Just accepted to MERP

Hi all,

I got a phone call from my admissions representative that I was offered a spot in the MERP.  That stands for Medical Education Review Program.  Essentially, it is a semester prior to admission for first year classes.  The course is held at Freeport, Bahamas.  As I understand it, the course costs $25k and you cannot get government student loans for it.  I asked my admission officer how do people typically finance this and she said to check with Sallie Mae.  I did my Sallie Mae application and was declined.  I am not sure if it will be possible for me to afford this program.  My new student coordinator said that I have been mailed a packet with all sorts of valuable information.  If I want to reserve a spot I need to submit a $700 deposit.  In addition to this, there are a few more costs in order to get this plane off the runway.

Here is a summary of what I have found as of now...

Deposit $700
Plane ticket (one way) $350
Books $400
First month's rent and deposit ~$900?  (can't check on this yet because I can't log on to the Ross housing website until I pay the deposit)
Passport $170
=$2,520

I would like to add to this... Start of a medical school education Priceless.... (???)

IN addition to this, I read this blog post just yesterday.  It is posted by a supposed person who dropped out of MERP due to an environment of harassment by the locals in Freeport. There have also been a slew of replies to this post to the contrary.  As a teacher, I know that in every class there are disgruntled students.  There can be many factors affecting student satisfaction some of which a school / professor can control and some that cannot be controlled. 

I first must find out if I can even afford or get loans for this.
Next, I need to get together the money for deposit and start the passport process.

I am thankful to not be rejected and I do have an option now.  I am thankful for this opportunity.  I need to figure out the logistics of this first or whether or not this is even a possibility for me.

Has anyone out there done MERP?  Has anyone gotten private loans for education recently?  There used to be 'my rich uncle' but they do not seem to exist anymore.