Originally Posted by turn_and_burn

Hi! Long time viewer, first time poster here!

I am really thankful for SGU's school of vet med, a chance for those of us missing the elusive 4.0 to still achieve our veterinary dreams!

If all goes according to plan, I am planning on applying for the Aug of 08 session. I'm trying to make sure I have all my plans straight first, though. The biggest hurdle for me is financing my education there! I was fortunate enough not to have to take out any student loans during my undergrad years (thanks mom and dad!!! ) but the 'rents are definitely against me going to Grenada to further my education, so they are DEF not going to give me any financial help. Anyway, I am really ignorant about the whole student loans thing... I did call the financial aid office a few days ago, but the woman I talked to talked SO fast I was feeling a little . I was hoping anyone with any experience dealing with this sort of thing could help me with the basics?

The woman I talked to did mention that typically Ed Invest could get you a loan if your credit score is about 650. I'm assuming she meant FICO score? I recently requested a credit score from Experian which was about 770, however, that is a "Vantage Score" not the FICO. I read elsewhere to convert Vantage --> Fico you multiply by 0.86, so my somewhat equivalent FICO score is about 660. So... I probably won't need a cosigner, right?

If you're score is a 650+ you won't need a co-signer. Tuition currently is a little over $11,000 per semester so about $22,000 per academic yr. Add more for housing, transportation, food, books, etc. and the total comes out to be much more (I don't know the total as I just took out loans for tuition only). You will have enough loan money from fed loans + private ed invest type loans.

Also, how do students make loan payments while in school, on their unsubsidized loans? I imagine by especially the fourth year, that is a LOT of money!

You will NOT be making any loan payments during vet school as you simply fill a deferment letter that SGU signs. You only need this form if you have undergrad/grad loans. If vet school loans will be your only loans, then you won't need to fill any extra info out as SGU will automatically declare you as an enrolled full time vet student. So don't worry about paying anything back until you graduate.

I also read on the SGU website about the Vet mentor program... how many people typically apply for that? It sounds like it would be a great way to save on tuition!

I think the program is relatively easy to get and you just need a vet to sponsor you by filling some paperwork and a rec letter. You should definately look into doing this. I think you save 30% off of tuition so it's a great deal.

Finally, I'm planning on attending the Chicago open house on Fri April 13... anyone else going to that one?

I hope some of the other lurkers post and fill you in as this could be a great medium that we can all use to share our experiences. Much like our MD counterparts.

Sorry this is so long, hopefully there are some other people out there with similar questions to mine that this might help!

Not a problem, the more you ask the more you'll know. The people who DON'T questions are usually the clueless ones afraid of getting embarassed.

Originally Posted by turn_and_burn

One thing I am still confused about though, is the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans? From what I understood I can get a combination of subsidized, unsubsidized, and private loans to fund my education, and I thought unsubsidized loans meant you had to pay interest on the loan while you are in school?

Originally Posted by cero0201

If your Vet loans work in such a way that the interest accrues to the principal balance and you decide to finance your entire veterinary education (as most students have to) by the time you graduate your total loan could almost double right?

Originally Posted by cero0201

Also, would this huge loan be very hard to repay?