Best loan option for Canadian students

[medahb]

What is a better or the best loan option for Canadian students? So far the only one I know of is canHELP, but even they are not as good as others offered to American students. Can anyone help me out with this?

Thank you.

[BTH]

Salutations "medahb":

Unfortunately, I'm not Canadian. However, my friends are and they got their loans from Royal Bank. According to them, this is a great bank to get your loans from. Hope that is of some help for you. Ciao.

[HN_MD]

RBC and Scotia give you 150k $CAN and a US credit card (RBC) with a letter of acceptance. More if you bring in a co-signer, you can get more. Don't have to repay til a year after you're done residency.

[HN_MD]

oh and OSAP wil also give you some pocket change, if you're from Ontario

[DrWHO]

Hi medahb,

I just got approved for an RBC Student Line of Credit for $150k Cnd. The interest rate was prime + 1 and I opened a US chequing account as suggested by several others on the forum. I ran a quick search and here is some more info, hope it helps:

http://www.valuemd.com/thread40738-b...canadians.html

[medahb]

DrWHO
Thanks for the reply.
Can the payments for the RBC line of credit deferred until the completion of MD ?
How long did it take the bank to process your application?
How is this better than taking canHELP ?

thank you for your help.

[DrWHO]

Hi medahb,

As this is a student line of credit, the minimum payments required are the interest on what you have borrowed. You can defer the payment of the principal amount till after you complete your MD (and even till your residency).

I looked at the CanHELP option but opted not to apply to it for several reasons:

1. With CanHELP, you will be borrowing US funds and the interest rate will be US prime + 1.5% (for undergraduate) or US prime + 1% (for graduate students). (US prime rate posted by Bank of America as of Sep 2005 was 6.5%)
2. You have to reapply every year for a loan amount.
3. Also, with CanHELP, they say there is no fee to apply but a guarantee fee is charged (ranges between 6 - 9.5% depending on the type of applicant and if a co-signer signs or not)

* all this said, the advantage of CanHELP is that you borrow $150k US and you can defer the entire payments till after you graduate.

I read up the advice posted by Canadian forum members and felt more comfortable with the RBC route for several reasons:

1. I'm borrowing Canadian funds at an interest rate of prime + 1% (4.5+1 = 5.5% right now)
2. I don't have to reapply every year.
3. There is no fee charged as a guarantee fee.
4. I can bank across Canada, US and the Caribbean

* the disadvantage that I can think of is that I have to make the minimum interest payments and that a co-signer was required as the school in not in North America.

With RBC, my banking fees are waived. Plus with online banking, I can transfer funds to my account quickly whenever I need.

The application process with RBC was very smooth; I gave my application over the phone (have your co-signer with you). SABA is registered on the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada website of approved schools to which RBC can grant loans. When the credit specialist searches for the school, tell them to look under Netherland-Antilles.

Both CanHELP and RBC provide viable options to finance your education, you just have to assess which suits your circumstances better.

I hope this info helps. All the best!

[medahb]

Thank you very much. This does help in my decision making process.

[newfound]

Hi just to add a little more info to the discussion. I got a RBC line of credit for $150,000 at an interest rate of prime (%4.5). Also, the process was very easy, I applied one day and the next day I had it. And as mentioned earlier, I have assess to my accounts via the web and can transfer funds over the web. Also, I didn't need anyone to co-sign for me. Hope this helps.

Newfound

[gianefiasco]

to all those who got the RBC 150K. did you also apply for osap?