Aid with parents making $400,000?

[banana5]

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[premediate]

if ur parents are making 400k a year, 9 times out of 10 they are helping u with something.

 

[mshheaddoc]

I believe you'd still be eligible for staffords but don't really know. You could always call a financial aid off and ask them ... Wish I could be more help.

 

[Lesley]

I'm an undergrad so this is purely my curiosity:

How much is one's parents' financial situation taken into account when financial aid is calculated/awarded from med schools? My parents make close to $400,000 a year, but feel that once I graduate from college I should start paying my own way in the world. In other words, I don't think they're going to contribute anything in terms of med school costs.

Is this going to screw me over? It did with college financial aid - I didn't even bother applying. Why should I get less aid than someone whose parents make $50,000 if neither of us will be seeing a penny of it?

All federal financial aid, loans and grants, is need based. Private loans are dispersed based on your future potential to pay back the loan. Based on what you have written above, you will be able to get any money that you need, but it may not be at the lower interest rates associated with federal loans. While I am not sure if you can claim independent status even though you will be entering a professional program, it may be the only way to qualify for federal money. Need is greatly determined by a family's income from the previous year. Income weighs more heavily than assets. There are quite a few independent student financial aid professionals around. Maybe you should look one up and schedule a meeting before you fill out any financial aid applications. They may be able to offer you some solid advice. Good luck.

 

[dpmd]

Graduate students are considered independent for the purposes of federal student financial aid. This means only your income (and your spouses if you have one) will determine your estimated financial contribution (EFC). This determines what type of aid you are eligible, but for graduate school I think this is limited to stafford and Perkins loans (the grants are just for undergrads I believe).

Your school may require parent information to determine your eligibility for their need based aid. They have limited funds for need based aid and it is impossible for them to determine if your parents are helping you or not. If you don't provide that info you just aren't eligible for need based school aid.

Dependent on your financial status (income, assets, etc) you will likely be able to get some subsidized stafford loans, maybe some perkins loans, and lots of unsubsidized stafford loans. There are limits to how much federal loans you can get per year that might be an issue at a private university. However, you may qualify for merit based aid that will help out.

It will be easier for you to make it work than in undergrad since the feds won't expect your parents to contribute.

 

[Lesley]

I'm an undergrad so this is purely my curiosity:

How much is one's parents' financial situation taken into account when financial aid is calculated/awarded from med schools? My parents make close to $400,000 a year, but feel that once I graduate from college I should start paying my own way in the world. In other words, I don't think they're going to contribute anything in terms of med school costs.

Is this going to screw me over? It did with college financial aid - I didn't even bother applying. Why should I get less aid than someone whose parents make $50,000 if neither of us will be seeing a penny of it?

This is what I could gather from one professional school website and is pretty typical:

"Once your financial data is submitted, FASFA, your family contribution is calculated based on the "Federal Methodology." The contribution consists of the student's share and parents' share. The formula takes into consideration income and assets then subtracts taxes and standard living expenses.

Parental income and asset information must be included on the renewal/FAFSA in order to be considered for loans administered through our university. Parental 2005 US federal signed tax returns must be submitted to the office of financial aid, if requested to do so."

 

[curious1]

I'm an undergrad so this is purely my curiosity:

How much is one's parents' financial situation taken into account when financial aid is calculated/awarded from med schools? My parents make close to $400,000 a year, but feel that once I graduate from college I should start paying my own way in the world. In other words, I don't think they're going to contribute anything in terms of med school costs.

Is this going to screw me over? It did with college financial aid - I didn't even bother applying. Why should I get less aid than someone whose parents make $50,000 if neither of us will be seeing a penny of it?

ask your parents who will be taking care of them when they are 90 and shopping for the least abusive nursing home.

 

[KatieOConnor]

I'm in the same situation. I just took out the maximum in Stafford loans. I can't get aid through the school, so I pretty much cannot get any other low interest loans. Also, I can't get any grant based aid. Our situation is pretty common, a lot of the time parents will pay for one degree but not the next one. (In my case, my parents paid for undergrad in full). The problem is that while my family has a lot of money, I have a lot less day-to-day spending money than my classmates whose parents do not have money, but yet it is assumed that I am rolling in the dough because of where I am from and what-not. Oh, well, it's a learning experience.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

This is what I could gather from one professional school website and is pretty typical:

Once your financial data is submitted, FASFA, your family contribution is calculated based on the "Federal Methodology." The contribution consists of the student's share and parents' share. The formula takes into consideration income and assets then subtracts taxes and standard living expenses.

Parental income and asset information must be included on the renewal/FAFSA in order to be considered for loans administered through our university. Parental 2005 US federal signed tax returns must be submitted to the office of financial aid, if requested to do so.

That's sort of right and sort of not right. No school will consider your parents' income in determining your eligibility for federal financial aid for graduate students. Unfortunately, the primary form of federal financial aid for grad students is stafford loans. However, schools do regularly consider your parents' income for institutional aid, so you're not going to get any school funded need-based grants with parental income that high.

I've also never heard of having to submit parental information to get your staffords if you're a grad student. Again, every graduate student is considered independent for the purposes of federal financial aid. Schools might tell you screwy things, but this above fact is universally true.

 

[Lesley]

That's sort of right and sort of not right. No school will consider your parents' income in determining your eligibility for federal financial aid for graduate students. Unfortunately, the primary form of federal financial aid for grad students is stafford loans. However, schools do regularly consider your parents' income for institutional aid, so you're not going to get any school funded need-based grants with parental income that high.

I've also never heard of having to submit parental information to get your staffords if you're a grad student. Again, every graduate student is considered independent for the purposes of federal financial aid. Schools might tell you screwy things, but this above fact is universally true.

I'm sorry. I should have put quote marks around the material I had gathered, I just did, as I copied and pasted it directly from a graduate school, financial aid website. I did not change or effect the wording in any way. However, your interpretation may be correct.

 

[psipsina]

You will be fine for getting federal loans, as your parent's info isn't required, but there is maximum amount per year for this (I think 38K) which often doesn't cover even the tuition at many private schools. State schools or the hope of a merit based scholarship (your parental info will be taken into account for need based scholarships) are your best bets. Otherwise you will have to take out private loans to cover everything above and beyond the 38K your fed loans will cover (for one private school I looked at their yearly budget was 62K/year to give you an idea). You can do this on your own if you have good credit, but you may need a cosigner if you have no credit or poor credit. Another alternative that I've heard of kids in your position doing is taking the loan from their parents instead of the private lenders, that way in the long run you will be paying for your own education, but you don't have to deal with the high interest rates of private lenders.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

ask your parents who will be taking care of them when they are 90 and shopping for the least abusive nursing home.

nice