2010-2011 University of Virginia Application Thread

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Prancer said:
Like how you think tippyboat. Count me in!
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Haha deal! The article says local OBGYN's are "prescribing" it to overdue women. Could be fun to look into this when we get there.
 
WahooBME said:
M1 & M2:

  • IS up 9.1% or $3,457 to $41,337
  • OOS up 4.4% or $2,135 to $51,009
M3 & M4:

  • IS up 7.6% or $2,817 to $39,887
  • OOS up 4.0% or $1,945 to $50,009
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Whoa, what? This is now not really the cheaper option for me.
 
So it looks like the subsidized Stafford loans will no longer be subsidized under Obama's new budget. Any ideas on how that will affect our aid packages?

UVa is the only school I know that doesn't package unsubsidized loans before calculating school-aid demonstrated need..which is a good thing. But I really wonder how this $8,500 will be factored in now considering it is unsubsidized just like any other federal loan.
 
I could be wrong but I believe the proposed educational budget is for 2012 and therefore will not affect fin aid until "2nd" year. If subsidized loans for grad and professional students are cut in 2012 it will only amount to ~$3,600 in interest ($25,500 principle) by the time we graduate and enter repayment. All things considered that's not a huge amount of money.
 
OrangeandMaroon said:
I could be wrong but I believe the proposed educational budget is for 2012 and therefore will not affect fin aid until "2nd" year. If subsidized loans for grad and professional students are cut in 2012 it will only amount to ~$3,600 in interest ($25,500 principle) by the time we graduate and enter repayment. All things considered that's not a huge amount of money.
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Agreed. It won't be a huge issue $-wise, but I'm wondering if it would change how UVa calculates financial need in the future.

Eh, no point worrying about it now..I just want my financial aid already! I really want to come to UVa, but I wanna know if it makes financial sense to do so.
 
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No word on scholarships for anybody yet? I wonder if that rumor that there won't be any merit scholarships this year is true.
 
Has anybody talked to the administration about a date when financial aid packages will be sent out? Are they coming by email or mail?
 
thegreenplanet said:
Has anybody talked to the administration about a date when financial aid packages will be sent out? Are they coming by email or mail?
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If you submit everything (as in, have nothing on your to-do list when you log into SIS), they promise to get it to you by May 1st. Email.
 
Tippyboat said:
No word on scholarships for anybody yet? I wonder if that rumor that there won't be any merit scholarships this year is true.
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I think only two people posted about it last year, so the odds of awardees being active on SDN is pretty low. I really doubt that rumor is true.
 
Steeler7588 said:
I think only two people posted about it last year, so the odds of awardees being active on SDN is pretty low. I really doubt that rumor is true.
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i can confirm the rumor isn't true. i found out i got one a couple weeks ago via email - was pretty shocked/excited! love this school!!!!
 
MSFbound said:
i can confirm the rumor isn't true. i found out i got one a couple weeks ago via email - was pretty shocked/excited! love this school!!!!
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Congratulations!!
Do they send them out all in the same batch? If so guess the rest of us didn't get one.
 
mvenus929 said:
If they do, don't feel bad. I didn't get one either. I still got a pretty nice aid package, all things considered.
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OrangeandMaroon said:
no
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Thank you guys 🙂.

I kept another acceptance around just to see what aid packages would look like. I received it this week and was a little confused about what qualifies a package as generous. At this other school, I qualified for 8,500 of subsidized loans (which apparently is the maximum) and the rest divided between unsubsidized federal and Grad Plus. Is this a crappy deal? I can't imagine how they could make it better without giving grants. I don't know if this school had need-based grants, but if so, I wonder if not getting one there mean I won't get one at UVA.

Is grad Plus the worst of the non-private-sector loans? It has a higher interest rate than the subsidized but some of the terms were different, which I'm not sure if it's better or not.

Oh man I'm just skimming the surface of all this stuff. I probably have hours of reading ahead before understanding this but your input would be very helpful. Thanks as always!
 
Tippyboat said:
Do they send them out all in the same batch? If so guess the rest of us didn't get one.
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I just checked and I wasn't notified until three weeks into April.

That loan package seems like the minimum you can get - all loans. You're right though, you can't do much better without getting grants or scholarships. Some schools offer their own loans with good interest rates (Harvard, I think?), but that's probably rare. I don't think schools calculate need exactly the same, so maybe you'll see something different.
 
How is the student health insurance (Aetna?)? I have had really bad experiences with my undergrad's student insurance, so I'm wondering what it's like at UVA.

Do most med students use this insurance? It's not convenient for my parents to put me on their policy so I'm thinking I will have to. Are just automatically enrolled since it is part of tuition?
 
Tippyboat said:
Thank you guys 🙂.

I kept another acceptance around just to see what aid packages would look like. I received it this week and was a little confused about what qualifies a package as generous. At this other school, I qualified for 8,500 of subsidized loans (which apparently is the maximum) and the rest divided between unsubsidized federal and Grad Plus. Is this a crappy deal? I can't imagine how they could make it better without giving grants. I don't know if this school had need-based grants, but if so, I wonder if not getting one there mean I won't get one at UVA.

Is grad Plus the worst of the non-private-sector loans? It has a higher interest rate than the subsidized but some of the terms were different, which I'm not sure if it's better or not.

Oh man I'm just skimming the surface of all this stuff. I probably have hours of reading ahead before understanding this but your input would be very helpful. Thanks as always!
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That's pretty much the worst deal you can get... pure loans. I suppose its not as bad as those who have to go into the private sector for loans, but still...

UVA gave me grants, school loans (subsidized and 5% interest), and then federal loans. I didn't need any grad plus because I haven't met the cap for unsubsidized loans yet. If you can avoid PLUS loans, do.

Tippyboat said:
How is the student health insurance (Aetna?)? I have had really bad experiences with my undergrad's student insurance, so I'm wondering what it's like at UVA.

Do most med students use this insurance? It's not convenient for my parents to put me on their policy so I'm thinking I will have to. Are just automatically enrolled since it is part of tuition?
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I use the insurance, because I don't qualify to go on my mom's plan, despite being under 25. Stupid government. About half our class is younger than me, so I'd wager that most of them still qualify to be put on their parents plans, so I'm not sure how many people in our class actually have the student insurance.

The plus side of it is that you can go to student health without paying a copay, and only pay when you're referred somewhere else. I've never actually had to file a claim (the only things I've gone to student health for is the flu shot, which the SOM paid for, and a tetanus booster, which I didn't have to fill out any paperwork for), so I don't know how good it is in that sense.

You do have to enroll in it... it's not part of the tuition (your use of student health is covered under the fees, but not your insurance), but part of the cost of attendance. I believe in your acceptance materials, or the materials they send you later in the summer, provide information about how to enroll in the plan, and you will have to pay your first installment prior to starting classes, so that's something to keep in mind.
 
mvenus929 said:
That's pretty much the worst deal you can get... pure loans. I suppose its not as bad as those who have to go into the private sector for loans, but still...

UVA gave me grants, school loans (subsidized and 5% interest), and then federal loans. I didn't need any grad plus because I haven't met the cap for unsubsidized loans yet. If you can avoid PLUS loans, do.



I use the insurance, because I don't qualify to go on my mom's plan, despite being under 25. Stupid government. About half our class is younger than me, so I'd wager that most of them still qualify to be put on their parents plans, so I'm not sure how many people in our class actually have the student insurance.

The plus side of it is that you can go to student health without paying a copay, and only pay when you're referred somewhere else. I've never actually had to file a claim (the only things I've gone to student health for is the flu shot, which the SOM paid for, and a tetanus booster, which I didn't have to fill out any paperwork for), so I don't know how good it is in that sense.

You do have to enroll in it... it's not part of the tuition (your use of student health is covered under the fees, but not your insurance), but part of the cost of attendance. I believe in your acceptance materials, or the materials they send you later in the summer, provide information about how to enroll in the plan, and you will have to pay your first installment prior to starting classes, so that's something to keep in mind.
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can student health do physicals and fill prescriptions?
 
Student health here is much better than at my undergrad. I believe that your tuition includes a fee that entitles you to use student health without ever paying an in-house co-pay. I have had to get two prescriptions during visits, and there is actually a pharmacy in the building so you can purchase your drugs there. The doctors there are normal UVA physicians.

Here is a list of their services: http://www.virginia.edu/studenthealth/services.html

Edit: ^ same here
 
Does anyone know if the new $41,489 tuition can be covered with just Stafford loans or will Grad PLUS loans also be necessary?
 
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danh489 said:
Does anyone know if the new $41,489 tuition can be covered with just Stafford loans or will Grad PLUS loans be necessary to cover tuition?
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I didn't need to take out any PLUS loans, and didn't take out the full amount offered to me in unsubsized loans. It depends on what your need is and if you qualify for grants and school loans (and if you've hit the max on stafford loans from undergrad). Just wait for your package and see how it turns out.

It'll come close, if it doesn't meet it completely. I think I was eligible for about that in Stafford loans, and it might've been more if I hadn't gotten other help.
 
danh489 said:
Does anyone know if the new $41,489 tuition can be covered with just Stafford loans or will Grad PLUS loans be necessary to cover tuition?
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For 2010-2011 the maximum subsidized Stafford Loan amount for a student in a Health Professions program is $8,500. For a 12-month enrollment an additional $38,667 may be borrowed in the form of an unsubsidized Stafford Loan for a total, sub and unsub, of $47,167. For a period less than 12 months the unsub loan limit is prorated.

9 months: $12,000 + $20,000 = $32,000
10 months: $12,000 + ($20,000/9months)*10 months = $34,222

The first year is listed as 10 months, so yes. Tuition alone (not covering the remaining COA) will fall under the Stafford Loan limits.
 
afob100 said:
So the tuition and fees for 2011-2012 have been officially posted (slightly higher than the previous numbers posted here):

http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/medical-students/financial-aid/medical-school-costs

I emailed financial aid and award letters will be going out next week. Hope that helps!
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Thanks afob. Although the numbers themselves are depressing 🙁.

Now I'm anxious about the award package. Although everyone on here has basically said UVA is more generous than the other schools, it's still nerveracking. I only qualified for ~20,000 in stafford loans at another school so hopefully the way UVA calculates "need" will be better. :xf:
 
So I logged into SIS today and noticed that my financial aid information was posted! I was pleasantly surprised with my aid and will definitely be attending UVa this fall!!!
 
afob100 said:
So I logged into SIS today and noticed that my financial aid information was posted! I was pleasantly surprised with my aid and will definitely be attending UVa this fall!!!
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Congrats!!

Where exactly did you find this link? When I log into mine and click on "view financial aid," it still says access denied and things like that. Were you notified that it was posted? Thanks!
 
Tippyboat said:
Congrats!!

Where exactly did you find this link? When I log into mine and click on "view financial aid," it still says access denied and things like that. Were you notified that it was posted? Thanks!
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Yea that's the place..it used to say inquiry access denied but now gives a link to my aid. I checked it randomly this morning...no notification.
 
afob100 said:
Yea that's the place..it used to say inquiry access denied but now gives a link to my aid. I checked it randomly this morning...no notification.
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Ah thanks, they must be doing them one at a time. Congrats again!
 
So i was looking online at the laptop deals for virginia students, available here:

http://www.uvastudentcomputers.com/shop_medical.asp

and see that they have two laptops (a latitude and macbook pro).
However, I see that the business school also has a few listed, namely a 14" latitude as well as a nice lenovo (also 14"). I was thinking about going with one of the darden deals (just not purchasing the software bundle) in order to get a 14" lenovo (more portable: 3.9lb vs 5.1lb+).

Any current students have any opinions on screen real estate vs portability? What size screen do you have, and do you wish your laptop was lighter?
 
Strontium said:
Any current students have any opinions on screen real estate vs portability? What size screen do you have, and do you wish your laptop was lighter?
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The Learning Studio tables are designed to fit laptops up to 29.5 inches wide. I have a 15" or thereabouts, and I love it. I've been carrying it so long that I really don't notice the weight anymore, unless I'm carrying more than one additional book with me. It's a good size for looking at the radiology and pathology problem sets as well.

A 14" should do you fine.
 
Mvenus, a few months back you mentioned that students were required to bring their laptops to class and that you didn't know anyone that used an iPad. Is that still the case as far as tablet use goes? I was hoping to just bring an iPad with a wireless keyboard to class. Is that doable in your opinion?
 
OrangeandMaroon said:
Mvenus, a few months back you mentioned that students were required to bring their laptops to class and that you didn't know anyone that used an iPad. Is that still the case as far as tablet use goes? I was hoping to just bring an iPad with a wireless keyboard to class. Is that doable in your opinion?
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First, a disclaimer: I've never used an iPad, and really don't have any desire to use one, so I'm a little biased in that sense.

Now that I've actually been moving around the room more (in part due to new groups), I have seen one person use an iPad in class. He seems to do fine with it. There are a handful that use paper and pencil to take notes as well (but I would not suggest that, unless you're very, very good at taking notes).

You can try it out the first few weeks of MCM, and adjust if it doesn't work for you. Of course, there are many people who studied a certain way at the beginning of the year and took notes in a certain way, and don't do that anymore because of the demands of the later systems, so it may work great in the beginning and not so well later on, or visa versa.
 
mvenus929 said:
First, a disclaimer: I've never used an iPad, and really don't have any desire to use one, so I'm a little biased in that sense.

Now that I've actually been moving around the room more (in part due to new groups), I have seen one person use an iPad in class. He seems to do fine with it. There are a handful that use paper and pencil to take notes as well (but I would not suggest that, unless you're very, very good at taking notes).

You can try it out the first few weeks of MCM, and adjust if it doesn't work for you. Of course, there are many people who studied a certain way at the beginning of the year and took notes in a certain way, and don't do that anymore because of the demands of the later systems, so it may work great in the beginning and not so well later on, or visa versa.
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Thanks for your help!
 
quick question:

my "academic year total" on my financial aid award letter is about $2500 less than the 72K-ish total listed on uva's webiste.

does anyone know what could cause this discrepancy?
 
CAK3 said:
quick question:

my "academic year total" on my financial aid award letter is about $2500 less than the 72K-ish total listed on uva's webiste.

does anyone know what could cause this discrepancy?
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They probably used your supposed parental contribution + your own supposed contribution to determine that your total need is less than the full cost of attendance.You might be able to live with 2500 less than the full COA if you are economical?
 
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Are electrical outlets available at each seat in both the learning studio and the lecture hall?
 
Strontium said:
Are electrical outlets available at each seat in both the learning studio and the lecture hall?
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The learning studio has 8 outlets per table (9 seats), and the auditorium has outlets for every seat spread out along the table.

If you have a Mac, I implore you to use the cord that has a regular three prong plug, rather than the base unit. Those take up a lot of space in the LS and block other outlets at the table.
 
A question about setting money aside for supplies:

I read somewhere earlier in this thread that being paperless saves students a lot of money on textbooks. In the COA, is the $1039 for books/supplies all for mandatory texts? In general, how many books do you buy and how many do you get online?

For the $914 of medical instruments, aside from stethoscope and scrubs, what else are we buying? Did it cost everyone $900+?

http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/medical-students/financial-aid/medical-school-costs
 
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mvenus929 said:
The learning studio has 8 outlets per table (9 seats), and the auditorium has outlets for every seat spread out along the table.

If you have a Mac, I implore you to use the cord that has a regular three prong plug, rather than the base unit. Those take up a lot of space in the LS and block other outlets at the table.
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In the auditorium, are you referring to the table in the front of the room? Does the audience have outlets?

Thanks
 
Strontium said:
In the auditorium, are you referring to the table in the front of the room? Does the audience have outlets?
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The tables at the front of the room move, and there's no outlets associated with them (there's a big box in the floor to plug in microphones, but that's it). The outlets are spread out along the tables in the audience, so every person has one outlet available to them.
 
mvenus929 said:
The tables at the front of the room move, and there's no outlets associated with them (there's a big box in the floor to plug in microphones, but that's it). The outlets are spread out along the tables in the audience, so every person has one outlet available to them.
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Perfect, thanks!
 
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