I will do a general review on each option, if you have questions, feel free to email me.
1. Cash:
If you have dual nationality (American/Hispanic) you can take advantage of this option and pay as a costarrican. (about 30% less on tuition fees)
2.Sallie Mae/ Navient:
This is a private loan based on credit score. You'll need to apply each year to renew the loans. So basically your credit needs to remain perfect throughout the career and on top of that you always need a co-signer with a good job and good credit. Make sure your co-signer understands they need to co-sign EVERY year for you.
The cool thing about this loan is that they give you the flexility to start repaying after you graduate, I believe up to 6 months after. You can also make small payments towards the interest.
3. Federal Loan: (ONLY for pharmacy and psichology)
For this option you'll need to apply for FAFSA every year and be qualified. There's a maximum of $20,500.
For Medicine you can only use the first two options.
More Warnings:
-To be able to pay with a loan you must maintain a GPA above 70%.
-You must finish your career within 150% of estimated time (this means if the career takes 4 years, you must finish it within 6 years)-----> U.S government does not want slackers using education funds!
A lot of students tend to break blocks according to the difficulty of the courses. I will advice you on that later as I advocate for certain courses to be taken separately for the quantity of material and the attention required to pass this classes.
-This is for all students: You can only take a subject three times, if you fail a fourth time, you need to wait one year! This can be very inconvenient, so I advice everyone to start strong from day one because every bit counts. Even the easy subjects, do not underestimate any class. The better grades you accumulate the better chances you have to stay in the medical program if you happen to get stuck in a hard class such as biochemistry.
Available careers in Unibe:
-Medicine
-Pharmacy
-Nursing
-Psychology
sábado, 24 de enero de 2015
Quarters vs Semesters. Options in Costa Rica
Unibe is the university where I go. We do 4 months instead of 6, so basically we do 3 quarters per year .
Pros's:
1. Allows you to finish the medical program faster. (Lenght of the career: 4 years and one quarter if you choose to not do the intership which is one year long and this is the only way to become a costarican doctor, however Americans are not required to fulfill this requirements as we can apply to do the intership back home and start getting paid for it too!!!)
2. You get two 2 week vacation and one month vacation in December. For international students this works amazingly to get to go home and relax for a full month! Many students use the short vacations to go explore the country. (let's keep in mind this is Costa Rica= Natural Paradise)
The University is located in the capital city, San Jose, third city to have electricity in the world! So is not near the water only lots of green areas.
Con's:
1. Time is your enemy. Is very fast paced, doable but your game must be always on point. I can say here the old saying really applies" There's two rules in Medical School: Don't fall in love, don't fall behind"
2.This is an intensive program. There is not a lot of time to party and socialize but because we spend so much time together it becomes easy to make friends within your class room and join a study/hangout group. Costaricans are super friendly which is a huge plus!
There are several Medical Universities in Costa Rica, most of them accredited in the US. UCIMED is the name of another private university but this one goes by semesters. So as you can see there's plenty of options and soon I will posting information on all of them. Subscribe to my blog for more! That's it for this post!
Sincerly,
The chronic red eye student
Here is a pic of Tibas park. The city where Unibe is located.
Pros's:
1. Allows you to finish the medical program faster. (Lenght of the career: 4 years and one quarter if you choose to not do the intership which is one year long and this is the only way to become a costarican doctor, however Americans are not required to fulfill this requirements as we can apply to do the intership back home and start getting paid for it too!!!)
2. You get two 2 week vacation and one month vacation in December. For international students this works amazingly to get to go home and relax for a full month! Many students use the short vacations to go explore the country. (let's keep in mind this is Costa Rica= Natural Paradise)
The University is located in the capital city, San Jose, third city to have electricity in the world! So is not near the water only lots of green areas.
Con's:
1. Time is your enemy. Is very fast paced, doable but your game must be always on point. I can say here the old saying really applies" There's two rules in Medical School: Don't fall in love, don't fall behind"
2.This is an intensive program. There is not a lot of time to party and socialize but because we spend so much time together it becomes easy to make friends within your class room and join a study/hangout group. Costaricans are super friendly which is a huge plus!
There are several Medical Universities in Costa Rica, most of them accredited in the US. UCIMED is the name of another private university but this one goes by semesters. So as you can see there's plenty of options and soon I will posting information on all of them. Subscribe to my blog for more! That's it for this post!
Sincerly,
The chronic red eye student
Here is a pic of Tibas park. The city where Unibe is located.
miércoles, 21 de enero de 2015
Best Medical school for spanish speaking Americans
Attempting to go to Medschool outside the U.S is a real challenge. I took a looong time planning. (years) but I was able to find an affordable option and would like to make a series of posts giving out the best possible info so you can decide weather to come to Costa Rica or not.
1. You must understand Spanish or be a 100% committed to learn it in less than a year.
This school offers an introductory spanish course which to be honest with you, they only teach you very basic stuff that will not be very useful in sense of your medical classes.
The first year is very easy, basic science, math, advanced spanish but once you start the 3rd block the second year (which I will explain the structure of the school year later)the professors will have no mercy on you as far as language limitations. I know people who has been denied enrollment (with good grades) for not being proficient in Spanish during a class presentation.
2. If you are going outside the U.S to find an "easy way" to become a Doctor. DON'T COME HERE!
Unibe's professors change every single exam. They never ask from the same point of view. So studying from old exams is a tool only to practice answering difficult questions and associating ideas from class.
This University is serious, they want only serious students. Teachers and professors will make you read and read!
3. You need to be good at learning on your own:
The professors discuss during class the difficult concepts and answer questions, they won't tell you everything you need to know to pass the exams. The idea is for you to prepare for lecture the day before. Again, this is done to ensure the students put in their time reading and doing research individually.
Academically I think this are the main warnings I have to give you today. Any questions feel free to email us or leave a comment.
Sincerly,
The chronic read eye student.
Follow me for more. In next posts I will talk about life in Costa Rica, cost of living, financial options to pay for med school, available careers using Federal and private U.S loans, pricing, etc....EVERYTHING you need to you...the naked truth! Pros and Cons...other options out there and much much more
1. You must understand Spanish or be a 100% committed to learn it in less than a year.
This school offers an introductory spanish course which to be honest with you, they only teach you very basic stuff that will not be very useful in sense of your medical classes.
The first year is very easy, basic science, math, advanced spanish but once you start the 3rd block the second year (which I will explain the structure of the school year later)the professors will have no mercy on you as far as language limitations. I know people who has been denied enrollment (with good grades) for not being proficient in Spanish during a class presentation.
2. If you are going outside the U.S to find an "easy way" to become a Doctor. DON'T COME HERE!
Unibe's professors change every single exam. They never ask from the same point of view. So studying from old exams is a tool only to practice answering difficult questions and associating ideas from class.
This University is serious, they want only serious students. Teachers and professors will make you read and read!
3. You need to be good at learning on your own:
The professors discuss during class the difficult concepts and answer questions, they won't tell you everything you need to know to pass the exams. The idea is for you to prepare for lecture the day before. Again, this is done to ensure the students put in their time reading and doing research individually.
Academically I think this are the main warnings I have to give you today. Any questions feel free to email us or leave a comment.
Sincerly,
The chronic read eye student.
Follow me for more. In next posts I will talk about life in Costa Rica, cost of living, financial options to pay for med school, available careers using Federal and private U.S loans, pricing, etc....EVERYTHING you need to you...the naked truth! Pros and Cons...other options out there and much much more
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