Hi! Long time viewer, first time poster here!

I am really thankful for SGU's school of vet med, a chance for those of us missing the elusive 4.0 to still achieve our veterinary dreams!

If all goes according to plan, I am planning on applying for the Aug of 08 session. I'm trying to make sure I have all my plans straight first, though. The biggest hurdle for me is financing my education there! I was fortunate enough not to have to take out any student loans during my undergrad years (thanks mom and dad!!! ) but the 'rents are definitely against me going to Grenada to further my education, so they are DEF not going to give me any financial help. Anyway, I am really ignorant about the whole student loans thing... I did call the financial aid office a few days ago, but the woman I talked to talked SO fast I was feeling a little . I was hoping anyone with any experience dealing with this sort of thing could help me with the basics?

The woman I talked to did mention that typically Ed Invest could get you a loan if your credit score is about 650. I'm assuming she meant FICO score? I recently requested a credit score from Experian which was about 770, however, that is a "Vantage Score" not the FICO. I read elsewhere to convert Vantage --> Fico you multiply by 0.86, so my somewhat equivalent FICO score is about 660. So... I probably won't need a cosigner, right?

Also, how do students make loan payments while in school, on their unsubsidized loans? I imagine by especially the fourth year, that is a LOT of money!

I also read on the SGU website about the Vet mentor program... how many people typically apply for that? It sounds like it would be a great way to save on tuition!

Finally, I'm planning on attending the Chicago open house on Fri April 13... anyone else going to that one?

Sorry this is so long, hopefully there are some other people out there with similar questions to mine that this might help!