2015 Nontrad Applicants' Progress Thread

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Carbide4 said:
Glad I found this nontrad thread. As I search the Internet for tips and thoughts on moving and finding places to live, etc., from other students, all I get is unhelpful junk about loading up your bedroom at your parents or your dorm room into your car and heading out. I have a wife and 2 kids to move, as well as a house full of furniture and belongings my family and children need to live. The whole experience seemed like I was the only one trying to do this, although I knew I wasn't. But nobody seems to be talking about this at all! What position are you all in, and what tips do you have on uprooting and moving. I'm hoping to hear from people who have made the move or are in the planning process.

Did you get a house or apartment?
How early did you move before class started?
How did your spouse deal with it?
What are some good ways to keep them and the kids busy?
Anything else you think may help?
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Go to www.medicalschoolhq.net or www.oldpremeds.org they both have TONS OF HELPFUL INFO from reliable people who aren't in their early twenties with little life experience.
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Members don't see this ad :)
Being a nontrad with a job certainly has its downsides. :poke:
While my parental contribution is next to zero my contribution leaves me feeling like I'll have to sell my soul :arghh:.
One financial aid package still floating around out there.
 
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My EFC is $0 and I'm feeling the same way mang, not much love on the financial aid side.

Still waiting to hear back from OHSU on financials but expecting to just have to borrow it all. Does personal contribution have any relevance other than for scholarship consideration, can't you still borrow up to COA with grad-plus?
 
hmmmm, after seeing your EFC i feel like i've potentially made a mistake when filling out the fafsa. My EFC is in the 20,000+ range. I've received 2 packages so far that show my parental portion is about 500 nbd...but then my contribution is estimated at 20,000+. Not sure on its affect for scholarships (I have received some) but it does affect what type of loan you receive. Mainly the interest rate and whether it is subsidized or unsubsidized which would make a huge difference in the long run. Yes, you can always borrow if you have good credit for the grad-plus.
 
Subsidized is undergrad only, same with things like pell grant. All we get is the un-sub stanford and then grad plus loans, and whatever scholarships and grants the programs can give directly.

I have been getting by on low income, child support from the kids mom, and student loans loans for the past few years. Your EFC is probably correct if you're working a job job, I'm just a broke ass single parent.
 
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I've gotten no info about financial aid and I turned in everything in February. Why the long wait! My efc is also in the >$20k range so I'm not looking forward to seeing the outcome.

That deadline is coming fast! Also wait lists.. I'm just going to hang on to two of them to see if something happens but I'm curious to see how it'll all play out.
 
I had to go searching for mine. Two were on their student access portals ( not the applicant portals) and the third was in my spam box.
 
Is it correct that the salary I made before I started school is used to determine how much I can afford to pay while a full-time student making $0 after quitting my job? Do we reapply for financial aid every year so that we can use the $0 income once we start school in subsequent years?
 
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Yes and yes. FAFSA is an annual thing, but as stated above it really only changes the shape and color of your giant package of loans...
 
Edit.

@Overanxious, now you have me wondering if I did my FAFSA wrong. Although I don't think so because my taxes were finalized and prepared by a tax professional. My EFC was <$20k, and that was with a spouse working full-time and my working about half of last year.
 
I think they consider what you were making as well as what your spouse/parents are making. I don't think schools consider your salary that highly since you're not going to have one for much longer!
 
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asyouwish said:
Edit.

@Overanxious, now you have me wondering if I did my FAFSA wrong. Although I don't think so because my taxes were finalized and prepared by a tax professional. My EFC was <$20k, and that was with a spouse working full-time and my working about half of last year.
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My husband and I definitely had our taxes prepared by a professional as well. We both have full time jobs and maybe that made the difference? Put us in a different tax bracket? My father passed away (way back) and my mother was/is a housewife so I don't think they count much towards the EFC.
 
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My EFC is zero because I'm a broke parent as well. :/ Scholarships won't be released until the middle of next month, but I found out they base need determination on if you qualified for a Pell grant in undergrad. I definitely did not. So apparently I'm not financially needy. :(
 
Leslie_Knope said:
My EFC is zero because I'm a broke parent as well. :/ Scholarships won't be released until the middle of next month, but I found out they base need determination on if you qualified for a Pell grant in undergrad. I definitely did not. So apparently I'm not financially needy. :(
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Did they say it was based on if you received pell during undergrad or or based on if you would receive it if you were an undergrad now? I thought you were post-bac which would disqualify you from pell regardless of EFC, but I thought that anyone with EFC of zero met the financial qualifications for pell.

Regardless I expected to finance this mess 100% so any help I can get is a gift and will be celebrated as such.
 
WaterPog said:
Did they say it was based on if you received pell during undergrad or or based on if you would receive it if you were an undergrad now? I thought you were post-bac which would disqualify you from pell regardless of EFC, but I thought that anyone with EFC of zero met the financial qualifications for pell.

Regardless I expected to finance this mess 100% so any help I can get is a gift and will be celebrated as such.
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This is specific to my school and they said if I qualified when I was in undergrad.
 
My EFC is slightly over 11k.

My 'aid' package from Albany was ALL loans. Hoping Jeff does way better!
 
I've gotten packages from CWRU and Dartmouth. Mostly loans with a smidge of aid.
Borrowing >$200K gives me palpitations.

I'm making the right decision, right?
Tell me I'm making the right decision.
 
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GameOfBones said:
I've gotten packages from CWRU and Dartmouth. Mostly loans with a smidge of aid.
Borrowing >$200K gives me palpitations.

I'm making the right decision, right?
Tell me I'm making the right decision.
Click to expand...

Can you imagine doing anything else with your life at this point and being satisfied? That's what I have to keep telling myself. I got tired of hitting my head on that glass ceiling, and non-healthcare just doesn't excite me.
 
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Hello Everyone,

I am a 27 yo male, currently debating whether to go back to medical school after completing pharmacy school, doing a pharmacy general residency, and working at 2 different hospitals. I have just started going through the whole decision process, listing pros and cons, and determining how this could possibly change my life. I am recently married and will become a first time dad this June.

When would be the best time to take the MCAT? Is it possible to study in a few months for the exam after not being a student for over 3 years? I had a 3.8 GPA in my first 2 years of undergraduate studies and then a 3.75 GPA for 4 years of pharmacy school. Does anyone know which might be considered?

Also, I have no recent volunteer hours, but work in a hospital with physicians on a daily basis. Does it need to be volunteer hours, or simply exposure to medicine?

In addition, since I have not been in school for some time, not to mention I now live in Miami and went to pharmacy school in Buffalo, therefore I would not have any professors or mentors to write letters of recommendation for me, any suggestions?

Thank you for any input and best of luck to all!
 
Came out of lurkdom to post this... Single non-trad, late 20s, corporate drone until now. I was accepted to my top choice dream school and was so happy, a school that is known for generous aid, and have been told that they expect me to liquidate my retirement funds to pay full price for med school -- no aid. I grew up lower middle class, went to college on Pell Grants, never in a million years thought I would be expected to pay full price at a private med school or that my retirement fund would be held against me. Aside from the retirement account I have already spent all of my savings and gone into a small amount of debt to complete pre-reqs. I've already appealed the decision and was basically treated like a rich person trying to cheat the system.

I knew going into this that med school isn't cheap and that I would leave with some amount of debt, but I feel so gutted by this and I hate that it's taking away the joy I felt of getting in in the first place. No one in my life seems to understand why this is hitting me so hard (family: "ok, so just take out loans or liquidate, what's the big deal?" friends: "I didn't think there was financial aid for grad school"), just had to share.
 
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acetoacetic said:
Came out of lurkdom to post this... Single non-trad, late 20s, corporate drone until now. I was accepted to my top choice dream school and was so happy, a school that is known for generous aid, and have been told that they expect me to liquidate my retirement funds to pay full price for med school -- no aid. I grew up lower middle class, went to college on Pell Grants, never in a million years thought I would be expected to pay full price at a private med school or that my retirement fund would be held against me. Aside from the retirement account I have already spent all of my savings and gone into a small amount of debt to complete pre-reqs. I've already appealed the decision and was basically treated like a rich person trying to cheat the system.

I knew going into this that med school isn't cheap and that I would leave with some amount of debt, but I feel so gutted by this and I hate that it's taking away the joy I felt of getting in in the first place. No one in my life seems to understand why this is hitting me so hard (family: "ok, so just take out loans or liquidate, what's the big deal?" friends: "I didn't think there was financial aid for grad school"), just had to share.
Click to expand...

Did they provide a loan option or simply say "use your money"? Did you want need based aid (tuition, scholarships, etc)? I've been wondering how this will affect me as well. Mainly I want the option for loans rather than depleting my retirement savings, but I have no expectation to receive need based aid to lower the COA.
 
GameOfBones said:
I've gotten packages from CWRU and Dartmouth. Mostly loans with a smidge of aid.
Borrowing >$200K gives me palpitations.

I'm making the right decision, right?
Tell me I'm making the right decision.
Click to expand...
Oh no don't tell me Dartmouth's was a smidge! I'm still waiting on mine... I guess I kind of get why this is different than undergrad because we are heading into a career that makes good money, but still. Sticker price is the real price?
 
NonTrad16 said:
Did they provide a loan option or simply say "use your money"? Did you want need based aid (tuition, scholarships, etc)? I've been wondering how this will affect me as well. Mainly I want the option for loans rather than depleting my retirement savings, but I have no expectation to receive need based aid to lower the COA.
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I have the option (and intend to exercise it) of taking federal unsubsidized loans for the COA. The interest rates are pretty high and they start accruing immediately, but it's significantly cheaper than the penalty (both explicit and implicit) of dipping into retirement savings.

My EFC per FAFSA (which is calculated without retirement savings) is less than half of the COA of my school, so I was expecting to receive a small amount of need-based aid or at least a more attractive loan option, like a school subsidized loan. AFAIK the federal unsubsidized loans will always be an option regardless of your need, they're just expensive.
 
acetoacetic said:
I have the option (and intend to exercise it) of taking federal unsubsidized loans for the COA. The interest rates are pretty high and they start accruing immediately, but it's significantly cheaper than the penalty (both explicit and implicit) of dipping into retirement savings.

My EFC per FAFSA (which is calculated without retirement savings) is less than half of the COA of my school, so I was expecting to receive a small amount of need-based aid or at least a more attractive loan option, like a school subsidized loan. AFAIK the federal unsubsidized loans will always be an option regardless of your need, they're just expensive.
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Timeout: I thought that early withdrawals from retirement funds for educational purposes was excluded from the penalty. I don't plan on doing it, but that was my understanding.
 
ConsultantMD said:
Timeout: I thought that early withdrawals from retirement funds for educational purposes was excluded from the penalty. I don't plan on doing it, but that was my understanding.
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You are correct and the details are here: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch09.html. Although it is not subject to the 10% penalty, it's still considered taxable income in the year of the distribution (and thus incurs a penalty relative to leaving it alone!).
 
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acetoacetic said:
You are correct and the details are here: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch09.html. Although it is not subject to the 10% penalty, it's still considered taxable income in the year of the distribution (and thus incurs a penalty relative to leaving it alone!).
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So if you do it for aid awards as an MS2, it'll come back in your tax returns since you won't have any other 'income' right? Depending on bracket, etc.?
 
asyouwish said:
Can you imagine doing anything else with your life at this point and being satisfied? That's what I have to keep telling myself. I got tired of hitting my head on that glass ceiling, and non-healthcare just doesn't excite me.
Click to expand...

You are so right. I would rather be broke and heart happy than less broke and satisfied, or even worse, miserable.
Plus, I get a little emotional driving passed the teaching hospital in my city. I think that means I'm on the right track.

:)
 
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Withdrawing from schools is really SCARY. Like I might forget to send my transcripts and have NOWHERE to go.
Am I the only one that feel that way?

I let go of all my acceptances except CWRU today. I'm going to stay on the WL at Pitt and WashU and see what happens.
Anyone else going to Case?
 
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GameOfBones said:
Withdrawing from schools is really SCARY. Like I might forget to send my transcripts and have NOWHERE to go.
Am I the only one that feel that way?

I let go of all my acceptances except CWRU today. I'm going to stay on the WL at Pitt and WashU and see what happens.
Anyone else going to Case?
Click to expand...
I felt that way when I withdrew from Nevada before I had finalized all my documents for Utah.
 
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I withdrew all but OHSU as of today as well. It was surprisingly stressful!
 
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GameOfBones said:
Withdrawing from schools is really SCARY. Like I might forget to send my transcripts and have NOWHERE to go.
Am I the only one that feel that way?

I let go of all my acceptances except CWRU today. I'm going to stay on the WL at Pitt and WashU and see what happens.
Anyone else going to Case?
Click to expand...
Wow!! Big news! Second Look must have been impressive. . .welcome to Cleveland (probably!););)
 
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GameOfBones said:
Withdrawing from schools is really SCARY. Like I might forget to send my transcripts and have NOWHERE to go.
Am I the only one that feel that way?

I let go of all my acceptances except CWRU today. I'm going to stay on the WL at Pitt and WashU and see what happens.
Anyone else going to Case?
Click to expand...
Congrats!! And you too @WaterPog! Did you decide to do it today just to make sure the schools knew well before the deadline? Or was it so that you stop agonizing over the decision?
 
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I had decided a while back, but was waiting until I had all the financial info to make it official. Got the last award letter over the weekend.
 
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canadianinusa said:
I still haven't withdrawn. I am will this week though, I guess. Is it reasonable to call and ask about the status of merit scholarships?
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I am not an authority, but what could it hurt? I am planning to do something like this. Not knowing the aid package is like shopping in one of those stores in which no prices are listed and being asked to commit to a purchase before knowing what you will have to pay. We really do need the information about money to make a wise choice.
 
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BB really nailed it. Though, in my experience if they don't list the price...(if you have to ask)...it's too expensive. :(
I called Dartmouth today and all they had to say was they were working on it and they knew that deadline was coming up. Makes me nervous to wait to the last minute.
 
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Down to one acceptance today! Staying on the WL at Columbia, but I am so so excited to call Dartmouth my home next year!
 
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ConsultantMD said:
Down to one acceptance today! Staying on the WL at Columbia, but I am so so excited to call Dartmouth my home next year!
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Great, @ConsultantMD ! Congratulations on choosing an awesome school. I don't doubt that the Big Green is excited to welcome you home--a MATCH!! :)
 
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canadianinusa said:
I found out today that I did not get any merit based scholarships. I know they are not common but I thought I had a good chance at one based on my mcat score it essays. Oh well . :(
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@canadianinusa, this totally sucks. On all the threads that I follow, it seems that the scholarship money is pretty sparse this year, at least among the sdn crowd. Even the financial aid offered seems insufficient--way more than the FAFSA numbers suggested. I keep staring at the numbers in the vain hope that they will literally transfigure and turn into something more substantial. For those with multiple acceptances, it seems that most often the bad news is pretty consistent across schools, too. (Except the news seems to be particularly dire at Case, for some reason.) I'm sorry. Do you think that checking in with the admissions folks might be acceptable? No change might follow, but no bad consequences are likely.

I looked back at your previous post--since you got awards in the past, do you think that someone who knows you might be willing to go to bat for you?
 
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@canadianinusa You could apply to private loan programs for international students. Citibank and Sallie Mae Smart Loan are both options. Maybe you can find some helpful information here...https://medicine.yale.edu/education/finaid/apply/international/index.aspx. While a different school, you may be able to find more resources searching through other school websites. I'd check other institutions that accept international students and they may have listed what to do. Outside sources for scholarships etc...https://geiselmed.dartmouth.edu/admin/fin_aid/. Good Luck!
 
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Overanxious said:
@canadianinusa You could apply to private loan programs for international students. Citibank and Sallie Mae Smart Loan are both options. Maybe you can find some helpful information here...https://medicine.yale.edu/education/finaid/apply/international/index.aspx. While a different school, you may be able to find more resources searching through other school websites. I'd check other institutions that accept international students and they may have listed what to do. Outside sources for scholarships etc...https://geiselmed.dartmouth.edu/admin/fin_aid/. Good Luck!
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@Overanxious--nice you!
 
canadianinusa said:
I can't get any financial aid due to being foreign, blah. I did actually ask them, and they were kind enough to let me know that I am not getting a scholarship as otherwise I'd just be waiting around. Due to the nature of the particular school that I'm attending, I don't think that anyone that I know will be helpful. I think the best that I can do is to start applying for non-school specific scholarships and financial aid when I am eligible to do so.

Thanks for your feedback and support though, I really appreciate it! What will you be doing with the lower financial aid this year?
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Give two more days to figure it out. . .looks as if I am signing up to be in hock pretty much forever!
 
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Augh, the school nearest to my home (which I think may be my top choice due to typical non-trad reasons) has still not announced financial aid and scholarship awards! It's so hard to commit without knowing the price tag!

Ok, thanks for enduring my rant. Good luck to the rest of you still making decisions!
 
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just withdrew everywhere but Tufts MD/MBA! Loved the school. So excited - the MBA starts in 6 weeks. #payingoffloansuntilidie
 
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Just withdrew from all but one school. :barf: How ridiculously and irrationally nauseating and panic inducing. God I hope I have all my t's crossed and i's dotted and made the right decision. :sorry:
 
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Just remember Overanxious, you just made several other applicants very happy ;-)
 
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WaterPog said:
Just remember Overanxious, you just made several other applicants very happy ;-)
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True Story!

Myself and a multitude of others are anxiously awaiting that point when enough people withdraw that we get a happy phone call.

That said I can definitely understand the anxiety.

Congrats on your decision though and I'm sure you will love it there!
 
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