Can I just vent about FAP

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njtrimed said:
When you're really, truly broke, credit cards aren't an option either.
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If you have 5 pubs you aren't truly broke either. If you are too poor to apply to med school then the cost benefit on spending another year in the lab vs working a little bit more (emphasis on a little bit) in order to pay for the application becomes clear.
 
7331poas said:
If you have 5 pubs you aren't truly broke either. If you are too poor to apply to med school then the cost benefit on spending another year in the lab vs working a little bit more (emphasis on a little bit) in order to pay for the application becomes clear.
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What's your deal? I'm pretty sure broke people can get pubs. All my work study jobs and my current job have been research. If OP was making my salary with a family, she would be broke and still getting pubs....
 
Krabbeman said:
I think it sucks when your family situation gives the appearance that you have more support than you really do. So I sympathize.

But I can't empathize with you. Coming from a family well below the poverty line for my house hold size, I personally do not think the poverty line means much in the U.S. My family income is around 50% of the poverty line (family of 6 on around $15k/yr)... but I don't feel incredibly poor to be honest. Sure, I've had to work a ton while going thru undergrad to help support my family, which sucked. I live in a really high crime rate area, etc, all the things that come with being poor. But ultimately, we get by- I mean, I have wifi to write this don't I?

The poverty line in the U.S. is relative poverty, not absolute. The simple fact that we have a decision to apply to med school makes us privileged compared to most of the world. I do feel bad for OP, but I don't think its a reason to feel bad for yourself either if you don't qualify. Remember that there are those of us who LITERALLY wouldn't have been able to apply to med school without FAP.
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So you didn't qualify for FAP right? Since one has to make 300% below the poverty level to qualify.
 
Mansamusa said:
What's your deal? I'm pretty sure broke people can get pubs. All my work study jobs and my current job have been research. If OP was making my salary with a family, she would be broke and still getting pubs....
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What I am saying is if the choice is between spending more time in the lab and working a job to pay for the application....1 is more important than the other.
 
ridethecliche said:
That awkward moment when people complain about not getting FAP because their family makes too much to qualify.
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I think what OP is saying is that he's in the weird gray area where his family does make too much, but applying to the typical 15ish school and taking the MCAT is too much money even still. I don't think that's awkward at all. I think it's realistic and these gray areas do exist.
 
7331poas said:
If you have 5 pubs you aren't truly broke either. If you are too poor to apply to med school then the cost benefit on spending another year in the lab vs working a little bit more (emphasis on a little bit) in order to pay for the application becomes clear.
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I didn't realize doing productive research and having work study made one rich. Learn something new everyday. You're an interesting one.
 
kstorm said:
I was just wondering if you qualified for FAP or not.
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I did.

"Dear Fee Assistance Applicant,

We are pleased to inform you that your AAMC Fee Assistance Program application has been approved. This award may be applied to the benefits listed below as of the date of this approval notice through December 31, 2016. It will not be applied retroactively...."
 
WhittyPsyche said:
This point isn't getting across obviously.
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Clearly the majority of people don't get it, but a few do. I feel for you. There are ways to get through this without spending thousands of dollars, if you're very strategic about it. PM me if you want to hear how I managed to do it and still feed my family!
 
Krabbeman said:
I did.

"Dear Fee Assistance Applicant,

We are pleased to inform you that your AAMC Fee Assistance Program application has been approved. This award may be applied to the benefits listed below as of the date of this approval notice through December 31, 2016. It will not be applied retroactively...."
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Okay so that's interesting. It made it sound like one has to always be 300% below the poverty line to qualify. However you were only 50% below the poverty line yet still qualified. So do they make exceptions or something?
 
WhittyPsyche said:
Why does my URM community matter?

He works. And he is a full time student as well.
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Many times people think they are UIM and they aren't. You said you were from a third world country so I was just asking.
Maybe since your husband is a student he could take out another loan to help you out. Just a thought. We all make huge sacrifices to get through this process.
 
SnakeDoc9497 said:
I think what OP is saying is that he's in the weird gray area where his family does make too much, but applying to the typical 15ish school and taking the MCAT is too much money even still. I don't think that's awkward at all. I think it's realistic and these gray areas do exist.
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It's unlikely that I could apply to any schools st this point. I have two children with medical conditions and no health insurance. I've had to save since August for the MCAT cost.
My mother only made over the eligibility line because she worked 3 jobs this last year after getting evicted and needed to pay the judgment at a specific timeline. But that's irrelevant. It's a very grey area.
 
WhittyPsyche said:
It's unlikely that I could apply to any schools st this point. I have two children with medical conditions and no health insurance. I've had to save since August for the MCAT cost.
My mother only made over the eligibility line because she worked 3 jobs this last year after getting evicted and needed to pay the judgment at a specific timeline. But that's irrelevant. It's a very grey area.
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Did you try to contact AAMC to see if you could by chance qualify? It sounds like they make exceptions. @Krabbeman's family doesn't make 300% below the poverty line.

Come to think of it I don't know many people who would meet this requirement. I don't know much about fee waivers but it sounds like if you're close enough they may still grant it? Again I'm not sure so I'm just guessing
 
candbgirl said:
Many times people think they are UIM and they aren't. You said you were from a third world country so I was just asking.
Maybe since your husband is a student he could take out another loan to help you out. Just a thought. We all make huge sacrifices to get through this process.
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I'm from a third world country, and I am URM. No confusion on it. Hope that helps.
 
kstorm said:
Okay so that's interesting. It made it sound like one has to always be 300% below the poverty line to qualify. However you were only 50% below the poverty line yet still qualified. So do they make exceptions or something?
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You have to be below 300% of the poverty line. Not below by 300% of the line. Poverty line x3
 
kstorm said:
Okay so that's interesting. It made it sound like one has to always be 300% below the poverty line to qualify. However you were only 50% below the poverty line yet still qualified. So do they make exceptions or something?
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No, one has to be within 300% of the poverty line. For instance..

For my household size of 6, the poverty line is about $34k (last time I checked).

Thus anyone with a household of 6, but within 300% of that, or 3*34= $102k would qualify.

By saying my family is at 50%, I was implying we make less than $17k.

Does this make sense?

Not laughing at you lol but its impossible to be 300% below the poverty line I think.
 
Krabbeman said:
No, one has to be within 300% of the poverty line. For instance..

For my household size of 6, the poverty line is about $34k (last time I checked).

Thus anyone with a household of 6, but within 300% of that, or 3*34= $102k would qualify.

By saying my family is at 50%, I was implying we make less than $17k.

Does this make sense?

Not laughing at you lol but its impossible to be 300% below the poverty line I think.
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Ahhh, thanks for clarifying. I need to work on my reading comprehension.
 
Don't be a whiner, be a worker. If you have published, you have skills that could be leveraged to support yourself and your family and save a bit to manage the application costs. Finish school and work for 2 years then apply. "Venting" that you don't qualify for a handout is sad. You've made choices in your life and some of your choices have been poor ones. (Why are you uninsured in this day & age? this makes no sense.)
 
LizzyM said:
Don't be a whiner, be a worker. If you have published, you have skills that could be leveraged to support yourself and your family and save a bit to manage the application costs. Finish school and work for 2 years then apply. "Venting" that you don't qualify for a handout is sad. You've made choices in your life and some of your choices have been poor ones. (Why are you uninsured in this day & age? this makes no sense.)
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People who aren't citizens perhaps? Free clinics still exist so that's my only guess
 
LizzyM said:
If this student is not a citizen, she's got bigger problems than not qualifying for FAP.
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I am not a citizen and it is not possible for me to be one. So guess I'm working through that as well.

I have health insurance, as I received a scholarship specially for it. My children don't because I can't afford the premiums.
 
WhittyPsyche said:
I am not a citizen and it is not possible for me to be one. So guess I'm working through that as well.

I have health insurance, as I received a scholarship specially for it. My children don't because I can't afford the premiums.
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Your kids don't qualify for Medicaid?

Are you able to legally work in the US?
 
kstorm said:
Smh I really don't know what I was thinking.
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haha its okay. It was adorable

Also, "venting" isn't the same as "whining"... just my $0.02. People who haven't been in OP's position can't really tell her how to feel. I originally came in kinda hostile, but now it feels like everyone is picking on her and I feel badly

If you don't agree, just move on to another thread- don't spread negativity. Why take time out of your important day to put someone down.
 
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LizzyM said:
Your kids don't qualify for Medicaid?

Are you able to legally work in the US?
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They were eligible for a state program for infants. Then we were did not qualify for the "kids" program.

I am. As mentioned before, I have work study.
 
Krabbeman said:
haha its okay. It was adorable

Also, "venting" isn't the same as "whining"... just my $0.02. People who haven't been in OP's position can't really tell her how to feel. I originally came in kinda hostile, but now it feels like everyone is picking on her and I feel badly
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I didn't realize it was a crime to vent your frustrations. I'm most definitely a hard worker, so not sure why that is being thrown out. Poor decisions or not, I've kept my head down and worked my ass off. People can say what they will.
 
Krabbeman said:
In the words of Eminem

"you've got to live it to feel it/ ya didn't, you wouldn't get it/ or see what the big deal is"

On the other hand, I'm sure there was reason to become independent at such a young age? Or else you wouldn't have? Its ok too if there wasn't, we were all young and stupid. Now I'm older and stupid.
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As much of a reason as there can be lol. Having your own dependents.
 
Like I said earlier, becoming a doctor takes money. Period. Nobody is going to lower the admission bar. You are welcome to vent but the reality is few here are able to sympathize statistically speaking. This is almost hilariously obvious by comments thinking one is to be 300% under the poverty line, and the immediate suggesting that you should trade publications for more working time. I'm not dirt poor by any means, I actually consider myself wealthy in many ways but as one who has struggled with financing the medical school application process venting on SDN is the wrong place. It's like Bernie Sanders preaching redistribution of wealth to Wall Street. If I were you I would say it sucks, continue to work my butt off, and be thankful my kids someday will be the ones with the Dr. Parent who can pay for much of this, tighten up the shoe laces and get ready to jump over the admission bar.
 
I seriously get the frustration, there should be more support to struggling families. But there is a part of me that thinks it was your decision to have not one but 2 kids before you had financial stability so this sticky situation was kinda self inflicted and the venting seems a little like whining but there is a part of me that thinks thats not a fair claim to make. Lack of education about contraception, rough times after financial stability could have caused this what ever the situation may be I wish you good luck , I am applying for FAP as well and anticipating how it will go.
 
12375711 said:
Like I said earlier, becoming a doctor takes money. Period. Nobody is going to lower the admission bar. You are welcome to vent but the reality is few here are able to sympathize statistically speaking. This is almost hilariously obvious by comments thinking one is to be 300% under the poverty line, and the immediate suggesting that you should trade publications for more working time. I'm not dirt poor by any means, I actually consider myself wealthy in many ways but as one who has struggled with financing the medical school application process venting on SDN is the wrong place. It's like Bernie Sanders preaching redistribution of wealth to Wall Street. If I were you I would say it sucks, continue to work my butt off, and be thankful my kids someday will be the ones with the Dr. Parent who can pay for much of this, tighten up the shoe laces and get ready to jump over the admission bar.
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The fact of the matter is that spending your time doing ECs is a LUXURY not a right of passage. That's my point. Some people need to work in order to get by and some people don't.

I personally do not make enough to afford the process like OP. because of that I have a job which I save the money from in order to apply. Now, if I was more rich, I would spend that time I was working to spend more time in the lab or volunteer more.

I don't get to not work and complain about not getting to apply. It doesn't work both ways you see?
 
7331poas said:
What I am saying is if the choice is between spending more time in the lab and working a job to pay for the application....1 is more important than the other.
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I'm saying that research is a job. Who said she stayed extra time to get published? I got a pub in an academic journal just from a class assignment- no extra work except some edits. Maybe she does have 2 jobs? You are making a lot of assumptions. You do realize that research is a career, like a lifelong career, not just a premed hobby? It's not an EC. You can easily make $30-40K/yr as a research assistant (and get published) or make $80K as a pharma researcher.

Like I said in my first post, I make $36K/yr as a researcher. With just a bachelors, there aren't too many job opportunities I could find that pay more
 
7331poas said:
The fact of the matter is that spending your time doing ECs is a LUXURY not a right of passage. That's my point. Some people need to work in order to get by and some people don't.

I personally do not make enough to afford the process like OP. because of that I have a job which I save the money from in order to apply. Now, if I was more rich, I would spend that time I was working to spend more time in the lab or volunteer more.

I don't get to not work and complain about not getting to apply. It doesn't work both ways you see?
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When you need research experience to get into medical school/ be a "competitive applicant", I would argue that research no longer becomes a luxury, but in fact, a rite of passage.

If you LOOK at my first post, You'll SEE I was saying exactly as you imply, but to a different conclusion. Getting over the admissions hurdle requires EC's (stats get you in the door, EC's get you accepted as the saying goes) some people need to work to get by some people don't you say, which is true, but ALL of us NEED EC's regardless of whether or not we need to work. In that paradox, many EC's are tied to our financial resources, but not always directly as you implied. We shouldn't fault the OP for being frustrated with the cost of applying after having worked to complete impressive EC's, but we can tell her that few on SDN will care (as you so eloquently displayed), so she better live and deal with it.
 
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WhittyPsyche said:
I understand that. But I don't see why those of us who have no family support shouldn't have a right to be upset. I moved out when I was 17 and have been doing it by myself. I do understand why the parental financial information is required but it should actually be evaluated. I go to a private school that required it for financial aid but at least they took the time to go through the details. My mother's income in no way benefits me or my family.
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I don't see why someone like me has to support someone like you and your family. You got married and had kids before you can afford it, deal with the consequences. Also, your mother has debt, from what? Buying that 46" TV? Why should I pay for that?
 
12375711 said:
When you need research experience to get into medical school/ be a "competitive applicant", I would argue that research no longer becomes a luxury, but in fact, a rite of passage.

If you LOOK at my first post, You'll SEE I was saying exactly as you imply, but to a different conclusion. Getting over the admissions hurdle requires EC's (stats get you in the door, EC's get you accepted as the saying goes) some people need to work to get by some people don't you say, which is true, but ALL of us NEED EC's regardless of whether or not we need to work. In that paradox, many EC's are tied to our financial resources, but not always directly as you implied. We shouldn't fault the OP for being frustrated with the cost of applying after having worked to complete impressive EC's, but we can tell her that few on SDN will care (as you so eloquently displayed), so she better live and deal with it.
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While money makes many things easier, it is possible to get "experiences" without paying (lots of) money. Research can be done for academic credit. Some colleges give academic credit for courses that include volunteering or shadowing or mentoring freshmen. There are paid opportunities that are great ECs including being a resident assistant, a university tutor or an athletic trainer. If your school has ROTC, that's an experience that doesn't cost anything except your time and willingness to serve. Employment in retail sales and food service can be flexible and help you learn to deal with the public. Employment in clinical settings or in laboratories don't cost anything except the opportunity cost of a higher paying job.

Money helps but it is not essential to building a strong application.
 
mpdoc2 said:
I don't see why someone like me has to support someone like you and your family. You got married and had kids before you can afford it, deal with the consequences. Also, your mother has debt, from what? Buying that 46" TV? Why should I pay for that?
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Was this your bigotry coming out? What's the 46" tv about?

And someone like you is not paying for me Hun.
 
7331poas said:
The fact of the matter is that spending your time doing ECs is a LUXURY not a right of passage. That's my point. Some people need to work in order to get by and some people don't.

I personally do not make enough to afford the process like OP. because of that I have a job which I save the money from in order to apply. Now, if I was more rich, I would spend that time I was working to spend more time in the lab or volunteer more.

I don't get to not work and complain about not getting to apply. It doesn't work both ways you see?
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You seem to be conveniently and repeatedly missing that my research is s work study. But I see you have tunnel vision, carry on.
 
LizzyM said:
While money makes many things easier, it is possible to get "experiences" without paying (lots of) money. Research can be done for academic credit. Some colleges give academic credit for courses that include volunteering or shadowing or mentoring freshmen. There are paid opportunities that are great ECs including being a resident assistant, a university tutor or an athletic trainer. If your school has ROTC, that's an experience that doesn't cost anything except your time and willingness to serve. Employment in retail sales and food service can be flexible and help you learn to deal with the public. Employment in clinical settings or in laboratories don't cost anything except the opportunity cost of a higher paying job.

Money helps but it is not essential to building a strong application.
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I completely agree that not all EC's are money or finance restrictive. I know tutoring was a win-win in my eyes as far as being a good EC while getting paid. I did receive credit for working in a lab, but the reality was those were credits that came at a steep cost to somebody financially strapped. I worked a food service gig 36 hours over 3 days every other weekend to have off for lab and still tutor during the week. I know my class work suffered but I was rewarded with a good letter of rec and less debt. Would I rather have gotten better grades while still working in the lab and tutoring for spending money rather than groceries and tuition? Absolutely, but that wasn't possible.

The following summer I slept on the floor of an unfurnished apartment floor while interning in a free clinic, eating rice and beans not being able to afford much else with my "stipend" but with no time to work for extra cash I sold my plasma. The gamble again paid off and I got another nice letter of rec and one heck of an EC to talk about in interviews.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is it took a lot of financial planning and sacrifice to accomplish all of the EC's I felt were necessary to get accepted to medical school, and there were times I wondered if I was "financially good enough to be a doctor". In undergrad I felt like I was fighting with one hand behind my back when it came to school work while having to work so much. To me, I never got the feeling from any forum on here that my EC's could have been lesser than someone else's simply because I had less financial resources. I simply sought out to make up the difference and sometimes that was tough. In that vein I wish the OP the best but honestly don't see any answers for her.
 
12375711 said:
The following summer I slept on the floor of an unfurnished apartment floor while interning in a free clinic, eating rice and beans not being able to afford much else with my "stipend" but with no time to work for extra cash I sold my plasma. The gamble again paid off and I got another nice letter of rec and one heck of an EC to talk about in interviews.
.
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I actually did the same during a heat wave and I have a scar on my hand from mice biting me while I slept (pro-tip, peppermint keeps mice away).....then I found out that summer work-study exists -_-

But, if you haven't applied yet, the importance of ECs is a little skewed on SDN from the sample population. Just show that you know what you are getting into, shadow, do a little research, and you are good to go. I was worried that I didn't have any clubs and stuff, but no interviewers cared. At one interview I was asked what clubs I did in college and I said, "I worked part-time throughout school, so I preferred to spend what little free-time I had with friends and at the gym instead of in clubs." The interviewer said, "Completely understandable." And I was accepted. Interviewers understand that people have to work- as long as you shows the skills/traits they are looking you will be good

Edit: OP, this post also reminded that you could look into clinical trials for money. I got $550 to take an allergy skin-test and then get a bronchoscopy to collect some lung cells for research. Then I know the are recreational drugs trials at my school that pay like $700
 
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