loan? Are there LOCs for USD from Canadian banks or are you getting CAD and converting it yourself (thereby losing a chunk due to the exchange commission, etc)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justletmein Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 there are actually several threads... try the search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
token Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Federal loans are an option if you have an American relative: http://www.internationalstudentloan.com/canadian_student/ You can borrow up to the cost of attendance in USD...repayable over 15-25 years. Low-ish interest rates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted March 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 there are actually several threads... try the search Yeah I was also wondering about the currency of loans and the banks you would get them at (US/Canada) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest copacetic Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Yeah I was also wondering about the currency of loans and the banks you would get them at (US/Canada) canadian banks will give you a line of credit in canadian dollars. you must then convert it to american (meaning you lose as much as 20%), and on top of that the banks will charge a fee for converting the money to USD (remember their not your friends, they only exist to milk you any way they can). the international student loan website is a private entity. in the current economic climate they no longer offer loans to international students. canadian banks will not offer a line of credit in this economic climate to canadians going abroad without a cosigner. it used to be that all you required was good credit. that is no longer the case. the cosigner needs to have a high income (80K plus) or collateral (like a house, RRSPs, etc). the credit system is reallly tough right now, believe me i know. ive been trying to get a loan/money for the past 5 months and keep coming up dry. in the last 5 months ive begun to learn who my friends are, and who they are not, and ive become really jaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted March 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 damn i thought you just needed to show your acceptance letter and you can get the professional student LOC in canada? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest copacetic Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 that only applies if you got accepted to a school in canada. as soon as you leave canada, you will NEED a cosigner. it used to be the case a couplenof years ago that canadian banks would give money withouta cosigner even if you were going abroad. that stopped because alot of fols were settling in the states after finishing residency, and decided that they didn't need to pay back their loans. so because of those dishonest few, the rest got screwed. the canadian banks then put in policies whereby a cosigner became required. all that was required though, was that the cosigner have good credit. slowly over the past 5 years or so, it conditions have gotten more strict. cosigners must now not only have good credit, but also a good income to debt ratio. which invarianbly results in a requirement that the cosigner have high income, or property (invariable only a house will suffice, and one where the mortage is largely paid off). the internationals tudent loans that used to be offered to canadians without a cosigner by private US corporations are no longer available as of early last year due to the financial crisis. in a situation like this your parents had better have good jobs, and or you had better have rich/altruistic relatives. in my case, my relatives either cant, or are unable to help. in the face of financial risk, blood is irrelevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryann Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 My sister is in her 3rd yr of university in the US. Each year, my father goes to a Canadian bank with her, and she gets a line of credit that he has to co-sign. The amount that she is given is insufficient to cover tuiton/living expenses. The money is given in Canadian dollars, and she converts it to American dollars. She transfer the money to her bank account in the US. She deals with the Bank of America. Some banks in the US are not Canadian friendly and want a US social security number to open an account. Prior to being given her student visa, she had to provide the university with proof that she would be able to pay her tuiton and living expenses. When she first started university the Canadian dollar was at $1.10 and now it is somewhere around 79 cents...thus it is now costing her 30% more... What my father does now, is when the Canadian dollar is high..around 85cents..he buys it in advance..when you are paying 40,000 plus US a 5% difference in the exchange is significant financially. Thus, I would recommend any student going to the US to keep an eye on the exchange rates. It is best, if one shops around once they get the line of credit for exchange rates...thus, get the line of credit early...and watch the rates...watch oil prices, economic developments etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted March 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 undergrad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamesfan Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 yo this one site i used for volunteering offers cheap forex for students northstar currency. they just buy currency in bulk so it is cheap. they are the primary conversion service for neuchatel, swiss prep school for canadians nonetheless does anyone know of scholarships? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest viscous Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 reading that, I exactly dont know how people who dont get free rides can pay $400k at wayne state etc. Just beats me. Does any canadian even choose to go there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryann Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Some provinces will pay for your med school abroad if you sign a contract to work in a very underserviced area in their province .....I think it might be a 3 to 5 year contract....probably you would have to contact each provincial min of health to see what the offer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
token Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 reading that, I exactly dont know how people who dont get free rides can pay $400k at wayne state etc. Just beats me. Does any canadian even choose to go there? I know some people here have figured out how, but I still think it would be extremely difficult to manage practically without parental/other familial support. Either they'll have to help pay, or have enough collateral to co-sign loans. Even at the Ivies that do offer Canadians financial aid, they take into account your parents income and assets and expect them to make a "contribution." It doesn't matter if you're a 30 year old non-trad, your parents are still expected to help pay upfront (of course you could just take out more loans to cover that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest copacetic Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 the current financial crisis has really put a wrench in everything. credit is simply just not that easy to get anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest viscous Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 not sure but can we get two LOCs, each worth $150K, one using a relative as a guarantor and the other using a parent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayne67 Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 reading that, I exactly dont know how people who dont get free rides can pay $400k at wayne state etc. Just beats me. Does any canadian even choose to go there? Last year's class has around 18 Canadians in it from what I have heard. So, there are people choosing to go there. But of course, they may not have any other options other than instead going to schools in the Carribean, Australia, or Ireland. Even with the ridiculous tuition, I personally would take WSU over the uncertainty of the other options. But yeah, without having any financial resources to back you up (i.e. personal or parent support), it would be difficult to fund the cost of attendance. And paying it all back will take quite a bit of time and financial restraint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBCmed09 Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 not sure but can we get two LOCs, each worth $150K, one using a relative as a guarantor and the other using a parent? Some Canadian medical students have been known to approach 2 different banks on the same day for med student LOCs and somehow those 2 institutions don't know about each other and they have landed 2 $150,000 LOCs. This must break some rules but as far as I know, those in my class who have done that have not suffered any consequences. Cheers, UBCmed09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xylem29 Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Some Canadian medical students have been known to approach 2 different banks on the same day for med student LOCs and somehow those 2 institutions don't know about each other and they have landed 2 $150,000 LOCs. This must break some rules but as far as I know, those in my class who have done that have not suffered any consequences. Cheers, UBCmed09 I don't think it breaks any rules, lol - that's quite funny. It's the bank's job to do the credit check and if they decide they'll lend a 150K LOC to someone who already has a 150K LOC (technically they didn't konw about it of course), that's the bank's issue to deal with, lol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryann Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 As a international student in the US most universities will give you a work visa to work 15-20 hours per week but the job has to be on campus...some of these jobs TA's etc....pay up to $30 US per hour...only issue is if you have the time.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest copacetic Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 not sure but can we get two LOCs, each worth $150K, one using a relative as a guarantor and the other using a parent? yeah thats fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest copacetic Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 As a international student in the US most universities will give you a work visa to work 15-20 hours per week but the job has to be on campus...some of these jobs TA's etc....pay up to $30 US per hour...only issue is if you have the time..[/QUOTa] this is another option. though some courses will require that you have some experience with the course before you TA it. its more likely that a person will get another job other than a TA job earning about 10 bucks, but even with this kind of job its possible to earn 3500+ easily. if anything, at least you can pay you rent with that kind of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THX Posted March 8, 2009 Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 I hear that there is money to be made in the meth business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastriss Posted March 8, 2009 Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 yeah? well I heard there is money to be made with YOUR MOM. Eeyyyo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpanishFly Posted March 8, 2009 Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 I just thought I'd throw this out there: marry rich (it's what my boss, a physician who married his very wealthy wife advised). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a41 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Last year's class has around 18 Canadians in it from what I have heard. So, there are people choosing to go there. But of course, they may not have any other options other than instead going to schools in the Carribean, Australia, or Ireland. Even with the ridiculous tuition, I personally would take WSU over the uncertainty of the other options. But yeah, without having any financial resources to back you up (i.e. personal or parent support), it would be difficult to fund the cost of attendance. And paying it all back will take quite a bit of time and financial restraint. There are actually 19 in our class In the long run, it's better than not going to med school (unless you have some other professional degree/a good job lined up). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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