Financial Problems

[jelaeris]

Hey everybody, I have couple of questions about how to financially get along in SGU... I know that we cannot work, so do we need to bring money with us? Cause my biggest problem is I dont have a parent to pay for my school, so i am now trying to save as much as i can to have some money before starting a school...
And also, if u want, can u stay in the school (maybe rent a room) even in summer till u graduate?

[jaywalk81]

you need to bring some cash initially to start you off, after you have received your refund check for your loans and stuff, you can withdraw money from the banks ATM .

and yes you can stay over, but trust me noone wants to unless usually they have a family and the expense of traveling with family is much more , so many family opts to stay in gnd for a lengthy amount of time.

[jelaeris]

so you r saying that I will have enough money to live there a year and then if i want to i can move/stay in the school in summer... But why did u say no one wants to do that? nothing to do? cause i thought maybe we can actually work in summer around school (or maybe research?)

[jaywalk81]

everyone at sgu is basically on loans, so is it doable, of course. will you be living a luxury life, probably not.

and believe me and everyone...you would wanna go home after 1st term or any term

[cavalletti]

so you r saying that I will have enough money to live there a year and then if i want to i can move/stay in the school in summer... But why did u say no one wants to do that? nothing to do? cause i thought maybe we can actually work in summer around school (or maybe research?)

Would probably be cheaper to go home than stay in the dorms for the summer. You could always get an apartment close by, it would be cheaper.

Not possible to get a work permit as a student, don't know about research.

All the best.

[dunsoon]

Most people who go to SGU live off of the loans. Very few have everything paid by their family. You will need to bring probably about $500 with you to get you through the period before you get your first check but after that, you will have a steady "income" from the loans.

If you want to stay year round to save money, I would definitely live off campus. Campus dorms are very expensive and not a good value, in my opinion.

Employment of students is rare other than tutoring. And that doesn't pay very much and depends on your ability to do well in school and have extra time.

Alot of people don't stay year round because they are homesick and don't like the island.

[jelaeris]

Thanks everyone! I am a little relieved...

[NadiaK]

I am trying to find a bank to give me a loan without a co-signer. I am from Toronto. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!:)

[nisser]

I am trying to find a bank to give me a loan without a co-signer. I am from Toronto. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!:)

But why would you want to do that? You have to make monthly interest payments while you're in school so if you can't get someone to co-sign it who will pay the interest payments?

[Scylin]

A lot of us won't be getting loans with a cosigner or have a cosigner who is willing to make our interest payments for us (I know my parents have told me they won't pay for any of my medical school costs). Most loans will allow you to add the interest while you're in school to the principal balance of the loan. You'll only enter repayment/have to start making monthly payments a few months after you graduate from school. Even then you can often defer repayment during residency and either continue to let the interest accrue as a part of the principal, or you'll be allowed to make interest-only repayments. These last options really depend on who you sign for a loan with and the deal you can get.

[thejosh]

Do you know where in Ontario, or Canada for that matter, that you can get a decent sized loan without a co-signer? I've noticed that a couple of the banks here like CIBC and Royal Bank want a co-signed if its for a school outside of Canada....

[EV]

Do you know where in Ontario, or Canada for that matter, that you can get a decent sized loan without a co-signer? I've noticed that a couple of the banks here like CIBC and Royal Bank want a co-signed if its for a school outside of Canada....

Unfortunately no one in Ontario will give you a loan without a cosigner. I just dealt with this issue, and my credit is in the "Very Good" category. The reason given to me was that since I am a student and do not have a job I need a cosigner (even though I do work for my family in the summer and have an income, although pretty minimal).
The only other thing that can help you is if you have assets such as a house in your name, otherwise, you need a cosigner.

[StellarRay]

Curious, since I'm also looking towards going to SGU as well, but the financially it's alot of money. If we do the entire premed (3 yrs) + med school (4 yrs) and basic living expenses and such... how much will school cost? I live in Ontario as well. So I was wondering how much interest it is and how much we'd be paying per month if say the entire thing was loaned?

Also.. are there any other sources for financial help or loans? I think OSAP covers SGU, right? Anything else out there?

[kananaskis_girl]

Being from Ontario, why would you want to do pre-med in Grenada?? It's cheaper to stay at home and then you're not cutting yourself off from the possibility of getting into a Canadian Med school, stay at home and do an undergrad degree, it'll be MUCH better for you in the long run. Sorry, don't know anything about Ontario loans and such, at least your province helps you out a little, I'm from Alberta, nothing at all from them.

[ameyer1211]

a quick question concerning the loans - the amount that we borrow from the bank - the living expense portion of it - is that predetermined by the school, bank, ourselves? and if it is ourselves how do we know how much is needed each month / semester to be able to eat and have extraciricular activities available?

i am new to any of this - especially the loan situation so if any could explain it to me, thatd be great!