Who to borrow from for med school?

[davesnow10]

I found a similar thread for last year, thought it would be good to get peoples opinions for this years classes.

Im entering an allopathic school this fall, will be taking out the max in federal loans, and probably a few thousand in private loans.

Any advice for either? the private and/or the federal?

Looks like having no fees is a plus! Anyone have any advice after dealing with a few of the companies in the past?

cheers,
David.

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[tinkerbelle]

I'll be an M1 this year too. I plan on using THE as my lender. I don't know if they give the best deal, but they looked pretty good to me. They have awesome customer service, don't charge you any fees, deduct 1.3% if you pay your bills on time, and they don't capitalize (?) the interest on your unsubsidized loans until after you graduate from med school. I don't know if capitalized is the correct word.... but I'm trying to say that you don't pay interest on the interest that acrues while in med school. Also, you don't lose the repayment bonus if you defer your loans.

 

[bonez318ti]

Ok future doctors of America, lets put our minds and find the best loans for med school. By increasing transparency and the sharing of information, it'll force financial companies to be more competitive with their terms (and thus drive down interest costs and fees for borrowers).


Some lenders from my research and some of their terms:
MedLoans Classic - 0% Guarantee, 3% origination, 4.5% of balance with 33 on time payments, 3.5% of balance back at graduation, capitalization at repayment
MedLoans Zero Fees - 0% Guarantee, 0% origination, 0 Fees at disbursement, 3.3% of balance with 33 on time payments, capitalization at repayment
Access Group - As low as 0% guarantee fee, 0% origination, 0 Fees at disbursement, .25% for automatic withdrawal from savings account, 2% off interest rate with 48 on time payments
Citibank Standard - 2% of principal back at repayment, 25% for automatic withdrawal from savings account, 2% off interest rate with 48 on time payments
Citibank Zero - 0% fees at disbursement, 25% for automatic withdrawal from savings account, 2% off interest rate with 48 on time payments
Health Education Solutions - 0% Guarantee, 0% origination, 0 Fees at disbursement, .25% for automatic withdrawal from savings account, 3.33% off princpal with 30 months of on time payments
THE Loans - 0% Guarantee, 0% origination, 0 Fees at disbursement, 1.3% reduction back, capitalization at repayment

If you have come accross any other lenders, please post with all notable information.

Thanks.

 

[Blade28]

Stafford hooked me up with Bank of America, Sallie Mae and Wells Fargo for my federal loans. I also used MedLoans for my private alternative loans.

 

[davesnow10]

thanks for typing that in bonez...

I have read that a very small % of students actually end up receiving the benefits of the X monthly-payments-in-a-row. I dont think this can only be down to students missing payments...is it not true that consolidating essentially starts a 'new loan'? which of course would impact such a deal...

Trying to find a reason not to go with T.H.E. to be honest. I have to send in my forms this week so if anyone has an opinion I would love to hear it...

I need to find out if T.H.E. offer alternative loans...

 

[tinkerbelle]

I have read that a very small % of students actually end up receiving the benefits of the X monthly-payments-in-a-row. I dont think this can only be down to students missing payments...is it not true that consolidating essentially starts a 'new loan'? which of course would impact such a deal...

I don't know how true this is, but I heard that if you defer your loans (which a lot of us do when we go to med school), then some loan companies will see this as "missing payments" and cancel your bonuses (i.e. won't give you the 1.3% discount anymore). One reason why I am consolidating my undergrad and grad school loans with THE, is because they let you defer and still keep your bonuses.

 

[davesnow10]

One reason why I am consolidating my undergrad and grad school loans with THE, is because they let you defer and still keep your bonuses.

Yeah, and I like how they deal with interest capitalization...only doing it when you go into repayment...

So THE do alternative loans too...just read about it. Think I may just go with them...

 

[bonez318ti]

I have read that a very small % of students actually end up receiving the benefits of the X monthly-payments-in-a-row. I dont think this can only be down to students missing payments...is it not true that consolidating essentially starts a 'new loan'? which of course would impact such a deal...

just curious.. any idea where you got that info? i'd be interested in finding out more since i plan on making XX consecutive ontime payments

and yes, i beleive that when you consolidate a loan, you are basically 'relocating' all of your loans to another lender, thus you are not eligible for any incentives you had iwht your previous lender.

 

[davesnow10]

just curious.. any idea where you got that info?

just snooping around...a quote on one of the THE leaflets got me looking:

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/articles/031027/27loans.b1.htm

 

[bonez318ti]

just snooping around...a quote on one of the THE leaflets got me looking:

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/articles/031027/27loans.b1.htm

It seems that the article is talking about something different from how these loans are structured.

If I am understanding the terms of these loans correctly, we will get a rate discount as long as we make X months of consecutive on time payments.. which could start from when we first go into repayment (ie: residency) or it any other period of time. The article seems to be talking about an incentive where if you make a late payment, from the very start, the deal is off.

But to be sure, I haven't looked at the fine print for ANY of the loans. So take this all with a grain of salt.

 

[davesnow10]

Dunno if it is talking about something different...

The assumption when making plans to pay on time for a few years is that you will have continuous employment and income to make the payments. Impossible to say if this will be the case or not. I dont think it will be that hard to be honest...but I dont like the idea that I will lose a lot of money if circumstances change...

 

[bonez318ti]

Dunno if it is talking about something different...

The assumption when making plans to pay on time for a few years is that you will have continuous employment and income to make the payments. Impossible to say if this will be the case or not. I dont think it will be that hard to be honest...but I dont like the idea that I will lose a lot of money if circumstances change...

in any case, THE, seems like the best bet, i just created a quick model comparing getting a 2% interest reduction at the end of 48 months vs. getting a 1.3 interest reduction from the very beginning and the THE is a better deal (you save a couple of thousand on a 120k/10 year loan).

 

[davesnow10]

in any case, THE, seems like the best bet

Yeah, I did the same thing...agree with you in that THE sounds like the best company...

Thanks for sharing your opinion. Much appreciated...

 

[david.pcsom]

Yeah, I did the same thing...agree with you in that THE sounds like the best company...

Thanks for sharing your opinion. Much appreciated...

could somone post a web site for this loan company: THE??? thanks

 

[davesnow10]

could somone post a web site for this loan company: THE??? thanks

http://www.northstar.org

 

[bonez318ti]

could somone post a web site for this loan company: THE??? thanks

added links to the above list of lenders..

 

[DrB]

Thank you bonez318ti, for your list!

Is it better to take out loans from two different lenders? Say your Stafford loans from THE and private loans from Health Ed or Access Group?

This may be better in the end because you will have choices at graduation as to which lender you would rather consolidate with.

Any thoughts

 

[irishlaydi]

Hi all. I have a question about alternative loans. I am using T.H.E. for my stafford lender, and probably for my alternative loan too. This would cover the cost of edu from school (58K). However, I want to get extra money to pay off my credit card before going to med school b/c i won't be making any money to pay on it. For all the medical alternative loans it says you can only borrow up to the cost of education (minus stafford and fin aid you are receiving). So...what do you do if you need/want more money than your school is projecting???? Any advice from anyone would be great. THANKS!

 

[david.pcsom]

http://www.northstar.org

thanks everyone!

 

[box29]

Hi all. I have a question about alternative loans. I am using T.H.E. for my stafford lender, and probably for my alternative loan too. This would cover the cost of edu from school (58K). However, I want to get extra money to pay off my credit card before going to med school b/c i won't be making any money to pay on it. For all the medical alternative loans it says you can only borrow up to the cost of education (minus stafford and fin aid you are receiving). So...what do you do if you need/want more money than your school is projecting???? Any advice from anyone would be great. THANKS!

Look at Collegiate Funding Services.

http://www.cfsloans.com/en

 

[Amxcvbcv]

Some lenders from my research and some of their terms:
MedLoans Classic - 0% Guarantee, 3% origination, 4.5% of balance with 33 on time payments, 3.5% of balance back at graduation, capitalization at repayment
MedLoans Zero Fees - 0% Guarantee, 0% origination, 0 Fees at disbursement, 3.3% of balance with 33 on time payments, capitalization at repayment

Just comparing these two for easy reference.

I was under the impression that the government took 3% off the top for any Stafford loans distributed? Does this mean that the Classic MedLoans option will result in 3% being taken twice? Or does the Zero Fees option remove the origination fee altogether?

Thanks!

 

[bonez318ti]

Just comparing these two for easy reference.

I was under the impression that the government took 3% off the top for any Stafford loans distributed? Does this mean that the Classic MedLoans option will result in 3% being taken twice? Or does the Zero Fees option remove the origination fee altogether?

Thanks!

Just looked it up on the Staffordloan webpage.. tehy mention a 3% origination fee, but alot of programs claim to require 0% origination.. so maybe the lenders are absorbing the cost?

i'm thinking that lenders know that doctors are a less risky investment than say someone who is going to into a graduate program for painting or history, thus they are absorbing the 3% origination cost since they need an incentive to attract a less risky borrower (and they can't change the terms of the loan in the form of a lower interest rate, which is the usual metric for credit risk).

 

[Amxcvbcv]

I'm not up to the math required for this right now, but here are the two lenders I'm looking at.

THE: 0 Fees, plus the 1.3% interest cashback. My understanding is that it amounts to essentially a 1.3% interest rate reduction.

Bank of America: 0 Fees, plus a three tiered principal reduction, and a .25% interest reduction with automatic checking/savings payment. Principal reduced by 1% after payments 1-12 received on time, reduced 1% when payments 13-24 received on time, and reduced another 1% when payments 25-36 received on time.

The THE site has a link to a nice calculator that compares their plan to other popular incentive programs, but Bank of American program isn't on there. Has anyone done the math on this one or are they willing to tackle it to see how they compare?

Thanks!

 

[bonez318ti]

I'm not up to the math required for this right now, but here are the two lenders I'm looking at.

THE: 0 Fees, plus the 1.3% interest cashback. My understanding is that it amounts to essentially a 1.3% interest rate reduction.

Bank of America: 0 Fees, plus a three tiered principal reduction, and a .25% interest reduction with automatic checking/savings payment. Principal reduced by 1% after payments 1-12 received on time, reduced 1% when payments 13-24 received on time, and reduced another 1% when payments 25-36 received on time.

Has anyone done the math on this one or are they willing to tackle it to see how they compare?

Thanks!

Based on my model, the BOA allows you to save around 5k over the THE loan, provided you make ALL of their criteria. But this is a huge risk since
1) its hard to predict how steady your cash flow will be post med school and post residency

2)im not sure if they will let you defer the loan during residency (the site says nothing about deferral, so if you cant defer, you will need to take out a loan just to start making payments on this loan)

but for a 5k difference, as long as you can manage your cashflow it may be worth the risk.

 

[J.opt]

Does anyone know anything about Campus One Loans? Does T.H.E. have a cosigner release option?

 

[Calizona]

Based on my model, the BOA allows you to save around 5k over the THE loan, provided you make ALL of their criteria. But this is a huge risk since
1) its hard to predict how steady your cash flow will be post med school and post residency

2)im not sure if they will let you defer the loan during residency (the site says nothing about deferral, so if you cant defer, you will need to take out a loan just to start making payments on this loan)

but for a 5k difference, as long as you can manage your cashflow it may be worth the risk.

Doesn't BofA also charge a 3% origination fee? I could've sworn seeing this on their website. Do they provide better deals to students who go to a school that sets up a program with BofA?

 

[jbs57]

Hey there,
I'm trying to decide between MedCap or Access Group for my alternative loans. I have borrowed from Access Group in the past for undergrad and for my masters degree. Would I benefit from using Access Group again for med or should I use a different lender?

 

[abbaroodle]

Hey there,
I'm trying to decide between MedCap or Access Group for my alternative loans. I have borrowed from Access Group in the past for undergrad and for my masters degree. Would I benefit from using Access Group again for med or should I use a different lender?

I would go with MedCap. Only because Access Group is part of NeedAccess, and I think any organization which has found a way to charge you to apply for financial aid is evil and should be boycotted whenever possible.

Someone else may have comments about rates\terms\customer service\etc.

Good luck starting med school!

 

[larke28]

has anyone used/are familiar with the "alternative student loan"?

http://www.alternativestudentloan.com/graduate-student-loan.php#therate

 

[flash]

Are most private loans above stafford loans variable rate? I looked at THE and just wondering if this is standard. My understanding is that when you consolidate stafford loans, you go fixed rate, are there similar options for private loans? Are consolidation terms usually 10 years? Any options to push longer, say 20 yrs during or after medical school?

 

[csname]

thanks for the links guys, but do any of these companies give out loans to canadians studying in non-canadian med schools. I know CanHELP thru bank of america (teri loans i believe) is one option. is there any other option. thanks for the help.

 

[subtle1epiphany]

I'm looking for a lender for my alternative loan.
THE looks great, but when I access their site and look for MSUCOM, I only see Wayne State and Univ of Detroit (sometimes UMich), but never either of the MSU schools. I'm planning on calling them tomorrow to see if they can be my lender.
In the meantime I'm wondering how MedLoans compares with THE. I haven't noticed separate MedLoan Alternative Loans, where could I find the Classic versus the Zero? How do I figure out what's best, I have only a rudimentary understanding of finances (which I'm working to rectify), so could someone point me to a site that explains the terms and how they are used? Thank you!