MPH Columbia MSPH Fall 2014

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JQH said:
@CrazySexyCool I did not receive mine yesterday either. Did you hear anything, Lab?
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I got mine this morning after I called them lol. But mine was only the PID and nothing about financial aid. because I'm not eligible to fill out the FAFSA (international student).
 
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labrat_neuro91 said:
I got mine this morning after I called them lol. But mine was only the PID and nothing about financial aid. because I'm not eligible to fill out the FAFSA (international student).
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Are you going to look into private loans?
 
c0435 said:
Nice! You've gotten scholarships?

Sorry for bombarding you with questions... just quite nervous about finances.
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Well you are not the only one. Even with my savings I would have to get a substantial amount as loan (not that I am complaining). But what's making me antsy is that I haven't heard ANYTHING from the finance department yet.
 
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CrazySexyCool said:
Well you are not the only one. Even with my savings I would have to get a substantial amount as loan (not that I am complaining). But what's making me antsy is that I haven't heard ANYTHING from the finance department yet.
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We're all in this together :unsure::whistle:

I just emailed the SPHFinAid Office this:

"To whom it may concern,

I have a few quick questions regarding financial aid. If you could assist me, it would be greatly appreciated.

1. Does the Office of Financial Aid calculate/provide aid to cover the cost of attendance (COA)?

2. Is the COA calculated on an annual basis and does it include both direct educational expenses and living expenses?

3. Do you estimate student budgets that include an amount for tuition and fees, an allowance for room and board, a standard amount for books and for personal expenses, and a transportation allowance?"

I will post their response here, to help us all breathe easier...hopefully.
 
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Response to my email from the financial aid office:

"We do not provide coverage for the full cost of attendance. Your financial aid will consist of $33,000 in direct federal loans and if you are eligible a need based grant of up to $5000 for the year. The remaining cost of attendance must be offset by either a direct graduate private loan or general private loan. The COA is created for every new academic year and includes tuition, fees and living expenses. We do not budget students for transportation."

Probably not what any of us wanted to hear... but what we all most likely already knew.
 
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c0435 said:
Response to my email from the financial aid office:

"We do not provide coverage for the full cost of attendance. Your financial aid will consist of $33,000 in direct federal loans and if you are eligible a need based grant of up to $5000 for the year. The remaining cost of attendance must be offset by either a direct graduate private loan or general private loan. The COA is created for every new academic year and includes tuition, fees and living expenses. We do not budget students for transportation."

Probably not what any of us wanted to hear... but what we all most likely already knew.
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Thanks for posting the info. That... really sucks, honestly
 
cg122 said:
Thanks for posting the info. That... really sucks, honestly
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Tell me about it... I've got my mind set on Columbia... but that is just so discouraging.

Don't know if employment opportunities/alumni network in the future would be worth the private loans... whereas, at other Universities, they have provided me with $50K federal loans (not private)... ***SIGH*** IDK.
 
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If that's all I'm offered, and everything seems to be indicating that it will be, I'm going to say no to Columbia. It was high on my list, but the debt coupled with a few other of my reservations about the school simply makes it not worth it. Bummer...
 
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Idk, I just now compared it to my other offered packages and it seems they are all fairly similar... unless I am later awarded scholarships.

Tough decisions... wish education was free...!
 
JQH said:
I get that everyone has their own circumstances, but I couldn't, in good conscience, counsel anyone to really even consider that unless they have a scholarship and/or personal savings/family assistance.
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cg122 said:
If that's all I'm offered, and everything seems to be indicating that it will be, I'm going to say no to Columbia. It was high on my list, but the debt coupled with a few other of my reservations about the school simply makes it not worth it. Bummer...
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That's exactly how I'm feeling right now. It's simply not worth it to take out an additional 30k in loans, ON TOP of Columbia's 70k, to cover housing and other living costs.
 
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JQH said:
Other programs are going to make you take out 30k+ (conservatively) in private loans?

Edit to reflect that my 30k was a conservative estimate for COL in Washington Heights/Harlem.
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No, not at all :/ lol... just that $33,000 is the federal direct loan limit for any university... that does not include the direct graduate PLUS loan that we may be eligible for.

Trying hard to convince myself it's worth it... but have a heavy heart on the subject.
 
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I emailed them again to clarify:

"Are the direct graduate PLUS loans the loans you refer to when stating direct graduate private loan?"

Response:

"Yes these however are requested through our office since there is an application process and credit approval required."
 
I think all schools have their advantages and disadvantages. Even though Columbia is one of the best schools in public health, I don't know if being in almost $100,000 debt will be worth it in the end, especially for an MPH. I feel like if you have your professional goal set and the will to chase it, you'll be able to achieve it no matter what school you attend. I'm sure attending Columbia will help, but so will other schools.
 
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Has anyone else still not gotten a PID?
 
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For everyone's information -- Interest rates for the graduate PLUS Loans are at 6.4%. The Direct loans are at 5.4%
 
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If you are attending one of the admitted student's days, you can call them to have a personal 15 minute meeting with financial aid to discuss your situation. If you are not, they are offering 15 minute phone calls for the week of March 24th and April 7th. The number is (212)342-5127.
 
This is a non-financial related comment, but the profs that I want to work with are definitely playing hard to get, except for 3 of them lol.
 
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Wait has everyone received their 'financial age package' (aka the list of their loans)? haha
 
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c0435 said:
What do you mean?
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Prof 1: his lab is full (he's also my POI) :(
Prof 2: happens to be in Africa, so there's still a chance to work with this prof as my practicum over the summer.
Prof 3: depending on the funding in the fall; will get back to me. (still some hope).

...And I haven't really heard back from the rest.
 
Columbia is noooo doubt my number 1 and I *LOVE* NYC, but it's starting to get hard to deny the financial perk of USC - the degree at USC for me would cost around $35,000 total for both years...
 
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Please I need your advice. I got an email from Admissions office saying that I'm better suited for the MS program considering my background as an MD. What do you think?
 
Got my aid package - exactly $33,000 in federal direct loans
 
I got $5,000 need based and $33,000 loan to come to $19,000 aid per semester
 
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cg122 said:
Got my aid package - exactly $33,000 in federal direct loans
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Same here. It's such a bummer they don't even consider living expenses.

No need based grants for me...

Columbia was my dream school and I was so set on going there for my MPH, but I'm really starting to second guess this. It is simply not worth it.

Plus, I fell in love with Michigan's program this past weekend. Assuming I get an acceptance letter, I'm leaning towards UM. They said they give scholarships to 45% of their students (in and out of state).
 
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dp890 said:
Same here. It's such a bummer they don't even consider living expenses.

No need based grants for me...

Columbia was my dream school and I was so set on going there for my MPH, but I'm really starting to second guess this. It is simply not worth it.

Plus, I fell in love with Michigan's program this past weekend. Assuming I get an acceptance letter, I'm leaning towards UM. They said they give scholarships to 45% of their students (in and out of state).
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Yeah, it really sucks they didn't account for any cost of living... that's a crapton of money on its own
 
Man that's really disheartening. I'm beginning to have serious doubts about my status after reading comments from people here. I haven't even received a reply back from a certain Ms. Courtney Hooper to whom I wrote to 2 days ago and who is listed as the official contact for the department of Population and Family Health. o_O

I think I'll start contacting the finance department directly like c0435 and even start contacting professors about working with them.
 
KennedyAM said:
Yeah, it really sucks they didn't account for any cost of living... that's a crapton of money on its own
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You can get Direct PLUS loans through the government to cover additional costs - Columbia can help you with this process. From what I read, any institution can only give unsubsidized loans up to the amount of tuition.
 
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jlb12 said:
You can get Direct PLUS loans through the government to cover additional costs - Columbia can help you with this process. From what I read, any institution can only give unsubsidized loans up to the amount of tuition.
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I know, but the amount of loan debt is a bit dishearting haha
 
Hey guys... on the expenses list on the financial aid package it says "Computer Purchase.... $800" .... I already have a computer... is this mandatory? Can't imagine it being so. Does anyone know?
 
This is the reply that I got back from the finance department:

"Dear Prospective Student,
As an International student you do not qualify for federal financial aid. You are considered for merit scholarships based on the overall strength of your admissions application. If you are a recipient of a merit scholarship you will be notified via email fairly soon. You can also be eligible for a private loan however this will require a U.S. citizen as a co-signer. GRA and TA positions are typically offered to second year students or doctoral students. Please click on the link below for information on potential outside sources of funding."

Prospective student?? how impersonal can you get?? how hard was it to write my name??

Well, at least it shows that I shouldn't expect anything from them. Heck they haven't even sent me my login details for the finance portal of theirs. I'm kinda getting pissed now. :mad:
 
Some more useful information to us all:

"Dear Student,
Graduate plus loans cannot be requested at this time. The earliest you can process and application through our office will be in late May to early June. This is because we cannot certify a loan no earlier than 90 days prior to the start of the semester."


@CrazySexyCool : Don't worry... I'm sure they're not being personal because they have a large amount of emails fl0wing in at this time. Did you ask them about your login info? They may be doing it in a specific order. Maybe give them a call.
 
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c0435 said:
Hey guys... on the expenses list on the financial aid package it says "Computer Purchase.... $800" .... I already have a computer... is this mandatory? Can't imagine it being so. Does anyone know?
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Other than tuition and the fees (I think), everything is optional. I asked specifically about the computer and health insurance. For the computer, as long as it meets their minimum requirements, you are fine and my guess is you could get away with a little less. And for the health insurance, as long as you have other insurance that is comparable, you don't need to get theirs and can get a waiver.
 
jlb12 said:
Other than tuition and the fees (I think), everything is optional. I asked specifically about the computer and health insurance. For the computer, as long as it meets their minimum requirements, you are fine and my guess is you could get away with a little less. And for the health insurance, as long as you have other insurance that is comparable, you don't need to get theirs and can get a waiver.
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Thanks a bunch! Very helpful
 
Officially sent in my acceptance yesterday! :clap:
 
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labrat_neuro91 said:
This is a non-financial related comment, but the profs that I want to work with are definitely playing hard to get, except for 3 of them lol.
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Hey labrat_neuro91,
I noticed you wrote you're an international student. When you say you're looking for profs to work with, how do you plan on working out how you'll get paid on the student visa? (I'm also international -- Canadian)
Definitely curious about this as I was also thinking about contacting profs!
 
Hey guys... how are you going about contacting professors?
 
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