Saba, is it really cheaper?

[Locuscoeruleus22]

How's Saba cheaper than Ross? Saba is around 155k but only has private loans with variable interest rates. Ross is around 220K but has Stafford subsized loans where one can borrow up to $42,500 no interest while in school&residency 6.8% there after, up to $50k unsubsized at 6.8% begining the moment you sign the note. The rest can be borrowed at 8.25% fixed interest rate. All figures are for total cost of med school (10 semesters). For those current students who know, what are the interest rates on Teri and Student Loan Xpress loans?

[rdecastro]

How's Saba cheaper than Ross? Saba is around 155k but only has private loans with variable interest rates. Ross is around 220K but has Stafford subsized loans where one can borrow up to $42,500 no interest while in school&residency 6.8% there after, up to $50k unsubsized at 6.8% begining the moment you sign the note. The rest can be borrowed at 8.25% fixed interest rate. All figures are for total cost of med school (10 semesters). For those current students who know, what are the interest rates on Teri and Student Loan Xpress loans?

Because the $155K for Saba tends to include living expenses. I spend around $15K a semester TOTAL, including tuition, fees, books, rent, phone/internet, car insurance, maintenance, gas

http://www.valuemd.com/458614-post5.html

[Locuscoeruleus22]

What are the interests rates? I listed the ones for Ross, what the ones for TERI and Student Loan Xpress? It's decision time...

[rdecastro]

What are the interests rates? I listed the ones for Ross, what the ones for TERI and Student Loan Xpress? It's decision time...

The Teri and Student Loan Xpress rates are the same everywhere.

I don't have a loan, however. I'm paying out of pocket.

[Locuscoeruleus22]

So what are the rates?

[KingMo]

It might depend on your credit and whether you have a co-signer, does it not? Anyway, I used Sallie Mae and they said it depends on the aformentioned.

[Locuscoeruleus22]

US citizen with excellent credit + US citizen co-signer, so how much? A range? 3%-8% or higher?With TERI Bank America I read it's the interest rate you get based on credit + 2.5% (during in-school&deferment period) and there's also the 6% origination fee upon disbursement (is this one time or you pay it everytime they give you money for the semester?). So, all that sounds like alot of interest that's why I question whether is cheaper in the end. Thanx.

[KingMo]

Sallie Mae Signature Student Loan...here's what mine says:

https://opennet.salliemae.com/SLMASharedWeb/Images/spacer.gif

Interest Rates and Feeshttps://opennet.salliemae.com/SLMASharedWeb/Images/spacer.gifhttps://opennet.salliemae.com/SLMASharedWeb/Images/spacer.gifhttps://opennet.salliemae.com/SLMASharedWeb/Images/spacer.gifhttps://opennet.salliemae.com/SLMASharedWeb/Images/spacer.gifhttps://opennet.salliemae.com/SLMASharedWeb/Images/spacer.gifhttps://opennet.salliemae.com/SLMASharedWeb/Images/spacer.gifhttps://opennet.salliemae.com/SLMASharedWeb/Images/spacer.gifhttps://opennet.salliemae.com/SLMASharedWeb/Images/spacer.gifInterest rates and fees are based on the loan amount's first disbursement date and are subject to change monthly.

Interest Rate: (https://opennet.salliemae.com/QUERY/Default.ashx?TS=8%2f17%2f2006+4%3a26%3a34+AM#)http s://opennet.salliemae.com/SLMASharedWeb/Images/spacer.gif 9.75%

The interest rate is variable and may change monthly. The rates and fees are based upon the date of first disbursement. (Prime + 1.50%) The current monthly prime interest rate is 8.250%.

Fee at Disbursement: 3.00%
Fee at Repayment: 3.00%

We will send a Truth In Lending Disclosure Statement to you, which will contain complete financial information about your loan, including repayment interest rate and annual percentage rate (APR). Your promissory note also contains information about interest rates and fees.

You may be able to save money by applying with a cosigner.

I guess I don't really care what the interest rate is...it's all nickels and dimes in the end (or in our case...a grand here, a grand there).

[Locuscoeruleus22]

Thank you very much KingMo. Interest rates are very important. 9.25% is pretty high, plus u figure those 3% for each semester loan plus 3% when you repay. I was looking at the loans from Student Loan Xpress, and I calculated based on borrowing 150k at 7.78% (no fees) and paying it back in 10 years at after med school it will cost 284k! See interest rates are VERY important....

[knowwhen]

You are right- interest rates are very important. When I applied for my TERI loan last April they were offering a slightly better deal. Not sure if they will go back to that at some point in the future or not.
I got prime rate plus 0.5% with no loan origination fees. The biggest downside is that it is a variable rate.
That being said, I did not base my choice of schools only on total cost- it is impossible to say what interest rates might do in the future. I chose Saba based on other things like class size, the impression I had of the students that go to school there, my visit to the islands etc!

[sabaspouse2006]

I totally agree with Knowwhen regarding school choice. As well, it may not take you 10 years to pay back the loans on a doctor's income. A shorter term would certainly reduce the total cost.

R/

[Locuscoeruleus22]

While in residency you don't make that much, usually between 40-50k, so it might be hard to make big payments then. I guess you can start paying the interest. Then there are those of us who want to do a fellowship of some sort, which will take another 2 to 3 years getting paid 50-60k, again one can continue paying the interest. I think everyone gets what I'm trying to say when I estimate 10years after medical school. Yeah docs make decent money after they're all done averaging 120-150k.

[KingMo]

You can usually defer loans if you're in a residency/fellowship?

[Locuscoeruleus22]

You can defer as long as you want. But what I'm saying is that private loans have interest rates that are variable and high! The longer you defer the more you'll pay! Read my previous posts! Ross is 70k more but it offers all federal loans which have fixed interest rates to begin with and can be consolidated at low interest rate. I have recently spoken to a ross grad who consolidated his fed loand at 2.9%!

[Locuscoeruleus22]

I'm getting the feeling that even if the student has great credit and has a co-signer with great credit, SABA is more expensive because of the interest rates being high and variable. That was my point in starting this thread.

[pedsurgery]

This is a good post. I am trying to figure out the same thing. I initially thought SABA was cheaper, but when I found out you don't get federal loans, I think it will cost the same as the other schools at the end.

Are there any recent graduates or students who can confirm this?

[rdecastro]

When you have to borrow (privately) nearly as much for living expenses as Saba costs total, you aren't saving much on having Stafford loans also.

Do the math, prove me wrong. Don't forget that Stafford loans max at $138K total (including undergrad)

[bhs2a]

Very good point rdecastro.

[Locuscoeruleus22]

All federal loans have fixed rates and will not exceed 8.25%. Besides Stafford loans which yes do max out at 138k, there also Fed Grad Plus loans which is also a federal loan with fixed interest rate. Once you max out your Stafford loans, you can borrow the rest through Fed Grad Plus and you can borrow up to the cost of education. Since all of these loans are Fed loans, they may be consolidated at low interest rate (2.9% as in the case of Ross grad I spoke with).

[rdecastro]

Saba is a listed school for gradplus loans. Ross, interestingly, is not:

https://opennet.salliemae.com/Security/Default.ashx?TS=8%2f22%2f2006+9%3a46%3a18+AM

But, go wherever you want.

[golfman]

Rd

I can't find Saba on the list of schools for the grad plus loan. Where are you finding that at. When i look at the list for schools outside the US i do not see Saba listed. Please help.

Thanks

[KingMo]

I think you might be looking for something called the Signature Student Loan Plus.

Global Health Education Loan Program (GHELP) (http://www.salliemae.com/get_student_loan/find_student_loan/grad/med_school_loans/ghelp/)

That's what I used anyway.

[Locuscoeruleus22]

No, it is NOT signature loans because signature loans ARE PRIVATE LOANS, NOT FEDERAL LOANS! This is the link to the Federal Loan I'm referring to:

Sallie Mae Graduate PLUS Loan (http://www.salliemae.com/get_student_loan/find_student_loan/grad/grad_student_loans/grad_plus/)

Here's the link to signature loans:

Signature Student loans for graduate students (http://www.salliemae.com/get_student_loan/find_student_loan/grad/grad_student_loans/signature/)

As one will see they are 2 DIFFERENT LOANS! The top being FEDERAL as it say on its name, and the other is PRIVATE!

[KingMo]

Saba's not listed on the federal Grad Plus loan though...how does that help us?

[Locuscoeruleus22]

This thread is intended to those students who have been accepted to Ross and Saba and are struggling with a decision like like yours truly. So many people use Saba's cost as one of the reasons to go there. But after some research, I was questioning whether of not that's a fact. Perhaps in the past Saba was in fact cheaper. I looked at both schools back in '04 and at that time, Saba was def cheaper because Ross was still more expensive than Saba and they only had Stafford loans and the student had to finance the rest through private loans just like at Saba. Now, with California's approval Saba's tuition did go up and the school still only has private loans.

[cabrillo]

This thread is intended to those students who have been accepted to Ross and Saba and are struggling with a decision like like yours truly. So many people use Saba's cost as one of the reasons to go there. But after some research, I was questioning whether of not that's a fact. Perhaps in the past Saba was in fact cheaper. I looked at both schools back in '04 and at that time, Saba was def cheaper because Ross was still more expensive than Saba and they only had Stafford loans and the student had to finance the rest through private loans just like at Saba. Now, with California's approval Saba's tuition did go up and the school still only has private loans.

excellent info locus:D

[rdecastro]

This thread is intended to those students who have been accepted to Ross and Saba and are struggling with a decision like like yours truly. So many people use Saba's cost as one of the reasons to go there. But after some research, I was questioning whether of not that's a fact. Perhaps in the past Saba was in fact cheaper. I looked at both schools back in '04 and at that time, Saba was def cheaper because Ross was still more expensive than Saba and they only had Stafford loans and the student had to finance the rest through private loans just like at Saba. Now, with California's approval Saba's tuition did go up and the school still only has private loans.

Sabas tuition has not increased appreciably in the recent past (since CA approval).

And, absent some hard numbers, you haven't proven anything about the relative costs. Total cost for attending Saba (including living expenses) is $150K more or less, what are the living expenses at Ross?

And, when you build a spreadsheet showing the total cost of loans (for the 4 years) plus the variable interest rates (with payback commencing after Residency) then we'll know.

I don't have enough interest to actually calculate it. But, wild suppositions about this loan vs. that loan aren't facts or data. And considering that while one of the loans available at Ross is at a lower interest rate than at Saba, the others are not, and the total amount borrowed is an important factor in the amount owed.

[Boulderunner]

If I understand correctly when attending Saba you wont owe the full 150,000 until your last semester in clinicals. Your first semester you only owe 15,000, so the interest wont be so substancial until your 4th and 5th year. Also the tuition alone at Ross is 134,260$, Compared to the 80,000$ of Saba. Thats 55,000$ difference. Not all the money required to attend Ross can be covered with government subsidized loans. And someone just told me that the grad plus loan is at 8%, and this is what a substancial amount of students use at Ross to cover a large amount of the tuition. 8% is in the same range as what Saba students get on the private loans. So for me even looking at hypotheticals I just cant see Saba coming out as expensive as Ross. Add to that what people I know who attended Ross said about the island and the school and Im happy with my decision to attend Saba. Besides i cant get those commercials for the Devry institute of trucking out of my head.

[Locuscoeruleus22]

Ross' cost of attendance is roughly 70k more than Saba. With that said, Ross has ONLY federal loans. The first is the subsidized Stafford loans, which one does not have to begin paying any interest until they are completely finished with school, residency, fellowship, or whatever and the interest rate is FIXED 6.8%. The other type is the unsubsized Stafford loan which has also has a FIXED interest rate of 6.8% but you begin paying interest as soon as you take out the loan.

Federal Stafford loans for graduate students (http://www.salliemae.com/get_student_loan/find_student_loan/grad/grad_student_loans/stafford/)

These loans have a maximum of 138K which does include those from undergrad, so if you have alot of these from undergrad, then you need to keep that in mind. BUT the great thing about these loans is the fact that you can consolidate them at a very low interest rate, for example, I consolidate my loan from undergrad at a lifetime interest rate of 2.65%. I spoke with a recent ROSS grad who consolidated his med school ones at a lifetime rate of 2.9%.

The other type of federal loan is the Fed Graduate Plus Loan, which is found at the link below. One can use this loan to supplement the Stafford loans.
" The Graduate PLUS interest rate is fixed at 8.5%. Some lenders who work with Sallie Mae offer interest rate reductions that may reduce the interest rate to as low as 6.75%."

Sallie Mae Graduate PLUS Loan (http://www.salliemae.com/get_student_loan/find_student_loan/grad/grad_student_loans/grad_plus/)


Finally, since all of these three loans are federal loans, their FIXED interest rates will NEVER exceed 8.25%, and you have the option of consolidating ALL of them at a really low interest rate. For me that is the most attractive part about these loans.

As a business savy person, I'm telling you that the ROSS will be cheaper in the end because of 1) the interest rates are FIXED, which makes a huge difference. I spoke with financial aid at the Gardner office and I was told that the interest rates can go above 10% sometimes. That's alot to pay on interest. 2) being able to consolidate at rates betw 2 and 3% is great :-)
Taken both of these things in consideration, I actually have sat down and calculated and saw that ROSS will be cheaper in the long run.

Again, I would like to reiterate the fact that the purpose of this thread is to give students trying to decide between SABA or ROSS something to think about. Also, on a side note, I have read numerous times people complaining about the island where ROSS is located, class size, and the curriculum, and obviously the cost (but I hope what I just finished explaining makes at least some sense). In terms of island, class size and curriculum, I feel that if you can't handle living in those conditions for 16 months, then obviously the school is not for you. But I'll say this, ROSS has a few thousand graduates plus all the students going throught the program now, so obviously it can't be that bad. I do understand if you never left the US, you'll definately have a tough time adjusting...believe it or not, there's life beyond US borders :-) As far as class size is concerned, it depends on you learning style. But again please remember that the profs will be readily available since all of you will be on an island with not much to do. Plus the school has great technology that facilitates learning. Finally, the curriculum I've heard is great! The school doesn't fail people, people's poor studying skills fail people...that's the bottom line! If I'm going to pay that much money, you bet I will want to get the best education possible, which in my opinion is evident in the difficulty of the curriculum.

[teratos]

Saba is cheaper because the students can't borrow as much. As a rule, school can only charge as much as its students can borrow.



Sorry if someone already posted this, I only scanned the thread. G

[sabaspouse2006]

"As a business savy person" maybe you can lay out the actual numbers for us?

R/

[Boulderunner]

You keep mentioning consolidating at 2.9%, but as I understand it those low interest rates are a thing of the past. Lowest I ve seen is around 5%, for consolidating. Also when you computed the 284k cost for saba that assumes that over the ten years that you pay it back your paying interest on the principle 150k which is not the case. I agree as a business Savy person show us in hard numbers that Ross is cheaper.

[sabaspouse2006]

I also wondered Locuscoeruleus22,why you have posted on both Saba and Ross that you are coming for January 2007?

R/

[Locuscoeruleus22]

I also wondered Locuscoeruleus22,why you have posted on both Saba and Ross that you are coming for January 2007?

R/

? Am I? I am deciding...are you at SABA? Is your significant other there?

[sabaspouse2006]

? Am I? I am deciding...are you at SABA? Is your significant other there?

Yes, our family has been on Saba since the end of December. My husband is entering third semester. We are quite happy here.

R/

[Strength&Honor]

"As a business savy person" maybe you can lay out the actual numbers for us?

R/
Nice work, Sabaspouse.

Locus, you have certainly been owned. Claimed you crunched the numbers, but failed to post any? For some reason I think you'll soon be used to getting your *** handed to you. Start enjoying that feeling.

[stephew]

strength and anger, not insults/flaming allowed. Everyone else, the same fate shall befall those who can't play nice.

[IntlMed]

It is sad to see this forum going away from the original intent. The original point is a good one: Is SABA really cheaper than Ross or any other carib school, bearing in mind that the school is not eligible for Federal loans?

I think the answer is very important, as a lot of students (including myself) who are not in the 'traditional' age, would like to see how things shape up financially after the MD.

I know we have a few hundred members here on VMD, but unfortunately, no one has ventured to crunch some numbers and put them here for our benefit. I would do it.. if I was savvy in Accounting stuff.. but I am a no no when it comes to financial calculations.. So.. rather than say stuff and curse each other out here, would my dear VMD members take some time out to do things that matter to us all at the end of the day?

Please.. someone take the intiative to put a spreadsheet out there with a quick comparison on SABA and ROSS or AUC (SGU is no where near any of this stuff). You could use reasonable numbers for the interest rates and such.

This is my 0.2 .. but I am sure there will be other cents as well..

Keep posting in great spirit :)

International.

[rdecastro]

I can crunch the numbers (I have an MBA) but lack the motivation to do so...I'm on vacation, after all, and school starts in 5 days. And, I haven't got a clue what the living costs on Dominica are.

However, as I have posted before, and nobody has been able to refute with actual data, the costs incurred by Ross students (including living expenses) are so far greater than those borne by Saba students.

"business savy" protestations or not, the actual, lower cost is more important than marginal differences in interest rates. Especially when they're variable and almost certainly to rise (for both Stafford and private loans).

And as I challenged last week, as soon as someone will do the research and show that I'm wrong, I'll quit saying that Saba is cheaper.

[wolfvgang22]

I wasted five minutes reading this thread...and now I'm realizing that I probably just wasted five minutes of someone elses time by posting myself and bumping this up....
I agree with Dr. buzz lightyear and rdecastro. :D

Saba charges less at the outset...~$150,000 is the total cost, less than Ross or AUC or St. Georges. Interest is typically about 8.25 percent on TERI. Check out the iefc.com website, the rates are listed for easy viewing there. I haven't seen any 9.25% or higher interest rates on my loans. And yes, from what I've seen I agree the 2.9% consolidation opportunities are gone, I have also seen 5% offers though.
Stafford rates may be marginally lower than TERI, but it doesn't matter much when a school that offers stafford federal loans has tuition so high that it eats up all the federal loan money you can get on loan, and then you have to get another private loan to cover living expenses.
I figured out that with having a large family, having several undergrad and grad degrees already, and attending Saba, I will personally still owe much less than $284K that I think somebody mentioned.
Ok, preseason football is on...that is more interesting than this thread...bye! :lol:

[medschool22]

Some info about consolidating loans:
FinAid | Loans | Student Loan Consolidation (http://www.finaid.org/loans/consolidation.phtml)

and Saba is definitely cheaper.

(I applied for the health express loan, without a co-signer, and got a 8.1% interest rate)

[rokshana]

Some info about consolidating loans:
FinAid | Loans | Student Loan Consolidation (http://www.finaid.org/loans/consolidation.phtml)

and Saba is definitely cheaper.

(I applied for the health express loan, without a co-signer, and got a 8.1% interest rate)

i thought only federal loans could be consolidated? does saba get federal loans now?

[jameslynton]

i thought only federal loans could be consolidated? does saba get federal loans now?You can consolidate any set of loans if someone lends you the money to do so. Realize that a whole set of lenders are out there to "many one easy" payment. They may depending on your credit rating jack up the interest rate. See the Wall Street Journal yesterday 3/14/07 for a front page article on this...

[gianefiasco]

FOOD is a cost that must be considered.

I mean I dont eat at caf or pay for meals EVER anymore and im still spending small fortune on groceries. Everythign costs pretty much the same if not a little more then back home in the grocery store.

[rdecastro]

Yeah, food costs have increased a LOT in the last 8 months or so, probably due to the increase in fuel costs. Of course, the prices people charge to get stuff to Saba didn't go down when the fuel prices did.....

I'd estimate that food has gone up 50% or so. When I got here, a case of Island Purified water was around $5, and now it's $8. Not too bad for the water, but a large increase percentage-wise.

Of course, those same transportation factors apply to ALL the carib schools. At least we don't have to pay duties on anything here.