Cuckoo for Loans

Topic: Breaking down loans.

In the book Debt-Free U, the author, Zac Bissonnette breaks down going to college without having to take a loan.  He has some great ideas like taking all the pre-requisite classes at a community college and applying for work-study.  However, there are some difficult (for me) options -- Like working 30 hours a week.

Confession:  I was never the top student in my class and I need to spend hours reading, taking notes, making outlines, occasionally making note cards, reading again, getting high-lighter happy... Well, you get the drift.  Although, I would like to work 30 hours a week and attend TCM school (which involves learning a whole new and esoteric way of thinking about the human body) FT seems not unrealistic just difficult.  

However, I want to take the least amount of loan as possible.  I have talked to many grad students who have taken the maximum amount of loans as possible without considering the idea of living below their means.  This scares the crap out of me particularly since the salary straight out of school is pretty low.  I want to make sure I balance my life (scroll to the bottom of this post) but I also know I will have to cut down on many luxuries (So long, cappuccinos and mani/pedis!)

Gradloans.com does a fantastic job breaking down loans and definitely worth looking.

Currently, I am looking into the following loans:

• Stafford Loans (Subsidized and Unsubsidized)
• Work-Study
• GradPlus Loan

Subsidized Stafford Loan is the one I'm very interested in:

PROS

• Awarded based on financial need 
• Interest is charged AFTER school 
• Fixed rate - as of 2011-- 6.8%

CONS

• Out of the maximum $20,500/year -- No more than $8,500 can be taken out as Subsidized 

I will also probably take out the Unsubsidized Stafford:

PROS

• Not awarded based on financial need (ANYONE is eligible)
• More cash than Subsidized 
• Fixed rate - As of 2011 -- 6.8% 

CONS

• Interest begins right when you receive the loan until it is fully repaid

I will definitely be applying for Work-Study:

PROS

• Money  
• Opportunity to become familiar with the school and its system
• Opportunity to meet the professors, staff and students
• Opportunity to understand the various systems whether it's working at the herb clinic, admission office or library

CONS

• Hours 
• Hours are flexible 
• Pay 
• The pay varies depending on each school

I've met a few students who have chosen to also take out the GradPlus Loan which personally, I think is a mistake.  The way I'm viewing the GradPlus Loan is as EMERGENCY CASH.  It is a credit-based loan and only takes a couple of days to get the money -- Therefore, if there is any emergency (dentist, hospital, etc.) then the loan can be applied and received immediately.  There are some benefits:

• Fixed interest rate - as of 2011 -- 7.9%
• Deferred payment option while in school
• Interest is tax deductible for most grad students

There are also Private Loans which personally I am not interested in.

I also have a semi-hefty savings account which I plan on depleting my throughout the 3-4 years of grad school.  In addition to just the tuition, books, etc. I also have to consider the following:

• Moving expense
• Am considering renting a small U-haul rather than buying everything new -- Though, I have to make an IKEA stop to weigh out the price option

• Rent and Utilities
• Took 1 major trip to Portland scoping out the different hoods
• Checking Craigslist religiously to get an idea of rent & apartment complexes

• Food
• I tend to cook most of the time but I also want to explore 

• Fun Stuff While in School
• This is MAJOR considering grad school is going to be intense.  I think it's crucial to have some money set aside to go to a museum, watch a movie, just chill out.

• VACAY!
• Mr. Zac Bissonnette would probably be against this last spending option but I def plan on taking a vacation holiday at least once a year -- Preferably somewhere with blinding sun.  As TCM students, it's all about balance and we need to remember to incorporate that into our own lives. 

CALCULATORS  Helpful financial calculators here to get an estimate on how much loan you'll need, how much to save, how much to spend, etc. 

FAF$A

Topic: Breaking down the FAFSA application process.

 

WHAT: Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  FAFSA is a free application intended to determine the financial eligibility (how much $$$... In loans) each student may be entitled to receive based on a series of questions (income, assets, not including 401K or retirement.  Savings various depending on the amount in the account), dependency, etc.)  These numbers are crunched into what is called the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) which ultimately determines how much you qualify.  Grad students are entitled to apply for the 4 loans: 

1) Perkins Loans

2) Stafford Loans

    2a) Subsidized

       2b) Unsubsidized

3) Federal Work-Study Program  

4) GradPlus Loan

Each application is good for 18-months. Student Aid Report (SAR) is a summary of the FAFSA and forwarded to the student.  Be sure to look it over and check for any mistakes. 

WHO: Current and prospective college and graduate students.  Applicants who have already completed FAFSA in previous years may submit a renewal.  No need to re-do the application process. 

WHERE:   www.fafsa.ed.gov

WHEN:  ASAP.  Applications begin acceptance at the beginning of the year (January 1) for the upcoming academic period.  The amount of loan you qualify for is based on... 

FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED!

HOW:  Applying through the online application is easy peasy -- Like Turbo Tax easy.  You will, however, need your tax information so although acceptance begins on January 1 -- You might have to wait until you get your W2s. 

 Once you submit, the information is forwarded to the intended schools you listed.  (*These do not have the be the schools you are 100% sure applying to -- but the ones you're seriously interested in.  You don't even need to be apply to these schools in the end but it's def worth listing all the schools you're interested in, particularly if money is a major deciding factor.)  

The schools then will contact you with an estimate of how much you qualify... For that particular school.  Yeah, it varies. 

WHY:  Even if you don't plan on taking any loans, it doesn't do you any harm to apply for FAFSA since it's FREE!   

There is NO commitment... It just an estimate.  

It's like checking out the merchandise before plopping down the AMEX.  In the case anything should happen, you will have a solid back-up Plan B.  If you don't apply, then find out you may have to take out a loan -- You're screwed because there may not be enough money.

 What I Did...

1) Visited the financial adviser at the schools.

2) Major search - online, books, magazines, etc.

3) Asked the current students (during my visit) how much they received - Particularly out-of-state students.  This gave me a great idea of how much I may qualify for and which loans students are taking.

   

4) Applied for FAFSA immediately after I was done with my taxes which was late-January or early February.  By the first week of February my FAFSA was completed.

5) Emailed to schools just to make sure they received my FAFSA application.

Now... I wait.  

The REAL decisions begin AFTER FAFSA:  

When you decide which loans you want (if any) & how much you want to take out. 

Fugetaboutit!

Topic: Overview of tuition, loans and student debt.

I am deeply grateful to TCM for saving my life but I'd be lying if I didn't have my doubts of committing my life to it.  I'd like to believe, despite my erratic career choices, I am now wiser but there are times when the what-ifs seep in.

What if...

...  I realize my passion is owning a taco truck?

... I end up hating everything about TCM because I know too much?

... I can't maintain a practice?

All these what-ifs are naturally sparked by the hefty school tuition (books, equipment, living expenses) and the great big wonder of how the hell am I going to pay for it?

 We're living in a wacky time and I'm no finance guru but if law students are having a difficult time finding a job and fleeing from the banks; then it makes me wonder if we have a warped idea of paying for higher education.

As I started visiting schools, tuition, was a topic briefly discussed because advisors made it clear that nearly everyone could afford to go to school and it was easy-peasy. 

It's true.  

There are magical things called loans which kinda feels like free money.  

"KINDA" being the imperative word.

4-years of school?

Don't worry aboutit.

Books, equipment, fees?

Fugetaboutit.

Rent, utilities, transportation? 

Trust me. I know a guy. 

A loan is NOT free money.  

It's a LOAN.  

Something you need to pay back WITH INTEREST.  

It may sound unnecessary to devote an entire entry on defining a 'loan' but I was shocked to find financial advisors pushing the sole reliance of loans and current students who had taken the maximum amount of loans (thousands and thousands of dollars!) without considering the reprecussions of paying them back with interest. 

Seriously?  Uh... Isn't this why our economy is the way it is?  We spend beyond our means?

I plan on going further into the wonderful world of FASA and the different types of loans available to grad students in a separate entry but an important lesson I learned while visiting schools and attending open houses is that no matter how nice and helpful the financial advisors at the schools may be -- 

Advisors work for the school (NOT for you).  

The school is a business (Even the non-profit).  

Businesses need money (YOUR money).  

I'm not saying these wonderful people breaking down the money stuff are shifty charlatans.  In fact, they are incredibly helpful in answering the fundamental financial questions.  However, weed through the glamor and dig to the find the root.  In other words, do your research, create a budget and figure out the best (least f-ed up) way of paying for school (without compromising your studies and free time).

* Do I really need to take a loan?

* Which loans are the best?

* Work-study?

* Living expense? 

* Chill-out cash?

Granted, these aren't the fun stuff to think about but getting into the nitty-gritty details (okay, I admit, Excel sheets make me happy) will save a lot of stress during the school year but more importantly, after graduation.
  

Ain't Just Poking

Topic: East coast (NY) and West coast (California, Oregon) TCM schools.

When I began my school search, I had no idea studying acupuncture would encompass more than just learning how to stick a bunch of needles in a patient. 

Sure, I knew it would involve theories and a shockingly different way of viewing, thinking and understanding the human body but I didn't know acupuncture is under the gigantic umbrella of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

TCM includes the following: acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, massage, acupressure, herbs, nutrition and qi gong.

What does that mean in terms of schools?

My main focus were on schools in the West coast but because I live in NY, I also visited a couple of schools in the area.

Here's a quick run down of the schools I checked out:

Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (New York, NY)

New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Long Island, NY)

American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (San Francisco, CA)

Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine of Berkley (Berkley, CA)

Five Branches University (Santa Cruz, CA)

Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (Portland, Oregon)

Surprisingly, each school varied greatly in terms of their focus, campus, clinics, students and how they approach TCM.  However, there were distinct differences between the East and West coast schools I visited, primarily due to the license requirements (OCOM may be in Portland but it is structured as if it is one of the California schools). 

East vs. West

1) License.  All acupuncturists are required to take and pass the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM); however, for any acupuncturist to practice in the state of California, he/she also needs to pass the State of California Acupuncture Board Exam.

2) Degree.  The East coast schools had an option of a 3-year Master of Science in Acupuncture (MSAc) or a 4-year Master of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine (MSTOM); whereas the West coast schools offer a 4-year MSTOM program. The main difference in the degree is that the MSAc does not require the study of herbs. Additionally, all the West coast schools (aside from Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine of Berkley) offer a doctorate program.

3) Herbs.  Herbology is required as part of the MSTOM in the East and West coast schools; however, is offered as a separate certification in the East coast for the MSAc program.

4) Body Work.  East coast schools offer a separate program in Asian Body Work (massage) as an Associate and/or Bachelor's degree.  The MSTOM program in the East coast does not require its students to study body work.  On the West coast, however, body work is required.

5) Qi Gong & Tai Chi.  The West coast schools tend to have more focus on the study of qi gong and/or tai chi; however, each school varies in how many classes/hours are devoted.

MY 'OH-SHIT' STORY

I always like hearing the 'ah-ha' stories of people who have decided to study acupuncture.

For the sake of sounding too 'namaste', it truly humbles me and I feel grateful I am making my steps to studying a type of medicine which emphasizes the importance humanizing the individual human (Oh, boy!)

So here is my story...

Disillusioned, I graduated with a film degree and worked in the most elite NYC clubs as a cocktail hostess (Remember those days when people would cough up $300 just to buy a bottle of $30 liquor just so they can sit behind a velvet rope and feel important? Hi, that was me serving you), bartender and manager.

In 2007, I had the brilliant idea of getting my NY real estate license. I worked day and night, slept only a couple of hours and was succumbed to realize, money (good money) didn't mean as much as I thought it would.

For about a month, every time I went to sleep, I would feel tingling, pins and needles sensations in my feet. It progressively got worse until one day I woke up and couldn't feel anything below my waist.

I didn't have insurance and I thought I was paralyzed.

As a New Yorker, my 'ah-ha' moment felt more like an 'OH-SHIT' moment.

I ended up going back to my parents' home and they suggested I go see an acupuncturist. Up until then, I had seen a few acupuncture sessions with my family members but had never received one. Oh yeah, I was also terrified of needles.

3X a week, for a month, I went for hour long acupuncture sessions and drank my herbal supplement 3X a day. My "unlicensed" acupuncturist was an old, Korean man who studied the old-school way (apprenticeship). After the first session, I still couldn't walk but I felt an unforgettable feeling that can only be described as - the clutter and heaviness, that I didn't realize was in my head and heart, had suddenly been swept away.  All that was left was an 'it's-gonna-be-alright' sense of... Peace.

To this day, I can still remember the feeling of quiet clarity. 

Within a week and a half, I could slowly walk and by the end of the month, I was struttin' around like Naomi Campbell (The good years -- Not the crazy, angry years).

It took me another three years to come to the conclusion I wanted to become an acupuncturist. During those years, I quit my job, sold everything, bought my first backpack, traveled for two years and learned a few important life lessons.

I came back and toyed with the idea of becoming a novelist, a journalist, a nutritionist (If you haven't noticed by now, I'm a bit schizo when it comes to my career choice, hence, this blog, in order to make sure this $100K investment is worth it!) before realizing, accepting and acknowledging my 'oh-shit' moment began when I lost the simple ability to walk; and was ignited by traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).