student loans and scholarships/bursaries

[Guest dhowser]

Hey everyone, I'm a likely incoming Med 1 student. I need help with where to find info on applying for student loans, scholarships/bursaries and housing.

 

I'm from BC and I need to know if I apply for the BC student loan service or the Manitoba Student loan service in addition to the Canada Student Loan Service. Anyone know?

 

Also, where do I apply for any bursaries/scholarships or is my application automatically reviewed for these?

 

Lastly, housing. Where is the most recommended place to live? Off campus or on?

 

Thanks!

 

Zam

[Guest Koppertone]

Hey Zam, where in BC are you from? I know that some of the scholarships are given to you on acceptance. As for other scholarships, maybe the current med students can be of more help. I think maybe the incoming info pack will have details on that,but I have yet to receive it.

[Guest dhowser]

hey koppertone, I live in Burnaby. I was accepted on June 11th off the waitlist and as far as I know, not received any entrance sholarships. I think I remember you receiving one, did you hear in the acceptance letter?

[Guest ManitobaMed]

Student loans:

I'm not sure exactly how BC student loans work; however, when I attended an Ontario university, I still received Manitoba student loans. Also, there's at least one Ontario student in my class receiving OSAP. So, I suspect that you would apply for BC student loans and include Medicine at the U of M as your program. (I checked, and the U of M is included in BCSAP's "designated schools" list -- i.e. schools at which BCSAP applicants are eligible for funding.)

 

Bursaries:

Generally, we apply for these in 1st term and receive them in time for 2nd term. Application forms will be made available to you. (The applications are generally placed in our mailboxes at school.)

 

Scholarships:

There aren't a whole lot of these.

 

Housing:

The only real option in terms of "on-campus" housing is the med apartments, which are on Health Sciences Centre property and approximately 30 seconds from school. The rent is really reasonable (I'm currently paying $285/month, including heat and water, for a bachelor apartment), but the location, despite its convenience, could be better. I'm not sure how long the waitlist is at this point, but the med apts are certainly worth checking into. You can also look into Harry Medovy, which is also owned by HSC but is somewhat fancier and therefore more expensive. The phone number for both is: 204-787-4261. Email:apartmentrentals@hsc.mb.ca

 

As far as off-campus housing, this is where most students live. The most popular off-campus area for apartments is Osborne Village, which is a short drive from Bannatyne campus and offers some pretty good restaurant/cafe options, among other things.

[Guest dhowser]

Hey manitobamed, I got the application form for the apartments. I am thinking of applying for the 1-bedroom med centre apartments but is there two centres there? One on Emily street and the other on Notre Dame Ave. Which one is better or is there no difference?

 

Also how much does your total rent come out to including electricity and cable tv. You also need to furnish the apartment yourself right? Any advice would help out!

[Guest ManitobaMed]

The Emily Street and Notre Dame buildings are essentially one building with a dividing wall and separate entrances. One entrance is on the side (Emily St), and the other is in front (Notre Dame). So, there's no difference between the buildings. I have a bachelor rather than a one-bedroom. My rent, which includes heat and water, is $285/month. I pay ~$15-20/month in hydro (really rough approximation). Cable, I'm not sure about as I operate on a very sad set of antennae. I believe the rent for the one-bedroom apartments is ~$330-340, and electricity costs are similar to those of the bachelor apartments. One warning I would give is that there is generally a fairly long waiting list for the one-bedroom apartments. The two options for people wanting a one-bedroom are generally either to get a bachelor and then upgrade when a one-bedroom becomes available (this usually happens within the year) or to live elsewhere until a one-bedroom comes up for rent. Hence, if you're willing to live in a bachelor until you can get into the one-bedrooms, I'd suggesting checking off both "bachelor" and "1-bedroom" on the application. I would, however, suggest speaking to the med apt. administrative people to confirm this.

 

As for furnishings, the apartments include a fridge and a stove, as well as ugly blinds for the windows. All other furnishings and appliances are up to you, and, as a second word of warning, we DON'T have IKEA -- the nearest Canadian store is a half-day (~13hour) drive away in Alberta. There are coin-operated laundry facilities on the main floor ($1/load to wash, $1/load to dry).

 

Rent payments for the med apartments are set up as a direct withdrawal on your bank account or credit card, which is a nice convenience for the forgetful med student.

[Guest dhowser]

thanks for the reply. One more question that came up in another forum is if a car is needed during med's 1 to 4. If your living pretty close to bannatyne campus will you need one? Is the hospital pretty close as well?

[Guest ManitobaMed]

You can definitely do without a car in med 1 and 2; even people WITH cars often car pool for off-site sessions. I can't say for sure whether you'd need one for med 3 and 4 (not having been in this position yet), but I suspect even then you might be able to do without, at least for most rotations. The two main centres for clinical work throughout meds are Health Sciences Centre, which is directly adjacent to the med school, and St. Boniface Hospital, which is a single, reasonably short bus ride away (or a 35-40 minute walk on a warm day). In fact, St. B is one of three Winnipeg hospitals can be reached by single Winnipeg Transit buses from HSC. Moreover, prior to clerkship, we are allowed to select which hospital (usually between HSC and St. we'd like for the major rotations, so those of us living in the med apts are already on HSC property and therefore tend to choose HSC for most rotations largely out of convenience. (Women's Hospital, for example, is a 15 second dash away, across Emily St.)