nwhyte3 Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 Hey Guys, I have recently been accepted in the U.S. for medical school (class of 2015). I am very pleased and excited to have gained admissions after 2 years of applying in Canada. However, this excitment has been short lived as I now must figure out how I will finance my education. The cost for 4 years of study will be just under $275,000 (including all expenses) - this is acutally the cheapest option - tuition 36,000 per year. Obviously for medical students the sure fire option is LOC from a major Canadian bank. As many of you know this often (almost always) requires a canadian co-signer. My problem is that I am not sure who to ask to be a co-signer. Neither of my parents own property and neither and very wealth (mom is a retired highschool teacher and dad a postal worker). I am now considering asking my current employers (GoodLife Fitness ) to sponsor me and co-sign. I'm not even sure how or if this will work and frankly I need to know my options. Asking someone to co-sign on a 300K loan is a big request and I'm not sure if my family members can handle this financial obligation. I honestly can't believe that the banks wouldn't allow a Canadian medical student who will be studying in the U.S. to take a loan without a co-signer - I mean we are medical students for **** sakes. There must be a way around this or an exception or appeal process? Does anyone know if this can be done or have any recommednations of what actions I can take. Are there any other options out there for funding? loans, grants, scholarships bursaries. What would you do in my situation? I can't just not go to medical school because I couldn't get funding... thats unacceptable to me and I don't care if I have to call the prime minister I am going. Does anyone have any advice or guidance as to what steps I should take to get funding for this? I am running out of time here and this is urgent. Please help! Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirty6ix Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 I think the most important thing to do right now is to actually approach every single major Canadian bank (Scotia, BMO, TD, RBC and CIBC) and find out specifically what would be required to get a loan. Bring your acceptance letter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathvvv Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 From what they tell me, co-signer is usually spouse/parent. If your parents own a house but they are retired/dont make too much (as in my case), you have the option of mortgaging the house to get the loan. I hope in your case, it doesnt come to that. I hope everything works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel-60 Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 I pm you, if you need more help, let me know, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_015 Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 Times have changed nwhyte. Prior to 2008, you would have been able to get a US loan without a cosigner - Canadian or American - or with a Canadian cosigner. But as you know, lending has become more difficult and banks here and in the US are looking out for their best interests. Many US banks will now not even lend money to international students, even if they would have a US cosigner. Med student or not, they don't care who you are if they can't guarantee that they will get the money back. Once you leave the country and should you default on the loan, they may not be able to recover that money should you not return. Having said that, borrowing to leave the country as well as borrowing such a high amount of money presents a HUGE amount of risk, especially if you have no assets to put against the value of the loan. You know that likely you would be good on your side of the loan, but the banks cannot trust you until you have those two letters behind your name. No appeal process or amount of crying on your knees will help your cause. Having said all this, and with your need for a cosigner, you may have to try to consider all options. My parents were going to cosign me last year for a $280k LOC from RBC, and offered to use the house as a collateral. In the end, the bank didn't ask for that as part of the deal, but they asked for the RRSP's as an asset. I'm sure your parents have those, and may be willing to cosign against that. My parents aren't wealthy by any means as my dad has always been the only one working, and he only has worked at a middle-lower paying job. Big thing is that he has an excellent credit rating. Its worth a try to get your parents to go in and see what can be done. I doubt your workplace would want to take on a "risky" financial position. Best thing is to try your parents out anyways, and if not, think of family or family friends who may own a business or are in a comfortable enough situation to be able to sign on for such a loan. I will forewarn you: when a cosigner takes on something like an LOC, the entire value borrowed is considered debt to them no matter if you have only used $1 or the entire amount - this means that someone looking to buy a house or car in the next 10-15 yrs on financing would not be a good person to go ask. Edit: you can always request that multiple parties be added on for different amounts on the LOC. Ie. your parents for $150k, your uncle for $20k, your grandparent for $50k, your best friend's parents for $50k. It doesn't have to be one cosigner for the entire amount. You can allocate different amounts for each party to cosign against. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwhyte3 Posted April 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Hi Everyone, Thanks for the responses. Well since Tuesday I have been in action talking to people and sharing my story. I have told over 100 people including friends, collegues, clients, ect.. about the challenge I face with financing. Thank God I made the decision to reach out to people because since I started talking about it things have began happening. I have meetings set up with 3 CEO's at various organizations which are healthcare related. My intention is to get them to give me scholarships and/or sponsorship. What is more I have been passed on to important contacts by some of my clients (I am a person trainer). Today one of those contacts called me. He owns a charitable organization in healthcare which aims to help children. Lets put it this way. He told me that I have all the funding I need - not a loan but a gift. Yes, you read correcetly, he is currently setting up and account which will allow me to access all the funds I need to pay for my medical education. I do not have to pay this back but when I finish school I must help him by working with his organization to make a difference. Extraordinary results come from extraordinary actions. What appeared to be a disaster turned out to be a blessing in discise. It forced me to step out of my comfort zone and ask some big players for help. The reality is that here in Canada there are countless people who have tons of money and for them dishing out $300,000 to send a young Canadian to medical school is nothing because they know in the end they will reap the rewards of the help they offered. If you want to get funding for medical schooil the call the richest people you can think of and tell them your situation. This is what I did. I am still planning to meet with those CEO's even though I have the funding I need already, I plan to ask them for bursarys of $50,000 each. Why not I have nothing to lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathvvv Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 glad to hear the good news. congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justletmein Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 This is a great story, I am really happy for you. Not to be a downer, but make sure you get a VERY detailed contract with this organisation. The last thing you need is him turning around in 4 years and saying, you know times are tough, i need you to pay it all back, with interest. Not saying this is going to happen but PROTECT YOURSELF. The deal you are making is similar to the MOTP program in that they offer you training for future service -- make sure this service is clearly defined. Good luck in your studies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Wow, way to go!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnxiousBoy Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 This is a great story, I am really happy for you. Not to be a downer, but make sure you get a VERY detailed contract with this organisation. The last thing you need is him turning around in 4 years and saying, you know times are tough, i need you to pay it all back, with interest. Not saying this is going to happen but PROTECT YOURSELF. The deal you are making is similar to the MOTP program in that they offer you training for future service -- make sure this service is clearly defined. Good luck in your studies! Excellent story to hear. This goes to show that there are always unconventional options available if you truly have your heart set out to study medicine. I echo the above comment. You need something in writing because you have to show it to be able to get your US visa. You need to detail out what is expected out of you in return. What kind of doctor do they need? Would that limit you in becoming a certain type of specialist? Is this what you want to do? For how long are you "mandated" to stick around? Do they know that they won't be able to attain your service until 6-11 years down the road? Of course, if you are totally cynical, you can ditch them after you graduate, but I sense you aren't that kind of person and will honour your side of the deal. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamSuperDoctor Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 thats interesting. fill us in on the details of the contract please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwhyte3 Posted April 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Hi Everyone, Thanks and yes I think its a great story. It was literally a matter for finding someone who had interest and goals in healthcare. If you are trying to find financial support this would be the best person to approach. I do agree a detailed contract will be required. I am calling today to get more detailed information. I will keep you all updated. Obviously what ever I deceide will be in the best interests of my future, I will not do anything that will leave me bound or without options. I'll let you know what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylamonkey Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 This is a really fantastic story, really! I just wanteed to share some cameraderie- I worked as a personal trainer for a number of years as well. It was such a good position to be in, and it really strengthened my desire to become a physician. Teaching others about their health is such a passion for me, and I know that I'm good at it, too. It's great to hear that you're able to find a way to do this. I may be in a similar position at some point as you, so it's nice to see that there may be options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwhyte3 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Hi everyone, Just got off the phone with my sponsor. This is great, he really is just an awesome person. Here are the two most important factors 1. he genuinly wants to help people 2. he is extremely wealthy and affluent. I think those two factors are critical in finding the right person to sponsor you. It is important to note that it must be an individual and not an organization or instituiton as with an individual decisions are made very quickly and the entire process is sped up. In regards to me helping to give back to his cause. I will not have to sign any type of formal contract stating that I must work for him. He is trusting that I will naturally want to help give back anyways - which I will since I am so greatful. His charity helps women who have been abused, or are poor, and he wants to help children with obesity. Having come from a 2 year career as a fitness professional I am very interested in eliminating obesity so I will be happy to help work for his charity when I finish. Anyways I will keep you posted and updated as I continue to get info. He said hes going to set up an account with the funds for me so once this happens it will be official. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuturePT216 Posted December 14, 2012 Report Share Posted December 14, 2012 Sorry to revive an old thread, but this was such an inspiring story. It's great to hear there are a lot of helpful people out there! Hope you're enjoying your med school journey ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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