prince is a second year medical student who has run into financial difficulties and needs to fundraise to pay for his fees. I guess I sort of empathize with him because I come from a similar struggle.
Somewhere down the line, I decided that I wanted to come to America to study, and I've had the lifelong dream of studying medicine. I had no idea as to how medical school runs in America. Unlike Nigeria where medicine is a straight course, America requires a first degree.
I knew my parents do not have that kind of money, so I specifically targeted schools that would give me scholarships and I came here armed with a full scholarship, however just as I was about to graduate, I realized what med school was, and scholarships for med school weren't in abundance,
Everybody said they usually take out loans for med school. I did my research and found out that my best bet was private loans. I got the loans for the first two years and couldn't find anyone willing to consign for the last 2 years.
I asked an "uncle" and his response was "why did I go to med school if I didn't know how to pay for it?". I quietly thanked him and kept it moving. I stayed in class even thou my fees were not paid, I didn't know how my rent was going to be paid, I racked up credit card debt to pay for my living expenses, and just as I was about to be sent away, my dad came through with part of the money.
My school was very helpful in seeing that they did everything they could to make sure I got some money.
Why am I typing all this epistle, because I believe if you have a dream, you should go for it. Find out ways to help you pay for it. I had a friend who got a 1 million Naira scholarship from the Lagos state government to help her, another friend got a scholarship from the Niger Delta something something. In thiese cases, you exhaust all means until you find what works for you.
Nobody in America pays for medical school out of pocket, because they KNOW that nobody has that kind of money ($250,000. ) just lying around. What's more, you know you'll be able to pay it off once you start working as an attending.
I believe this Prince guy should do whatever he can to raise his tuition, medical school is stressful enough without trying to source for money ion your own.
A couple of points that was raised
1. Medicine is different in America, so are we saying people should not aspire to study medicine in America cos of the huge costs involved even though they have one of the best educationAl systems?
2. Not All schools ask for financial statements before they accept you - that is why we apply to those who don't!
3. Once you're in the US, you don't need a visa to come in, you just have to show that you have the money coming in and you'll get your I-20.
4. Also this is a call to other successful African doctors to set up scholarships for bright students from their countries in similar predicaments.
Here's the link to his campaign:
http://www.indiegogo.com/Princemed
18 comments:
Thanks for writing this response post. I found Ego Dujour's post very distasteful and uncalled for. If people don't have anything substantial to say, they need to shut up and mind their own business.
I will definitely be setting up some sort of scholarship for international students if i get to a position to do that. I understand the struggle.
Like you said, med school is stressful enough without having to source for funds. I can't even begin to imagine how stressful how that must be.
i will just put down Ego du Jour's post in the "who no go, no know" category. However, you don't have to go to know. This is where empathy would have kicked it, but she did say she had none. No amount of explaining would make her get it.
It pained me when i saw my friend not be able to start pharmacy school cos no one would cosign for him. That's 5 yrs wasted for no good reason. Would i have faulted him if he set up a campaign to get funds? Absolutely not. I believe people should follow their dreams no matter what. Ego du Jour is on a kentro level, she'll be alright up on her high horse.
*kicked in
I read the other blog post and I cried... Her post was very unnecessary. If she wasn't going to help the guy then keep it moving. I also feel like a little research into med school would have helped a bit.. I am in a similar situation right now. My sch have been helpful thus far but in my final yr with no way to pay, I am left stranded. This is after coming here as an international student on full scholarship which took me thru my undergrad and got same for graduate sch as well. The thing is, nobody is able to fund med sch here in the State by themselves. I pray the guy gets help somehow cos I can only imagine. I took time off to find a solution to my problem as well and I am yet to come up with one. My God help us all and teach us how to empathize with others.
@Anonymous: I can understand. I don't have any family here, but I asked EVERYBODY I knew to help cosign my 3rd year loans and I didn't find any.
I think it was God's doing else I'd be in more debt. You've come this far and you'll finish by God's grace.
Look into scholarships from NAIja as well. I didn't know about the Lagos state and Niger delta ones till my friends got it.
I have also read the Ego Dujour's post and I find it completely distasteful. Everybody and I mean Everybody has a right to chase a dream! and if you always wait for all your cards to align you wont get anything done at all.
Prince is pulling his weight, he is keeping it moving, he is trying! seriously what more can one ask? I respect his guts (its not easy to ask for money) and if i had the money I would definitely assist Prince.
A lot of us have benefited from scholarships and I think Africans in diaspora and at home who have the means need to start setting up scholarships to help the young ones who have dreams!
Bumight and Sting God bless you both for your posts i found Ego's quite distasteful well i guess only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches and her's certainly do not pinch....i was an international student in the UK from a well off family until a medical condition as a result of my mom"s (sole breadwinner) accident in my second year almost wiped us out, and before Ego asks if we didn't have insurance yes we did but it was not enough to cover the hospital costs so the family finances had to come in i even took a year out of school to work and raise my fees as an intern at least they were paying me and my course allowed the year work experience. before the accident i was sure of my fees being paid till grad school the struggle was new to me it is only by the grace of God i was able to complete school...and i too intend to start some scholarship scheme of sorts for international students and help inwhatever why i canbe it accomodation etc...as for Ego i pray she never falls into such a situation...
Please see: http://egodujour.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-reason-fpr-kerfuffle.html.
Here's my reply to the OP. Apologies for the copy-paste on here.
_____________________
I usually abstain from replying on blogs and such, but i'll make an exception this time.
I dont understand all the hate directed towards you and your post. You were just speaking your mind (and inadvertently shedding light on homeboy's campaign too!). How is that a crime?
Funny thing is - I am an international student in medical school - and I actually agree with most of what you wrote. Basically everything. Agree with your thoughts, the questions you raised, etc. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and I've had to hussle and take out loans to go through this process. I also had to turn down a bunch of schools that I got admitted initially because of (you guessed it) money and financing.
Everything should be done with some planning. I can't criticize homeboy's strategy and campaign and what not - more power to him. But i'll tell you guys something - he is 'spoiling market' for other future international students what would want to apply to medicine at that school or other schools.
Case in point - Indiana University School of Medicine. I believe it was last year or so that they either decided to stop accepting international students, or to demand up front that such students show that they can pay for the duration of medical school. And why did they do this? Because over the years, they've had multiple international medical students who ended up not being able to pay for med school - like home boy. They were stuck with loans of upwards of 20K, and no money to finance their journey going forward. These schools got burned one to many times.
Its one thing to have a dream and say 'if its God's will, it will be done'. Its another to have a dream - and have a plan.
So yea, I wish him all the best. But stories like these, albeit heartwarming and all - are actually hurting our image (as international students), and definitely hurting the chances of those behind us.
Just my 2c.
@huy loi
I hope for your sake that you Re able to continue taking out loans till you finish.
I had a "plan" too. I was gonna get a private loan, shebi all I needed was a consigned.
I asked everybody that I knew, relations, acquaintances and friends.
I later met people on the interview trail who had cosines BUt couldn't get a loan. Through it all, we persevered and finished.
Except u're saying international students should not aspire to go to med school in America, then.
Also the school "does not get burned" if an international student drops out and cannot pay. The int'l student get loans in their names, the schools just don't like people dropping out for financial reasons, cos its alien to them. I know a lot of schools that stopped admitting internationals because of this.
The list might be dwindling, but there are still schools that take the risk on us!
@Bumight
Your situation is extremely unique and you are LUCKY as you probably already know.
With the importance that financial systems in the US place on credit scores, co-signing a loan for someone who is not your child is very rare--especially now. I don't want to say your plan was not a plan, but you were very lucky.
Would you advise someone to do what you did? Because it worked for you? Aren't you then doing to others what was done to you...i.e. glossing over the serious difficulty of getting that money and/or that cosigner. Understanding the problems with all this you would still advise people to come to the US for medical school with no way to pay except relying on the possibility of getting a co-signer?
Everybody should chase their dream, but the dream doesn't need to be achieved in the same path as your typical American, i.e. 4 years undergrad in the US then 4 years med school in the US. These same medical schools seem a lot more open minded after you have become a doctor elsewhere and want to work in their hospitals. Is that not an option at all for people? Must the MD be from here? Is the dream to be an MD or is it attending medical school in the US? America doesn't have the only hospitals in the world.
Also your 4th point is very important. Perhaps sharing more of this information up front and starting a scholarship fund will mean more people are aware that as an international student in grad school in the US, getting accepted is only part of the struggle.
Ego du jour.....do u hv a clue how hard it is to get into med school in Nigeria? It doesn't just depend on how smart u r but most times on who u know. The training they receive is sub par and a lot of them are not able to match into competitive specialties, that is if they match at all.
To the international med student, please be quiet about someone spoiling market for other international students. Just because things are going well for you doesn't mean u should be insensitive to someone else's plight. Mscheww.
I really don't know where you're getting your information from. I remember telling sting NOT to go to d carribean for med school as it is 10 times harder to get a residency position in the US as a foreign doctor. they are not open minded at all!!
Yes, the MD has to be from here, it's no secret that America has one of the best medical education and A good lifestyle for their doctors.
That is why you see people who have practiced for 10 years come to America to retrain just so they can be doctors.
if you can conceive it, believe it then you can achieve it, nothing comes easy we all have to struggle at some point. All i am getting from EDJ is DO NOT DARE TO DREAM infact DO NOT DARE TO DREAM NOR CHASE YOUR DREAM of studying in America. Contrary to what you may think International students ALWAYS have a plan most work till the end but unfortunately some fail due to circumstances beyond their control
Some of those Caribbean schools are even more expensive than schools in America and i've heard some students hv a hard time securing loans.
I agree with you Blessing.
I don't think Ego du Jour is interested in getting anything out of this as she seems to hv all the answers. I don't care too much to teach her about international student struggles, as she knows all about that. It wouldn't hurt if she learnt about empathy and not making assumptions about people.
@madame sting:
Thanks for your reply. I tried to leave one on your blog but for some reason its not showing up. Either you refused access or somethings wrong at my end. Doesnt matter anyways.
In response to you, once again you misunderstand my position. Typical. Just because someone doesn't share the same ideals as you do doesnt mean they're wrong or 'insensitive.' I'd dare say that I'm the most sensitive of you lot, but also the most realistic. My example about Indiana is not an isolated one. I'm just being real. If you are honest to yourself, you'll know it HAS become a trend and med schools look down on it. Give it a couple more years and it'll be near impossible for international students like us to get into med school here cos of $$. You do know it is very possible to be sensitive to someone's plight, but yet realistic about options, right?
@bumight
Funny name lol. I'm very happy for you that you were able to persevere and finish. I NEVER said int'l shouldn't aspire to come here for med school - far from it! Infact we need MORE of our brothers and sisters here to get the excellent training that we do here. My whole point is this - we need to PLAN better. I know we're hustlers and such, and trust me i'm a hustler too - but we seem to have the mindset that the main battle is getting that visa and coming over here - and when we do, everything will work out somehow. False. When I say planning, it involves more than just knowing what you'd say to the embassy official...you have also got to have a plan to work things out when you get here.
Again, don't misunderstand my position. I really hope homeboy gets the $$ he needs. I'm sensitive to his plight. I hope more of us will be able to come here for an education.
But surely, we can do better than this.
And yes the school gets 'burned.' Do you know how much it costs to train a medical student? Do you know how much it costs when said med student drops out because of cost? And how will they pay back the loans anyways?
Im glad that schools take a risk on us - I actually have a list of schools that do and share it with my pre-med friends. But we should not abuse that privilege. Thats all i'm saying.
Apologies for the long reply.
@huy Loi
Can you explain to me EXACTLY how the med school gets burned. Yes, it costs $50k a year to train a med student, the money which is coming from the student. They pay back the loans when they start working as an attending physician. The school does not bear the cost at all , except they are giving you scholarships or something.
It costs more to train a resident.
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