Money!!!

[emac2014]

Hey everyone!

So I'm an incoming student at McMaster, and it seems like a car is pretty key. I was wondering if you could all throw some financial input my way as to the best way to finance it while being mindful of OSAP etc. Obviously a huge purchase, and insurance will be enormous.

So. I understand I can expect a large, interest free LOC (correct?).
How does OSAP tend to go for med students? How much do people tend to get? Why do I want OSAP when I can throw stuff on my LOC (also interest free)?

How does a car affect OSAP (will a new civic cause me to get no osap at all)?

I really have no idea about any of this so ANY and all info on med school finances would be amazing!

Thanks in advance!

[muse87]

i'm not sure about ontario, but here:

LOC is not interest free, it's prime, which i think is 3 percent right now.

i get ~22 k a year from alberta gov, 2.5 being bursaries

you want to put as much as you can on osap before you touch your bank loc, often when you graduate they forgive a portion of your loan if you've maxed the osap limit for your program, and you're not charged interest throughout school. when school is done if you have to start repaying osap just pay it off with your loc which would have the lower interest rate.

an 18000 dollar car is an asset, and will definitely effect how much you get, you could argue you need a car in clerkship as an ed expense but it doesn't have to be a new civic. i bought a new car and registered it under my dad's name and insured it under my name, therefore, i don't legally own the car and don't have to report it to student loans.

Originally Posted by emac2014

Hey everyone!

So I'm an incoming student at McMaster, and it seems like a car is pretty key. I was wondering if you could all throw some financial input my way as to the best way to finance it while being mindful of OSAP etc. Obviously a huge purchase, and insurance will be enormous.

So. I understand I can expect a large, interest free LOC (correct?).
How does OSAP tend to go for med students? How much do people tend to get? Why do I want OSAP when I can throw stuff on my LOC (also interest free)?

How does a car affect OSAP (will a new civic cause me to get no osap at all)?

I really have no idea about any of this so ANY and all info on med school finances would be amazing!

Thanks in advance!

[deeman101]

Expect 20k from OSAP, 10.9 of which needs to be paid back. Thats if you don't have a car (which you "shouldn't"). Deduct the value of the car from that amount if your car is under your name. My suggestion is register it under someone else's name and insure yourself as the primary driver.


Banks give LOC @ prime interest which right now is 3.25%. Btw buying a brand new civic may or may not be a smart decision, depending on how the monthly payments / financing interest / etc. works out. Most med students buy a used car.

[muse87]

9.1 k doenst have to be paid back serious?

Originally Posted by deeman101

Expect 20k from OSAP, 10.9 of which needs to be paid back. Thats if you don't have a car (which you "shouldn't"). Deduct the value of the car from that amount if your car is under your name. My suggestion is register it under someone else's name and insure yourself as the primary driver.


Banks give LOC @ prime interest which right now is 3.25%. Btw buying a brand new civic may or may not be a smart decision, depending on how the monthly payments / financing interest / etc. works out. Most med students buy a used car.

[emac2014]

I'm not sure if I'll buy new or used. I see it as a bit of a trade off of money saved vs. the warranty and less problems with the car. I could probably buy the car with cash, which would mean if it was under someone else's name I could potentially "shelter" that money from osap, which would be nice.

[Nobodycirclesthewagons]

I don't go to Mac, but is a car truly necessary before you hit pre-clerkship?

[rmorelan]

Originally Posted by muse87

9.1 k doenst have to be paid back serious?

Yeah you only have to pay back 3.5K for each term you are in. Since mac is all year (3 terms) you do get A LOT for free.

The only problem is car as an asset issue. People often get around that though with a bit of creativity.

[emac2014]

I heard about a value of car below which you don't have to tell osap? What is that value?

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