Award letter for Jan,07

[Sam84]

Did anyone else get it yet??
So it seems like we wont need to get any private loans since all of them are coming from the fed.?? According to the letter, we should be getting around $23,000 per semester. :confused:

[allstarforever]

i still haven't received anyhting, when did you get urs?

[Rudena97]

I received mine yesterday. Looks like the fed loans should cover everything.

[Locuscoeruleus22]

Yep i got my letter, yesterday. Stafford and Fed GradPlus loans. Which lender is everyone thinking about going through salliemae or mymedinvest?

[Rudena97]

I'm not sure which is best. I guess I should do some research. As of now I am going with Salliemae

[Locuscoeruleus22]

I checked mymedinvest, and they're offering for Fed Grad Plus:
7.9% fixed rate instead of 8.5%
3% of your loan amount subtracted from accrued interest

For Stafford they're offering:
No origination fee (which is usually 1%)
0%-1% default fee depending on the guarantor
3.5% cash rebate on original principle balance.

Salliemae is offering for Stafford:
No origination fee (which is usually 2%)
No default fee (which is usually 1%)
2% rebate based on the original amount of the Stafford loan. The rebate is payable as cash or a loan account credit.

For Fed Grad Plus:
No default fee (1%)
Earn up to 3% in account credits:

A 1% account credit based on the original loan amount after making the first six monthly payments by the due dates as initially scheduled.
An additional 2% account credit after making the first 48 payments by the due dates as initially scheduled.

[Locuscoeruleus22]

Rudena, have you started applying? I did the stafford entrance counseling tonight.

[Rudena97]

Yes, I have applied. The only thing I have left to do is sign the master promissary note. Then I should be all set.

I also applied for a tuition answer loan through sallie mae. It will allow me to receive loan money before the trip to dominica, I should receive it in Nov. I am bringing my husband and 2 children so we needed a little help paying for extra expenses. I was really glad to find out it was available.

[Locuscoeruleus22]

Oh excellent, I never knew there was an option (tuition loan). I'm really trying to decide betw the two lenders, based on my post above. What are your opinions?

[Rudena97]

I guess I am decided on Sallie mae because that is who I have gone through in the past. The stafford and Fed Gradplus loan seem pretty good since they do not charge an origination fee and default fee. Also its great that they offer the rebates. Does mymedinvest offer any? Do you know what the fixed interest rate is for Salliemae??

[Locuscoeruleus22]

Salliemae's rates are 6.8% for Stafford and 8.5% for GradPlus. Medinvest is same for Stafford and 7.9% for GradPlus. Medinvest has no origination fee nor default fee for Stafford, but it seems like they have default fee for GradPlus.

[Rudena97]

Seems like they both have something bad and good about them. Does medinvest offer rebates also? I was speaking with a consolidation company today and was told that when I decide to consolidate I would be able to get a much lower rate. Not sure if that is true. I have heard that the rates rise every year and are now somewhere around 6%.

[Locuscoeruleus22]

Medinvest offers rebates but mostly cash, whereas sallie mae offers account credit. Consolidating is def an option especially for Fed loans. I talked to a Ross grad who consolidate at 2.9% earlier this year.

[Rudena97]

Actually after reading over your research again. It does seem like medinvest has the better deal.

They are offering an overall lower interest rate, 3.5% cash back vs. 2%

The only thing is the default fee, but that depends on the guarantor so you may not even have it and it would be very small reguardless. Also the extra rebate and lower interest are reason enough to go with them. I think I am going to check them out also.

[Rudena97]

Wow, that was a great consolidation rate. I hope we are able to get that when we finish.

[Locuscoeruleus22]

Ditto, they have those special rates from time to time. Since our loans are federal loans, I'd also consider working in a rural or medically underserved area so that the govt pays for some of my loans. If it's possibly, maybe I'd even join the armed forces and have them pay for them, but I'm not so sure if that's an option for IMGs.

[Rudena97]

I agree, I heard of a the government having tuition reimbursment if you work for them. That would be great, I would definatley do it. Not so sure about the armed forces and reimbursement is available to IMG's.

[mnq]

when you filled out the form, what did you put for estimated cost of attendance. I called the financial aid department for that number and they said they would send me the information towards the middle of october. so where did you get that information from.

[Rudena97]

I don't remember what I put exactly, but it was much more than I knew I was going to need. Something like $30,000. From what I understand, its best to ask for much more than you need rather than less. They are only going to give you what you need, no more. But if you ask for less than what you will need you will only get what you ask for. So its best to ask for a high amount.

[rainne symphony]

I haven't received anything yet.... :( I'm a little worried on how I am going to fund my education.

[Rudena97]

Have you applied for the federal stafford loans as well as a Fed GradPlus loan?

You can also apply for a tuition answer loan which can be available to you before you make the trip to Dominica to help with travel and other expenses.

You shouldn't have to worry, there is definatley money out there.

[rainne symphony]

I haven't heard anything from Ross regarding the loans. I just applied for FAFSA and received an email saying that it has been forwarded to Ross.

[cammd]

Have you applied for the federal stafford loans as well as a Fed GradPlus loan?

You can also apply for a tuition answer loan which can be available to you before you make the trip to Dominica to help with travel and other expenses.

You shouldn't have to worry, there is definatley money out there.


Where do you apply for the tuition answer loan? I have gotten something from FAFSA but it only said that things are in the works. Ross said an award letter should be sent in the next 2 weeks.

[allstarforever]

how do you get an award letter??

i filled out fafsa for the 06-07 year is that all i have to do, or do i have to fill out some other forms also??

[Rudena97]

I filled out the fafsa also, but the regular fed stafford loans will not be enough to cover your tuition and living expenses. Therefore, on advice from the financial aid department I also applied for a salliemae Fed gradplus loan, you will need good credit or a credit worthy co-signer. You can go to the sallie mae website to do all of this Sallie Mae - Private Student Loans, Stafford, PLUS, Student Loan Consolidation (http://www.salliemae.com) You can also apply for the tuition answer loan here. This loan can help with paying for extra expenses (travel, shipping, rent etc.) and it can be disbursed to you within 60 days before school starts.

PM me if you need more help or more info. Hope this helps.

[Sam84]

I filled out the fafsa also, but the regular fed stafford loans will not be enough to cover your tuition and living expenses. Therefore, on advice from the financial aid department I also applied for a salliemae Fed gradplus loan, you will need good credit or a credit worthy co-signer. You can go to the sallie mae website to do all of this Sallie Mae - Private Student Loans, Stafford, PLUS, Student Loan Consolidation (http://www.salliemae.com) You can also apply for the tuition answer loan here. This loan can help with paying for extra expenses (travel, shipping, rent etc.) and it can be disbursed to you within 60 days before school starts.

PM me if you need more help or more info. Hope this helps.

I just filed the FAFSA, nothing else! But my award letter shows all of these loans..in total amount of around $23,000 per semester. This is eneough to cover the costs, right? or should I be filing something else??

[txdoc22]

I just filed the FAFSA, nothing else! But my award letter shows all of these loans..in total amount of around $23,000 per semester. This is eneough to cover the costs, right? or should I be filing something else??

So does mine...I would think that would cover it, right? :confused:

[lktm831]

i filled out the fasfa a while ago but haven't heard anything from both fasfa and ross yet.

[Rudena97]

Yes, the $23,000 should cover it, but from my understanding after speaking to Ross Fin Aid, you must specifically apply for a grad plus loan if you need one. You will need to sign Master Promissary Notes for them also. The award letter we received seems to add the grad plus loans to let us know that we will need to apply for them if we have not yet done so because it will be needed to cover cost of attendance. You should call financial aid to make sure you don't need to do anything further. I was told to apply for grad plus with one of the lenders, I chose salliemae.

[Sam84]

Yes, the $23,000 should cover it, but from my understanding after speaking to Ross Fin Aid, you must specifically apply for a grad plus loan if you need one. You will need to sign Master Promissary Notes for them also. The award letter we received seems to add the grad plus loans to let us know that we will need to apply for them if we have not yet done so because it will be needed to cover cost of attendance. You should call financial aid to make sure you don't need to do anything further. I was told to apply for grad plus with one of the lenders, I chose salliemae.

That's following the directions given in the award letter. The second page shows the steps for all that..I thought it was something different that you had filed before..:rolleyes:

[Rudena97]

What I did different was go directly to the salliemae website and apply for the grad plus loan. My credit was checked and then I was told to e-siqn the promissary note.

[godzfav]

Hi everyone. What I do not understand is that according to Ross, the cost of attendance per semester is about $13,000 than how come we are gettnig $22,000 (Well this is what I am getting). Also, it says on Award Letter that the award is valid for spring and summer. Now does spring include jan-apr and summer goes from may-aug. if so what about our winter award. just confused. really appreciate if someone can help out. thx
\So it seems like we wont need to get any private loans since all of them are coming from the fed.?? According to the letter, we should be getting around $23,000 per semester.

[Dru]

You are borrowing money for tuition, school costs, books, and living expenses...not just tuition. If you have a source of income to use for things other than tuition, you can always request a decrease in the amount of your loan and thus have less to pay back later.

[Sam84]

Hi everyone. What I do not understand is that according to Ross, the cost of attendance per semester is about $13,000 than how come we are gettnig $22,000 (Well this is what I am getting). Also, it says on Award Letter that the award is valid for spring and summer. Now does spring include jan-apr and summer goes from may-aug. if so what about our winter award. just confused. really appreciate if someone can help out. thx
\So it seems like we wont need to get any private loans since all of them are coming from the fed.?? According to the letter, we should be getting around $23,000 per semester.

As Dru said, the 23,000 is the total cost. And we should be filing another FAFS after January which I believe will cover the cost for the semester starting in september. One year is from sept.-Aug. Since we are starting late in jan., we only will get two semesters for this year, and then file another fafsa for next year...

[Locuscoeruleus22]

Is it better to go with a lender that's offering a fixed interest rate of 7.9% at disbursement and for the life of the loan or to go with one that's offering fixed 8.25% at disbursement but that can go down to 7% at repayment?

[PiccoloPlaya]

What if you have $80,000 of undergrad debt through SallieMae? Does this limit your ability to borrow that $23,000/sem amount for grad school at Ross?