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- Oct 6, 2017
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I was not a great student in my undergraduate years, mostly going part time and far from being able to be accepted to Ross, Saba, AUA, let alone a US DO or MD program. So I went the Caribbean route and accepted two offers. One from MUA's 2 semester premed program starting in January and one from another Med School I am currently attending (and am happy with) that has a 3 semester premed program which I just began in Sept.
Both have guaranteed acceptance to their Med School with a certain GPA, and the Med School I am at has a drastically lower attrition rate and higher US residency placement rate than MUA. So far, the premed program is very easy for me as I am an older student and approach everyday like a work day back home. I am able to tell quite early and get the impression from my professors as well that graduating medical school is very attainable for me.
The Medical school I am currently at uses 3 different private loan companies. Sallie Mae is the most prominent but I was unable to get approved for a loan from them, so I received a loan for the first year from another company. According to the financial aid person at the school, who is in contact with the underwriter of the loan, I am extremely likely to be approved for two more years of loans through them, at which point I will hit the aggregate limit. I currently have federal loans that count toward that limit. That leaves approximately 5 semesters (1 year 8 months) that I will not be able to receive funding from that company unless the aggregate limit is increased. I would have to try to find a cosigner, which is not guaranteed, and get 2 loans through Sallie Mae for this last 20 months. It is also a possibility that the school may have more loan options by then, as they currently seeking out these.
I am debating whether to continue attending this Medical School, which I prefer and am currently at, or MUA, which will require me to fly back to the states in order to get additional paperwork to submit. With both programs, if all things were to go according to plan, I will enter the Med Program in Sept. 2018. I originally chose the school where I am at because it was much easier to talk to the financial aid people here, while at MUA, they would not let me apply for the premed loan as early as I would have liked. Graduating from the school where I am at would allow me to practice in my home state (Indiana). While MUA does not have explicit Indiana approval, they do have New York and California approval and most importantly, federal loans. I have a critical decision to make in the next couple weeks but am still extremely indecisive.
I am naturally a worrier, so the idea of reaching the clinical years and having to stop my medical education with no way of paying back the debt is frightening, but a very tempting option. MUA's federal loans are very tempting as well and my gut is telling me to go that route, but I feel that I am currently at the higher quality medical school. Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this long post and who is willing to offer any constructive advice. Especially if any non traditional students and professors are reading this, what would you do?
Both have guaranteed acceptance to their Med School with a certain GPA, and the Med School I am at has a drastically lower attrition rate and higher US residency placement rate than MUA. So far, the premed program is very easy for me as I am an older student and approach everyday like a work day back home. I am able to tell quite early and get the impression from my professors as well that graduating medical school is very attainable for me.
The Medical school I am currently at uses 3 different private loan companies. Sallie Mae is the most prominent but I was unable to get approved for a loan from them, so I received a loan for the first year from another company. According to the financial aid person at the school, who is in contact with the underwriter of the loan, I am extremely likely to be approved for two more years of loans through them, at which point I will hit the aggregate limit. I currently have federal loans that count toward that limit. That leaves approximately 5 semesters (1 year 8 months) that I will not be able to receive funding from that company unless the aggregate limit is increased. I would have to try to find a cosigner, which is not guaranteed, and get 2 loans through Sallie Mae for this last 20 months. It is also a possibility that the school may have more loan options by then, as they currently seeking out these.
I am debating whether to continue attending this Medical School, which I prefer and am currently at, or MUA, which will require me to fly back to the states in order to get additional paperwork to submit. With both programs, if all things were to go according to plan, I will enter the Med Program in Sept. 2018. I originally chose the school where I am at because it was much easier to talk to the financial aid people here, while at MUA, they would not let me apply for the premed loan as early as I would have liked. Graduating from the school where I am at would allow me to practice in my home state (Indiana). While MUA does not have explicit Indiana approval, they do have New York and California approval and most importantly, federal loans. I have a critical decision to make in the next couple weeks but am still extremely indecisive.
I am naturally a worrier, so the idea of reaching the clinical years and having to stop my medical education with no way of paying back the debt is frightening, but a very tempting option. MUA's federal loans are very tempting as well and my gut is telling me to go that route, but I feel that I am currently at the higher quality medical school. Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this long post and who is willing to offer any constructive advice. Especially if any non traditional students and professors are reading this, what would you do?
