Large loan options for University

[gospel4asia]

Hi all,

Apologies for the formatting I am on mobile.

I hope someone will be able to give me some advice. I’m 27(f), hoping to go back to medical school under the GEM programme in the near future. I’m working on it from a entry standpoint (entry tests etc) but my biggest hurdle is the financial side.Due to it being GEM I don’t qualify for any financial assistance. I’m looking at about 68k needed for the course only. Previously Bank of Ireland had a loan agreement where you could get the loan and pay it back after completion of the course. Unfortunately, due to my impeccable timing they discontinued the loan for new applicants mid last year. I’m currently working full time but even saving 65% of my monthly earnings (other funds go on bills), I am looking at 4/5 years before I could even think about being able to afford it. (Take home 1.9k monthly) Naturally, I would rather start as young as I can as I am already starting at a later age compared to other students so another 4 years seems like an age away.

My question is, would anyone have any advice, recommendations or loan suggestions I could take a look at that could possibly help me achieve my dream quicker now that my BOI lifeline is gone ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[theinvisibleman30]

@gospel4asia Sorry if this is a daft suggestion but have you looked at doing it in other European Union countries? A friend of mine studied Biomedicine In Sweden through English and it was completely free.

Medical School may be different but all education (bachelors and masters degrees) in Sweden is free for EU citizens and a lot of courses are taught entirely through English. Also basically free in the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland among others.

 

[gospel4asia]

@theinvisibleman30 I must check that out thank you ! It may be an option the reason why I hadn’t considered was due to the language barrier but if it is taught entirely through English it would definitely be an option to consider if I can’t get my college here, thanks so much

 

[theinvisibleman30]

@gospel4asia I lived and studied in Sweden for a while. Over 90% of the population speak near fluent English. Its the same in a few countries like the Netherlands and all countries in Scandinavia. I had Dutch friends that were in Sweden doing their masters through English. You should really look into it sweden and other countries in EU. Could be the difference between paying 68k or potentially paying a fraction of that.

 

[gospel4asia]

@theinvisibleman30 100% I will, thank you, I had such tunnel vision regarding where I could go, I didn’t think about other places that would offer it

Edit: which probably sounds a bit ridiculous but no one ever suggests EU it’s usually UK or the North and I didn’t have an interest in moving to either of those

 

[remainingbody]

@gospel4asia I know two people from my year in school who are studying medicine in Poland. Neither are of Polish descent. It would be important to ensure your degree is recognised internationally and by all the medical governing bodies in Ireland as it would be a pity to invest time before realising you aren’t qualified to work in Ireland or wherever you intend on working with such a degree(sorry I can’t quote them or give more info, I’m not in the medical field myself)

 

[gospel4asia]

@remainingbody No not at all don’t be sorry thanks so much for your reply, I’ll take a look, I was a bit worried about that with some of the places as I’m a real home bird so I would want to move back to Ireland eventually. But I will check them out and confirm it’s internationally recognised before I dive in thank you

 

[jonathanbay1987]

@gospel4asia You'd want to me 110% sure that you want to deal with everything a career in medicine requires before taking on that level of debt.

Disjointed and competitive training pathways. Having to move to a different hospital every 3-6 months within a training programme. Disappointing pay for early training years. Postgraduate exams and often pressure to do research and fellowships. Regular on call shifts that break EU working time directives. All that on top the amount of pressure junior doctors are put under in the hse while consultants don't actually have to show up for calls/shifts.

It will take typically 1 year for internship post graduation, 2 years basic training, and 4-6 years higher training before you're eligible to apply for consultant posts. It's a grind, and that's a lot of debt to take on if you aren't fully committed to this career pathway.

 

[resjudicata]

@jonathanbay1987 Some of this is true, some less so.

Training pathways are competitive alright but after SHO years you would only be moving once a year generally. This is obviously fine if you're single with no kids but definitely not if you have school age children.

Pay is fine tbh, moreso at the start. 40k for an intern with time and a half overtime. Hours are progressively improving and I think will slowly continue to improve. Interns usually don't do that many hours over 48. Hours obviously get worse after that. With a medical degree you will almost certainly never be unemployed.

Postgraduate exams are par for the course with a lot of jobs and HSE will reimburse costs.

Consultants do show up for call shifts and come in in the night certainly in my specialty.

I think the debt for this is manageable but wouldn't be paid off until 8 or so years post graduation.

The big issue is medicine as an NCHD is a young persons game. Doing this will delay being able to get a mortgage and cause issues if you have children.

 

[jonathanbay1987]

@resjudicata You must be one of the lucky ones if your consultants are showing up for calls and your hours are improving. It's certainly not what I have seen or heard from Dublin or regional hospitals, and frankly nobody should be of the view that not usually having to do over 48hr calls as an intern is a good thing, it simply shouldn't be a thing at all especially for new grads.

I think the debt for this is manageable but wouldn't be paid off until 8 or so years post graduation.

The big issue is medicine as an NCHD is a young persons game. Doing this will delay being able to get a mortgage and cause issues if you have children.

Debt may be manageable if already in a comfortable financial position. OP will be looking at for example approx 600 per month for about 10 years to be pay that off, which may or may not be manageable depending on if they pay rent and other costs. Add onto that the idea of mortgages and children. It's a very big decision.

 

[resjudicata]

@jonathanbay1987 I've worked in Ireland for nearly 10 years. Hours have improved consistently in that time.

Interns don't do 48 h calls anywhere. I think there are 3 hospitals where they do 24h call. Generally interns do 12h call shifts. Regs do more hours than SHOs and SHOs do more hours than interns.

 

[ryanthenapster]

@gospel4asia Hi there,
Have a look at the new GEM programme in ulster university. The fees are much cheaper than in the republic!

 

[gospel4asia]

@ryanthenapster I will thanks a million !

 

[lemuel]

@gospel4asia I don't know enough about your current qualifications and earning potential, and I know much less about what the GEM program duration is and how that helps your earning prospects...

I would be very hesitant to take on that level of debt without knowing for sure that it puts you into a specific income bracket in the future.

BOI website says a loan in that range (€65,000) at 6.6% APR over 7 years is a monthly €967.23 payment. Can you afford that per month while on program, even if its a loan from a different institution with slightly better terms?

Regarding better loans or finaincing, perhaps folks running the program have suggestions? Is there a scholarship, or would they allow you to pay over time?