CONFUSED WITH COST AND PAYMENT.........

[viancca2000]

I recently received my packet, and I saw that AUC does trimesters. That means that school will cost $9,000 x 3 = $27,000. :? Now correct me if I'm wrong, with Stafford Max loans $18,500, and Private loans of $27,855, I will have about $46,355, and that's not taking out the originating fees of the loans. If I deduct tuition from loans (rounded), I get $46,000-$27,000= $19,000. Take away around $1,000 for rent, and house expenses for twelve month (A year lease agreement with landlord)=$7,000 left over for any other expense for the entire year; books, food, school supplies, health insurance ($390/semester=$1170 for the year), travel, etc....

So as you all can see, I have a problem. I now find myself a bit cofused on how the school uses the loans, do they charge you every semester, or take the tuition for the three semesters at once......how does it all work. Do you get a check at the begining of every semester, or at the beginning of the year? What amount is the check for?, etc......

I will appreciate any help, and knowledge on the subject. Thanks in advance :D

[Kirst]

I'm a Canadian prospect so haven't looked into Stafford loans at all... but isn't one academic year = 8 months = 2 trimesters instead of 3? If this is where you're misled, then your calculations will look a lot better.

[jj66]

Hello,

I was really, really, confused about how loans work and was wondering how I was going to pay for my education as well. I talked to financial aid at MEIO (got through to them both times trying only once over the phone) and I think I spoke to Greg. He was very helpful and explained to me very thoroughly the entire process. I was shocked at how nice and pleasant he was because I can only imagine how many phone calls a day he receives from CONFUSED individuals asking the same questions.

If you are an American and fit the criteria, (please refer to the fafsa website), you are elgible for federal Stafford loans. The annual maximum that one can receive is 18,500 (ie. for two semesters only). Most people get the entire amount and once you apply online at fafsa, you will be given instructions outlining what happens next. AUC will receive the 18,500 and will cut out the tuition for that semester. Because you sent a 1000 deposit, you should have 8000 taken off leaving you with 10500. I think you get a little less due to processing/dispersal fees so when you arrive in September, AUC will have a check ready for you in the amount of 10000 approximately. I think that it will be available within a week but maybe even the first day. Now with that 10000, you are supposed to make it last you until the end of next semester (end of april). Of course most people are going to use it to live for the current semester and will be broke come January. This is where private loans kick in because remember the Stafford max is 18500 and is for 2 semesters, so you can't get anymore money from the government.

You can go through a couple different private institutions, by the way, I am going through the Key Bank and will be receiving MedAchiever loans. Depending on the institution, you can borrow any amount you like that the school oks for that semester. VIANCCA, I am a bit confused about where you got that 27 grand per year from a private loan figure from because there is no max with MedAchiever loans but you are probably dealing with another lending institution, right? AUC allows a maximum of 22 grand roughly per semester as a budget so if you want, you can even get about 4 thousand more for the first semester from a private loan, but remember interest is accruing from the time the school receives the funds so that will cost you in the long run. Now for semester two, lets say you request 20000, that should cover your living, tuition, and books, right? Again the lending institution will give the funds to AUC, and they will minus nine thousand for tuition and cut you out a overbalance check like before. NOw, for the start of Semester three, you are again elgible for Stafford loans because two semesters have passed. You get 18500 again and the same thing happens again. This cycle of alternating federal, private, federal, private, loans continues until you have used up the max the government can give you which I think is around 150000. I hope I got it right and this all makes sense. Please, don't rely on anything that I have written because I could be wrong, but I doubt it. jj Research everything that I have written and please correct me if I am wrong in any way. I hope this clears up the some of your confusion. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!

sincerely,

jj

[tRmedic21]

Sallie Mae is capped at $26,355, Not $27,8something as I have seen on here several times lately. I don't know where that figure came from, but I would be interested to know, as I was told in the registrar's office this week that it is still $26,355. If you are taking out Sallie Mae, MedAchiever, etc., you will still be capped at whatever the school will allow you to borrow. They say how much these companies can lend you. That is why we had to fight to get a Sallie Mae increase the last two semesters, because people with families were having a tough time of it, but the MEIO folks didn't believe we needed things like cars or luxury items. They actually said this to many students while they were here, for a week, staying in a luxury hotel, with their rental cars. :roll:

You will alternate federal and private loans every semester until you are done at AUC (assuming you have no help from other sources). You can deduct 3-6% of the loan off the top as an origination fee.

As far as when you get your money, that is the only thing in the above post I have to take exception to. As I stated in a previous post, they may have your check ready to sign the day school starts, but remember that you probably won't GET that money until 10 days later. You have to sign over your federal Stafford checks to the school, then they hold your money for 10 days and cut you a check for the balance. You can get a local check and drive down to Front Street to the one Barclay's branch on the island and fight the crowd to make it there by 3PM, then get cash in hand (something I highly recommend you AVOID), or FedEx it back to you account in the States for $32 and have it in your own bank, safe and sound in 24-48 hours.

Just DON'T count on getting your money at ALL less than 10 days after you sign your check over to the school. And if the 10th day is on a weekend, well, you guessed it, you are waiting until Monday.

This is something that AUC doesn't adequately prepare students for. They do say it, but not very loudly, and not very clearly. You will NOT have your cash until 2 weeks into the semester. Just a heads'-up.

[PaulN]

***** the Sallie Mae I just received was for the amount of 27,855 and was certified.

****

[AUCMD2006]

if you file all of your paperwork on time the school will have two checks for you when you get here. i don't remember the exact amounts but one of them for about $9,700 that i sent home and the other was for the balance of the loan. after tuition i got about $1,200 back so there are basically two scenarios:

1-keep your US account and mail it back. you overnight one of your checks to the states it will clear in two to five days depending on banks o you will have access via bank card in about a week. ten days after you sign your other check to pay for tuition you will get a local check for the balance that you can go cash. again it was about $1,200.

2-you get a local account. you can deposit your $9,700 in a local account which then takes about 30 days to clear. then with the other loan check you wait ten days and either deposit the local check which takes another week to clear or just cash it and deposit cash.


very simple have a bout $500 in extra cash when you come and a credit card if there is some hold up with your money. the school is very good with loans, thus far, the only people who had to wait for money that i know of where pople who got just filed the paperwork late. i don't have an account here so i can't comment on it i keep a US account. taking money out has never been a problem for me they charge $1.00 just like back home. someone told me though that one of the local banks charges you a percentage everytime you take out money not a standard fee so if you plan on getting one here that would be good to ask. i pay evrything online since the mail takes five weeks to get home.... any other concerns? it's not bad here at all, i thought it'd be more rustic but anyone who has been to the Florida keys will feel right at home here.

[tRmedic21]

***** the Sallie Mae I just received was for the amount of 27,855 and was certified.

****

That's great! Thanks for the heads'-up ****! Apparently, the girl in the registrar's office I was talking to didn't know that the amount had been raised. That is good news for me!

Later!

[viancca2000]

I have to agree that Greg from Financial Aid is very helpful, he was the one who gave me the figure of $27,855. If it wasn't that his office is closed on the weekend, I would have called him about my confusion with the whole ordeal.

In any case, what happens in the summer trimester? If they take the tuition out of the Stafford loans, then we have to use our private loans for the spring, and summer semester. Since Stafford loans are $18,500 for the year. With three semesters,Sept-Dec 03 (stafford), Jan-April 04 (private loan), May-Aug (stafford) , where do we get that money for that semester since we already used the stafford $18,500 for the year?

Thanks all for explaining the whole cost and payment of school, but I am still confused how we pay for the trimester? If we have three semesters, one year we will need to use double our private loans, and double the stafford, but from where do we get this money?

Thanks to all again, and tell me what you guys think of the above questions :D "If only life was so simple"

[tRmedic21]

All you need to know is that one semester is Stafford, and the next is Sallie Mae. Then the process repeats itself. The maximum yearly borrowable amount resets every 2 semesters, not every calendar year. This is information that was rebutted by several advisors in the financial aid dept at my undergrad university who told me that Stafford loan limits were per calendar year and NOT per academic year.... they were wrong. I actually managed two Stafford semesters in a row, due to some special circumstances.

Don't worry, you can alternate Stafford and Sallie Mae every semester, and it won't be a problem. People have been doing it here for years. It works. :)

[minotauro]

Just got my packet Saturday. I intend to do the online stuff with FAFSA and SallieMae today. Will this be early enough for the checks to be at AUC when school starts? Thanks for any info!

[lostintheworld]

Can someone just tell me how much money you have to live on for the year after staffords and sallie mae etc have been applied and all tuition and fees have been paid. Just wondering how much ***** you end up eating :roll:

[microphage]

Can someone just tell me how much money you have to live on for the year after staffords and sallie mae etc have been applied and all tuition and fees have been paid. Just wondering how much ***** you end up eating :roll:

Yeah, you can also put in the # of McDonalds too. i.e. if you have 2000 dollars left, then you eat 2000 quarter pounders! simple math! :D

[anencephalic]

From what I understand, after this semester's tuition is taken out by AUC, we have about $3,500 a month to live off of. This needs to cover room, board, and all other expenses (books, insurance, transportation, etc...)
:?
Aloha,

[Silenthunder]

Hey all,

Are there any Canadians using Canadian lending institutions (Royal Bank, BMO, CIBC, TD-Canada Trust......) I was wondering if these are options or not.....

and since someone brought up *****: how much does this stuff cost down there?

Cheers,

Silenthunder

[tRmedic21]

Well, let's see, during Stafford semesters you will have about $9,000 lefct after tuition, and Sallie Mae semesters you will have $18,000. Most people take out an advance on their Sallie Mae to even out that difference.

Ok, if you do traditional 1st sem Stafford loans, alternating with Sallie Mae, and finish in 5 here on the island, your loans as it stands right now would total....$111,210. You will lose around 5% off the top in origination fees (more or less depending on co-borrowers, etc., just saying an avg of 5%), after paying tuition (as it stands right now) of $45,500 for those 5 sems, you would be left with $60,149. This is for 20 months of living, including all expenses. So you can say around $3k/month in actual useable income. From this you will need to buy a car, pay deposits, eat, buy books and notes, buy insurance, etc.

It CAN be done fairly easily by a single student. Those with families may have more trouble, but it is still definately doable. I know a family of 5 who is making it on single loans. Keep in mind, with kids, you will need to pay tuition for their school as well. That's not my area, so I'll leave it up to others to discuss. All family members will need off-island tickets and insurance at all times. There are lots of miscellaneous costs, so don't think to yourself, "Hey, $3k a month?!?!?! I can live it up on that!" I don't know many people who do that, and those who do that alot end up leaving after one or two sems because they got themselves in trouble with school.

Those are my numbers, take 'em or leave 'em. :)

[microphage]

I got pre-approved over the phone for the full amount of $47000/year through sallie mae without a co-signer(My credit sucks though). Interest is at 4.25 percent something with a 1.25 percent whatchamacallit. Does anybody think there was a mix up? I'm not very good with banking issues. I still haven't received my status on the Stafford loans yet.... :(

(47k, that's a Porsche Boxster each year!)

[viancca2000]

where did you get the amount of $47,000/year. I was told that we could only borrow, what the school tells us, and no more. According to Greg, the amount is $27,855.

In any case, I think Sallie Mae has a good deal, specially the 0% disbursement fee, and only 3% fee upon re-payment. As for the interest rate, it's good, also remember that you can always consolidate the loan for a lower interest rate later. :D Another good thing about student loan interest rate, is that it is tax deductable. :lol:

[microphage]

I told the lady how much AUC budgeted for the first term and the 2nd term which would equal the costs for the first year(~47k). I "forgot" to tell her that there was Stafford loans we could take out. My bad.

[SSRN]

Hi...I am also a Canadian, and I'm in the process of getting a student line of credit through BMO. I spoke w/ the bank manager and she told me that as a student it's better to get a line of credit instead of a loan, because you only pay interest on the money you use...it's like a credit card for $25000 per year, to a total of $125 000. I can't exactly remember the interest rate, but it's really low. I looked into TD as well, and they only offer $16000/yr; and Scotia Bank gives $6000, so BMO was the obvious choice! BMO offers this student line of credit for medical students. As a Canadian you can also apply for CanHelp.
Good luck....
:-happy