Financial Aid questions 2009

[clinicallabguy]

Hey everybody!

I don't see that anybody has started a thread about financial aid for SNDers who will be starting med school in 2009, so I'll start one. I have some questions about financial aid, and would love to hear what everybody else knows or learns about the process.

Here is my situation: I cannot remember the last time my parents did not request an extension past April 15th to file their taxes, because they are both self employed and taxes suck if that is the case (they kind of always suck I guess ). They often don't file until September. I have always used my own tax information on the FAFSA for undergrad financial aid. However, I know that medical schools suggest you include your parents tax information, because all med students are nearly equally broke!

I called a med school financial aid office and asked if I could use year old (2007) tax information for my parents if they have not filed by the priority deadline (march 1). The person said that I couldn't unless I filed some kind of appeal, but didn't know much about such an appeal.

I would feel awkward putting pressure on my parents to file their taxes before March 1st. I know that I will be able to get loans, but I want to be considered for grants as well.

Is anyone in the same situation? Does anyone know anyone else who is in a similar situation? What is involved in an appeal if I want to use my parents 2007 taxes?

Thanks for any info

[HumidBeing]

We might not have a thread, but we DO have an entire forum for financial aid questions.

I'm moving your thread there where it is more appropriate.

[hobbes23]

You can put estimates down on the FAFSA. Then you update it when you have the real info. Estimate carefully because schools will re-adjust your aid when you change the numbers.

Look at Q#3, http://www.finaid.org/questions/faq.phtml#fafsa

[clinicallabguy]

Good information. Thank you! If I cannot get my parents to file early then I think that I'll use the past several years to estimate.

Has anybody had any encounters with financial aid offices as of yet this season? How were they?

I'm accepted at UVa and Pitt. UVa's financial aid office has been very helpful, while Pitt has left something to be desired. It's funny because Pitt has been my favorite up until now. I still think it's an awesome school, but I've heard from a current student that they only give a little over $17,000/yr. for cost of living. That's great for single students, but not sufficient for those of us who are married with kids. I guess if I go there I'll have to get private loans to live off of, and I may just do it for the quality of the education I think I'll get.

Any other Pitt students feel free to comment. As well as anybody else. Please share your comments/experiences.

[montessori2md]

I'm a fan of both Pitt and UVA for totally different reasons, but that's a whole other thread....

FinAid, really, probably won't make a whole lotta difference. If you didn't get a scholarship w/ your acceptance, that is, which I'm presuming you didn't. There is one question you might ask, which is if they are direct loan schools (I'm pretty sure UVA is, not sure about Pitt). If you have a bank which will give you a great rate, then direct loans might be something you want to avoid. But either way, you'll be an OOS student, so your loans will suck. A lot.

OH! What about establishing residency? It's pretty hard to do in VA, but the rules might be better in PA, ask the finaid dept at both universities to give you the run down to compare. Getting that instate tuition makes a big diff.
and congrats on 2 acceptances.

[dragonfly99]

I had the same problem. Parents never file the income tax by April 1st.
This creates problems for you. My experience was the financial aid office was fairly inflexible...I never got any grants, due their not having my parents' financial info. Realistically, most schools don't give much in the way of scholarships or grants anyway, so it ends up not mattering much. If your school gives need-based aid, and your parents don't make a lot of money, you might be able to get some grants if they would file their taxes on time.

I would personally go to whichever school you like if the cost difference isn't more than 5-10,000/year. If it's more, you might want to strongly consider the cheaper school, as those are both solid medical schools. Your debt is going to impact your future life probably more than you realize...you don't want to spend your entire residency and fellowship stressing about money.

[andexterouss]

I'm new to this forum. How does financial aid work? Does you get all your loans from the feds until you max out (I read somewhere that it's $240,000)and then have to use private loan to continue. Or do you use both at the same time?

My school's estimated budget is $60,000/year. Do I get all of it from Stafford or Stafford and private loans at once? Thanks!

[shantster]

Originally Posted by clinicallabguy

Good information. Thank you! If I cannot get my parents to file early then I think that I'll use the past several years to estimate.

Has anybody had any encounters with financial aid offices as of yet this season? How were they?

I'm accepted at UVa and Pitt. UVa's financial aid office has been very helpful, while Pitt has left something to be desired. It's funny because Pitt has been my favorite up until now. I still think it's an awesome school, but I've heard from a current student that they only give a little over $17,000/yr. for cost of living. That's great for single students, but not sufficient for those of us who are married with kids. I guess if I go there I'll have to get private loans to live off of, and I may just do it for the quality of the education I think I'll get.

Any other Pitt students feel free to comment. As well as anybody else. Please share your comments/experiences.

My loans at Pitt are only for cost of living, etc. expenses since I've got a full tuition scholarship. I get a little over $20,000 each year (not sure on exact amount right now). Remember that this is budgeted for only the months that you are in school, not the summer months, so with summer research money from the summer, that ends up being ~$24,000 for the year, which is a normal grad student stipend. It's cheap to live here so if a school gives you more for a budget for cost of living, it's probably because cost of living is more expensive.

If you are married, I'm assuming that you will have additional income from your spouse if s/he works or is in school and also has cost of living loans. You can also talk to the financial aid people and find out what they do, but since they get audits from the government to assure them that the money is going to legitimate expenses, they may not be able to increase the loan amounts.

[TMP-SMX]

Originally Posted by andexterouss

I'm new to this forum. How does financial aid work? Does you get all your loans from the feds until you max out (I read somewhere that it's $240,000)and then have to use private loan to continue. Or do you use both at the same time?

My school's estimated budget is $60,000/year. Do I get all of it from Stafford or Stafford and private loans at once? Thanks!

Your yearly Stafford limit is $40,500 (6.8%). After that you'll be tapping into Grad Plus (8.5%) (Or private loans if you dare). There are no limits to how much Grad Plus you can get (besides up to the cost of attendance minus other aid).

[andexterouss]

Originally Posted by TMP-SMX

Your yearly Stafford limit is $40,500 (6.8%). After that you'll be tapping into Grad Plus (8.5%) (Or private loans if you dare). There are no limits to how much Grad Plus you can get (besides up to the cost of attendance minus other aid).

Thanks for the reply. Definitely cleared things up.!

[punkiedad]

great forum here......I have a question I am hoping someon can help with that I think I know the answer to, but........

I am levaing a well paying job to go to med school. I am not idealistic, this is just my dream. That being said i am married and have two kids with all the associated bills.

My wife works, but we have two kids and with a teenager, day care, etc.....if we lean things out as far as expenses, and I MAX OUT for the total cost of education that my school states, add up what my wife will bring in, this will leave me $2,000 per month SHORT! OUCH.

I may be crazy, but the debt does not totally scare me. I am older and know I will find a way to pay it back 9moonlight, extra shifts, whatever....) but the question is will people lend me approx. $24,000 per year OVER THE COST OF EDUCATION set by my school? The annual total cost of education is around 50K....yikes.

That being said, this makes the military route very attractive, but I just want to explore all my options. So any replies would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[TMP-SMX]

Their CoA might be exceedingly generous to begin with, but you can definitely talk to your FA office to see if they can increase your CoA. Talk to them with your own budget to see if they can increase it. We can't really help you only your FA office can. What is the tuition at your school?

[punkiedad]

Originally Posted by TMP-SMX

Their CoA might be exceedingly generous to begin with, but you can definitely talk to your FA office to see if they can increase your CoA. Talk to them with your own budget to see if they can increase it. We can't really help you only your FA office can. What is the tuition at your school?

it seems it is a 50-50 split between tuition/fees and living. total coa is 50k and tuition is approx. 25k.

[yadayadadude]

Daycare is one thing most (all?) schools will increase COA to accomodate, so that should give you some breathing room, depending on how much of your $2K deficit is daycare.

In the past, people in your situation have been able to get private loans that were above the COA, but that's less and less common in the current lending climate. If I were you, I wouldn't count on being able to secure any funding about the COA. Your best bet is to try to get your school to increase your COA. After that, do you have a family member who could loan you some cash?