Loans

[kglmp83]

How do I find loans for optometry school to pay for tuition, books, housing, living expenses, etc.?

Do I need to establish credit prior to getting loans for optometry school?
If so, will working for a year after optometry school be enough?

How do I begin to find loans? Where do I begin?

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[Dena1342]

you fill out a fafsa form in January prior to beginning optometry school. the federal government will take into account your income (or your family's if they still file income taxes with you as a depended) and calculate your estimated family contribution. they subtract that as well as any scholarships you are expecting from the amount of money you'll need for tuition and then will split that up between subsidized and unsubsidized loans depending again on your income and financial need.

They also offer you $1000/month for living expenses (that is supposed to include everything from rent and food to phone, tv, internet, insurance, and all other daily expendetures)

UMSL's website has a decent powerpoint presentation on costs and how to get loans and stuff you may wanna check out.

 

[JMU07]

Call the financial aid offices of the schools you're interested in. I can't speak for anyone but SCO (since I work in their FAO) but they will give you a list of recommended lenders. I didn't need loans in undergrad so it was all new to me too. Stafford and Perkins loans are not credit-based. Subsidized Stafford is need based and I think Perkins is need based too, but the unsubsidized Stafford (which you don't want to take out because it accrues interest during school) is not need based.

 

[kglmp83]

Call the financial aid offices of the schools you're interested in. I can't speak for anyone but SCO (since I work in their FAO) but they will give you a list of recommended lenders. I didn't need loans in undergrad so it was all new to me too. Stafford and Perkins loans are not credit-based. Subsidized Stafford is need based and I think Perkins is need based too, but the unsubsidized Stafford (which you don't want to take out because it accrues interest during school) is not need based.

The number 1 school on my list right now is SCO.
I've read where optometry school will cost up to $150,000 for four years.
Divided by 4, that gives you $37,500 per year. Is it possible to get that much?

 

[JMU07]

Oh yeah, some people take as much as 50k a year. I would recommend taking out the bare minimum you think you'll need. If you need more money later in the semester they'll give it to you.

 

[SarahNC]

Getting loans is incredibly easy. Where else can you get a loan with no credit, no income, no down payment, no references, etc?

All you do is fill out your FAFSA, pick a lender (wachovia, etc.) for your stafford loans and that should be all you need. With stafford you can get up to 8500 sub and 30000 unsub per year. you shouldn't need that much at SCO, but most do at PCO.