2017-2018 Washington University in St. Louis

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I had something similar. Im not exactly sure what I am supposed to do with the parental contribution. Other schools did not bother with that and just offered loans to cover up the balance.

Im also not sure how the average indebtedness is that low. -_- Im just gonna wait till second look I guess, but this dissapointing
What is going to happen at Second Look? You mean you will ask them about it? Bc I can't afford to make it out to St Louis (irony is sweet), so I don't really know what to do.

Every other school, even if the scholarship was lower than WashU, at least approved me for maximum Direct Unsubsidized, which is the nicer of the two federal options.

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I am very confused by how this is disbursed; I got some scholarship and some fed aid, but there is still a major gap under alleged "parent contribution" that my parents will not be contributing that I would need fed aid for - how do I fill that? Am I expected to get private loans for that?

And for a school that alleges indebtedness of $100k per student on average, this finaid is pretty abysmal.

I guess my parent contribution is 100%. Have not delivered the happy news to my parents yet. Hopefully they like the school as much as I do. :unsure: However I do believe you will need private loans to fill the gap. I need to figure out how.
 
I guess my parent contribution is 100%. Have not delivered the happy news to my parents yet. Hopefully they like the school as much as I do. :unsure: However I do believe you will need private loans to fill the gap. I need to figure out how.

@BlackOrthoSurg @extramilemed @Yogi2008 WashU leaves the "parental contribution" to show what need they calculated, and then divide up that need between loans and scholarship. As with most of us, our parents wont' be helping. So you can send in a form and have your Federal Direct Unsub Loans adjusted to anywhere up to maximum ($40,500 / year), and then if you need more, request Grad PLUS loans up to the cost of attendance. So just like any other school you can still get loans up to COA - you just have to ask.
 
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@BlackOrthoSurg @extramilemed @Yogi2008 WashU leaves the "parental contribution" to show what need they calculated, and then divide up that need between loans and scholarship. As with most of us, our parents wont' be helping. So you can send in a form and have your Federal Direct Unsub Loans adjusted to anywhere up to maximum ($40,500 / year), and then if you need more, request Grad PLUS loans up to the cost of attendance. So just like any other school you can still get loans up to COA - you just have to ask.
Thank you! This is very helpfully. Any idea about the loan rates?
 
@BlackOrthoSurg @extramilemed @Yogi2008 WashU leaves the "parental contribution" to show what need they calculated, and then divide up that need between loans and scholarship. As with most of us, our parents wont' be helping. So you can send in a form and have your Federal Direct Unsub Loans adjusted to anywhere up to maximum ($40,500 / year), and then if you need more, request Grad PLUS loans up to the cost of attendance. So just like any other school you can still get loans up to COA - you just have to ask.

I figured as much. Still doesn't explain how their indebtedness is so low. Has to be all that merit aid
 
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Curious whether any of you with your aid offers can answer whether the parental contribution was different from that calculated by the FAFSA? Did things generally line up with your EFC? They asked for a lot more information from parents than I expected.
 
Curious whether any of you with your aid offers can answer whether the parental contribution was different from that calculated by the FAFSA? Did things generally line up with your EFC? They asked for a lot more information from parents than I expected.

Mine was a lot higher
 
Curious whether any of you with your aid offers can answer whether the parental contribution was different from that calculated by the FAFSA? Did things generally line up with your EFC? They asked for a lot more information from parents than I expected.
My EFC was equal to my FASFA EFC. Overall, I got a great need-based scholarship from Wash U, although I come from a lower income family. I hit the max loan of 30K/ year and the rest - efc was covered by scholarship.
 
Where does FAFSA calculate a parental contribution? I just see the EFC, which is supposedly only based on students for anyone in graduate school (including medical school)
The parental contribution is within the EFC Formula that you can find online (for dependent students), but you're right about being considered independent if you're in grad school. I guess I was thinking more if it was calculated similarly to the formula in FAFSA when individual schools make their calculations, or if they use your FAFSA EFC, etc.

As for WashU: Crap. Thanks for the input, guys.
 
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The parental contribution is within the EFC Formula that you can find online (for dependent students), but you're right about being considered independent if you're in grad school. I guess I was thinking more if it was calculated similarly to the formula in FAFSA when individual schools make their calculations, or if they use your FAFSA EFC, etc.

As for WashU: Crap. Thanks for the input, guys.

If you take a look at the EFC formula, it says that anyone enrolled in a doctoral degree program is automatically considered independent, and uses that formula. So I don't think FAFSA EFC includes the parental contribution.

Source: https://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/071017EFCFormulaGuide1819.pdf
 
A friend told me MD stands for "Major Debt". I guess he is right.
 
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Did anyone receive their financial aid today? Or did you guys get it a while ago?
 
when are we expecting WL movement to begin? Only after April 30?
 
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Withdrew my acceptance. GL everybody
 
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Withdrew as another med school has given me a full-tuition scholarship, and it seems that there's not much financial aid going on at WashU this year. Hope one of you will get in!
 
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Withdrew as another med school has given me a full-tuition scholarship, and it seems that there's not much financial aid going on at WashU this year. Hope one of you will get in!
congrats on that scholarship! hot damn!
 
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Just got my financial aid info...very disappointed. My state school is offering me full tuition but I'm still leaning heavily towards WashU...Does anyone know if they still possibly give out merit scholarships after the financial aid letter has come through?
 
Just got my financial aid info...very disappointed. My state school is offering me full tuition but I'm still leaning heavily towards WashU...Does anyone know if they still possibly give out merit scholarships after the financial aid letter has come through?

Yeah I was sad too :/

I'm not sure. There seem to be varying reports on the merit aid front. Dean Ratts told me merit aid has all been given out, but I suppose if one of those people decides not to come to WashU then hopefully that aid will go to someone else.
 
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Yeah I was sad too :/

I'm not sure. There seem to be varying reports on the merit aid front. Dean Ratts told me merit aid has all been given out, but I suppose if one of those people decides not to come to WashU then hopefully that aid will go to someone else.
Lol will try to keep my hopes up. But I guess we're just doomed to end up drowning in debt:(
 
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Yeah I was sad too :/

I'm not sure. There seem to be varying reports on the merit aid front. Dean Ratts told me merit aid has all been given out, but I suppose if one of those people decides not to come to WashU then hopefully that aid will go to someone else.
Did you call Dean Ratts recently? I was really sadden to hear that they have given out all merit aid already.
 
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Yes I spoke to her recently.
I called the admissions office last week about this and they said merit aid would continue being doled out through April into May. This seems like very conflicting reports, and again, I do not understand how their average debt is so low yet their aid is so stingy. I thought WashU was known as one of the more generous schools?
 
I know! I've been pretty down. With some tantalizing other offers it's a bummer, but then I think about what an amazing school it is and I figure it will all be for the best in the end.
I know I am but an internet stranger, but every physician I have spoken to wholeheartedly told me to go where the money is best. Med school is hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt with 20 years of interest at 6% a year; no amount of prestige will be able to make up for additional loans.

You'll make the best decision for you, but I encourage you to take this to heart. I know someone who went to HMS and met his wife there, and they are now in nearly a half million in debt. Despite both going into lucrative fields, they are nearing 40 and nowhere near being able to purchase a house nor start a family.

Sermon over.
 
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I know I am but an internet stranger, but every physician I have spoken to wholeheartedly told me to go where the money is best. Med school is hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt with 20 years of interest at 6% a year; no amount of prestige will be able to make up for additional loans.

You'll make the best decision for you, but I encourage you to take this to heart. I know someone who went to HMS and met his wife there, and they are now in nearly a half million in debt. Despite both going into lucrative fields, they are nearing 40 and nowhere near being able to purchase a house nor start a family.

Sermon over.
thats scary as hell
 
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About 85k. So 340k + interest = easily over 500k to pay it all off.
The calculation is actually $3 per $1 you take out, according to white coat investor (I recommend everyone read that site).
 
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The calculation is actually $3 per $1 you take out, according to white coat investor (I recommend everyone read that site).
Wow, I always assumed it was closer to $2, not $3. That'd be a million dollars in post-tax, post-expense income. Makes me seriously question whether going to a higher ranked, more expensive school is really worth it.
 
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Wow, I always assumed it was closer to $2, not $3. That'd be a million dollars in post-tax, post-expense income. Makes me seriously question whether going to a higher ranked, more expensive school is really worth it.
If you’re receiving no aid and have to take out everything via Stafford/GradPLUS, I can see the conversion being $3 to 1, but if you’ve received any subsidized loans, those are closer to $1.5-2 to 1.
 
This is becoming a finaid forum, which I am assuming is not helpful to people looking for info on WashU, so I will (try to) cap it off with this statement: medical school is just a 4 year period in your life. It may seem like the biggest undertaking, and therefore worth the investment, but your career and life are just starting. Most medical schools, with very few exceptions, will offer you an opportunity to become the best physician you can be. Therefore, in my viewpoint, your future self will thank you for going where your debt will be lowest.
 
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Just withdrew from the waitlist. Hopefully this results in some movement for others! Best of luck!
 
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Does anyone know what the chances are of getting accepted off the wait list? Thanks in advance!
 
Does anyone know what the chances are of getting accepted off the wait list? Thanks in advance!

In 2016, WashU interviewed 967 applicants and accepted 375 for a class of 123.

Assuming that...
a) everyone is either waitlisted or accepted after interviewing (I don’t know whether this is the case, but I haven’t seen any reports of post-II rejection on SDN.)
b) they do not overfill their class (I don’t know whether or not this is true.)
c) everyone waitlisted remains on the waitlist (This is definitely not true, so the estimate will be conservative.)
d) the data from 2016 is applicable to the current cycle

…your chances of being accepted off the waitlist=
The number of applicants accepted off the waitlist/The number of applicants on the waitlist=
(375-123)/(977-123)≈30%
 
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In 2016, WashU interviewed 967 applicants and accepted 375 for a class of 123.

Assuming that...
a) everyone is either waitlisted or accepted after interviewing (I don’t know whether this is the case, but I haven’t seen any reports of post-II rejection on SDN.)
b) they do not overfill their class (I don’t know whether or not this is true.)
c) everyone waitlisted remains on the waitlist (This is definitely not true, so the estimate will be conservative.)
d) the data from 2016 is applicable to the current cycle

…your chances of being accepted off the waitlist=
The number of applicants accepted off the waitlist/The number of applicants on the waitlist=
(375-123)/(977-123)≈30%
I am trying to understand this... so as of now, the # of offers they have made = class size. Then based on 2016's stats, they had to make more than double the class size in order to fill their class? WOW...
 
so as of now, the # of offers they have made = class size

That's an assumption you have to make for the formula to be valid. I don't know if it is actually the case.
 
That's an assumption you have to make for the formula to be valid. I don't know if it is actually the case.
It is definitely not a valid assumption. There were 166 accepted applicants at Second Look, all of whom have been accepted. Presumably some accepted applicants didn't go to second look.

The class size is only about 125 so many more people than the class size have already been accepted.
 
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The class size is only about 125 so many more people than the class size have already been accepted.

Many, many more - 2-3x according to SDN advisors, who say waitlist management is a PITA for admissions committees. Copping again from another thread, here are the yields of last year's USNWR T20 (haven't seen anyone do an updated one):

p9ftyTf.png
 
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I am trying to understand this... so as of now, the # of offers they have made = class size. Then based on 2016's stats, they had to make more than double the class size in order to fill their class? WOW...
I doubt that's true
 
I doubt that's true
If they have already accepted more than double or triple the class size, then they don't expect most of them to matriculate? What if most do decide to stay, then they will have to increase their class size, right? They can't cancel their offers. Still don't understand how it works!
 
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