[xkred27]

Originally Posted by BamaCRNA2B

For stafford subsidized and unsubdized loans, is the maximum amount that can be loaned $20,500 combined for an entire year? Then you have to take out private loans to make up the difference in what is actually needed?

Yes I believe that is correct, the rest comes in the form of a Grad Plus loan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grad_PLUS

For my program I believe they set the COA @ about 57k for the first year and 47k for the second. So you get about 20k through stafford loans and the rest through Grad Plus Loans.

If you need money above that then you have to go with private/alternative loans. I have contacted both Chase and Wells Fargo to see what they have. These are credit score driven loans that are not certified by the school, check is sent directly to you. They looked up on a database that they had in their system to see if my school participated and it does. You may want to call and find out for yourself the details and if your program participates.

[californianurse]

Nelnet also does loans and are Prime - 1% for qualified students. They have different criteria for graduates going into medical professions and know that we cannot work during school. Also, like most lending agencies, while in repayment if you are on time, the interest rate decreases. I consolidated my student loans from undergrad with them, and have been very happy so far. Also, like most other lenders, they will defer loan repayment (including undergrad loans accrued) until 6 months after graduation. Fill out FAFSA first, get all of the Perkins and Stafford loans possible, then tap into the private loans.

The Perkins loans have the lowest APR, the Stafford are decent and fixed (I think 8.5% or something), and the private loans are variable each month.

Also, sometimes having a co-signer may help to either decrease the initial APR and may also give you more money, even if you already have good credit.

Here is a quote from their site about the Private Loans for Health and Medical Students:

" You can use this loan to pay for education expenses including tuition, books, living expenses, computer equipment, tuition balances from prior academic periods, and residency costs. You should use this private loan to supplement funding after you have exhausted all other sources of financial aid (scholarships, Federal Stafford Loan, Parent PLUS Loan, Graduate PLUS Loan)."

Here's the website:

http://www.nelnet.com/private_loans....e.fal.med.priv
And their number:
866.866.7372

They are easily accessible over the phone and I've never had to wait long to speak with a live person who is highly knowledgeable.

Also, I visited graduate student housing at one of the CRNA schools last week, and a first year student told me it really wasn't very difficult for her to get loans. She got a grant of $3,500, funding via FAFSA and a private loan from Chase.

But, I encourage you to check out Nelnet, because their rates are pretty competitive.

Hope some of this helps!

[SmessenBSN]

I've been accepted to CRNA school and now I'm trying to figure out the money situation. Does anyone know where I can find a list of anesthesia groups/hospitals that provide stipends or pay tuition if you work for them after graduation? I've tried googling but I'm not having any luck. I'm not looking for a particular location (just somewhere in North Carolina) so I can't really search a specific group or hospital. Thanks!

[badgernurse]

OK. I don't know if I'm getting dizzy with all this or what but it seems as though the rules have changed in light of all the banking problems today. What I have found with the private loans is that most of them now need to be certified by the school. Specifically, I am talking about Sallie Mae Tuition Answer, BOA education maximizer, etc. Could someone with recent experience with this please chime in here?

[CCRN-CMC-CSC]

Originally Posted by badgernurse

OK. I don't know if I'm getting dizzy with all this or what but it seems as though the rules have changed in light of all the banking problems today. What I have found with the private loans is that most of them now need to be certified by the school. Specifically, I am talking about Sallie Mae Tuition Answer, BOA education maximizer, etc. Could someone with recent experience with this please chime in here?

Not sure about the school loans - but I just refinanced my house in preparation for school and WOW have things changed. They required way, way more than they did when I did it 7 years ago! Every other word out of their mouth was "due to the recent issues with sub prime mortgages...." and I have a killer FICO score and long term employment so I cant imagine how difficult it would have been otherwise. I have been worried about the school loan situation after my adventure into refinancing

[jen123321]

most places are offering prime which is 5.25% plus 1-4% based on ur credit score and debt vs income ratio. if you have a credit score above 700 and low debt to income then ur fine and would be dumb to go with the grad plus loan when you can get a lower interest rate with an alt loan.

by the way, the sallie mae tuition answer loan does not need to be verified by the school....

[badgernurse]

Jen, It is good to clarify all of this because some us, like me are very confused with the banking issues. Anyway, maybe I'm wrong but here is a quote from Sallie Mae's tuition answer loan home page about how much you can borrow:



$1,500 up to the calculated cost of attendance or maximum $40,000 per year to cover any qualified higher education expense.*

When I see the bolded words, I assumed (again, maybe erroneously) it had to be certified by the school otherwise, who calculates Cost of Attendance?

Regarding your other statement, all the private loans I have seen have variable interest rates which adjust quartely and have fees that the gradplus does not. Gradplus is fixed at 8.5%. In the long run, you will pay back more with the private unless somehow interest rates don't rise for the next 10 years.

I don't think going with the Gradplus is a bad idea.

[badgernurse]

For some reason, I cannot edit my own post. I called Sallie Mae today regarding the tuition answer loan. It does not need to be certified by the school however they will only loan up to cost of attendance set by the school. So my feeling is, it's no good for me anyway since I need above COA money. Also, many of the private loans adjust the interest monthly, not quarterly. If I figure out how to edit my previous post on the matter, I will.

[jen123321]

The cost of attendance comes from your school's financial aid office...it should already be worked out w/ sallie mae. I called and the loan officer told me my COA was about 55k (forget exact #) per year for my school, but the max loan is 40. If you want the full 40, you HAVE to borrow the 20,500 in federal loans from a lender other than sallie mae b/c if you don't they will take 40k-20,500 and leave you with 19,500. Basically, if they don't know you're taking federal loans from elsewhere then you can get the full amount. You should just call and get the info, the lady was nice and believe me, they know we're all trying to beat this crazy system and get what we need the easiest way. She knew all the answers to my ?s and exactly what I was talking about. She also said not to worry if you've quit work already b/c their equation for approval has no bearing on income, which is kinda weird but whatever works. I'm no expert, but with the way people are freaking out, I decided to check into all this stuff and have gotten alot of pretty good info to make me feel like I won't have problems getting $$$ if my bank account isn't where I need it to be when I start next Fall.

[SmessenBSN]

any update on the loan situation? there was an article in my local newspaper today saying that 8 of the 10 major lenders will stop providing private education loans including sallie mae.

i talke to sallie mae about 1 month ago. the 'cost of attendance' for my specific school that they quoted (23,000) was different than the 'COA' that i was told about directly through my school($18,000). federal stafford loans will cover that (18,000) and but ill still need a little more. sallie mae told me they could give me that 23,000- mail a check directly to me and the school would never know about it. thier website has not changed. does anybody know if they are changing their loan eligibility?

has anybody applied for a private loan (recently) above and beyond the COA arranged by the school?!? it looks like wells fargo might have one, but its hard to tell from the website. i have a hard time figuring out what the total cost of attendance is. some banks use the number from the school and some banks come up with their own number ...