Jump to content
Premed 101 Forums

Loans/loc For Canadians Studying In The Us


Recommended Posts

Hi guys, 

 

I recently had the amazing pleasure of getting a full-scholarship (tuition and fees) to a medical school in the US. I still need to find funding for room and board. Estimated cost of attendance per year is $68,000 (but $46,000 of this is the scholarship). So I'd be needing to borrow about $20,000-25,000/year. 

 

Can any of you tell me what this means for getting an LOC from one of the big banks? Will I need someone to co-sign for me? I called someone at BMO and she didn't think I would need a co-signer, but my husband thinks she's wrong. 

 

I read through the threads quickly but most of the info was for Canadians studying in Canada. 

 

Thanks in advance. 

 

-E

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi guys,

 

I recently had the amazing pleasure of getting a full-scholarship (tuition and fees) to a medical school in the US. I still need to find funding for room and board. Estimated cost of attendance per year is $68,000 (but $46,000 of this is the scholarship). So I'd be needing to borrow about $20,000-25,000/year.

 

Can any of you tell me what this means for getting an LOC from one of the big banks? Will I need someone to co-sign for me? I called someone at BMO and she didn't think I would need a co-signer, but my husband thinks she's wrong.

 

I read through the threads quickly but most of the info was for Canadians studying in Canada.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

-E

Pretty sure you'll need a co signer for the regular LOC but it will be plenty to cover what you need!

 

Huge congrats!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I heard the major banks won't give LOC to students going to school outside of Canada without a co-signer. Could your husband not co-sign? Or because your finances are tied.. perhaps you need someone outside the marriage to co-sign.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, you will need a co-signer - even for the US, which is significantly much less of a risk than abroad(aus, carribean, ireland etc).  But banks are tied to doing that. Hopefully you have a family member who can cosign. Talk around to the banks, show them that you got full-ride scholarship, and that should ease their worries. If one banker gives you flak, go to another one.

ALSO, don't forget government student loans, that should put a big dent in your living costs too, so you will end up not really needing even close to the 250K bank loan. I think you would even be able to get 100K uncosigned from the bank, and that would even be more than enough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay as an over glorified debt collector, I cannot say this enough: do not get a co signor unless you absolutely need one. Your cosigner is encumbered by the debt just as much as you are, and it's just too much of a burden to take on unless absolutely necessary.

 

Someone posted recently about getting a large loan for a US school. It was in the last month or so, you should be able to find it. You can visit their banker.

 

Also, any bank should be willing to give you say $60K without further security. I got that for law school and so did all of my classmates. It was more than enough to cover or roughly $45K tuition plus 3 year's living expenses once you add in OSAP and summer earnings.

 

You are eligible for OSAP too although your full scholarship probably cancels that out. Check it out anyways. You may get something for living expenses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The thing is, if you ask any banker, for the larger amounts - once you leave canada, they have the risk of you not coming back. So that is why they get a cosigner. 

Like you mentioned though, for smaller amounts - in this case as you have full-tuition covered- they should be able to offer you what you need, without a cosigner.


And good point about OSAP being affected by scholarships...though that seems kind of unfair in a way. Still more costs to it than just tuition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just recently got approved for 275K from CIBC to study dentistry in Ireland. If you're going abroad they will definitely ask for a co-signer. They used to do it before without one, but in the past few years banks have gotten more strict because they had issues with students running out of money and not paying back their loans and stuff. It might be different if you're asking for a smaller amount. You should talk to my financial advisor. He was really knowledgeable and has a lot of experience dealing with professional LOCs and students studying internationally. He will really work for you to get you the best LOC and rates. I highly recommend his services.

His name is Nalin.

Here's his contact info: 416-757-6780 ext. 345

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Hi guys, 

 

I recently had the amazing pleasure of getting a full-scholarship (tuition and fees) to a medical school in the US. I still need to find funding for room and board. Estimated cost of attendance per year is $68,000 (but $46,000 of this is the scholarship). So I'd be needing to borrow about $20,000-25,000/year. 

 

Can any of you tell me what this means for getting an LOC from one of the big banks? Will I need someone to co-sign for me? I called someone at BMO and she didn't think I would need a co-signer, but my husband thinks she's wrong. 

 

I read through the threads quickly but most of the info was for Canadians studying in Canada. 

 

Thanks in advance. 

 

-E

 

 

curious where you managed to get a full tuition scholarship, if you don't mind my asking (and stats too please).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a meeting with TD last year about this and they informed me there is a list of US schools (yours is probably on it, most were) for which you do NOT need a co-signer, up to $275 000 if I remember correctly. If you want to make sure you could just walk into your local branch and ask them. If you have your acceptance letter they could even pre-approve you on the spot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...