Cost of Attendance Adjustments for Dependents

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DNAJB6

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I'm caring for an elderly parent with a severe physical disability who cannot work and who makes well below the federal poverty guideline in disability benefits each year. There are no welfare housing options where we live and the wait list stopped taking applications over a decade ago; thus, I would be taking my parent with me to medical school. Does anyone know if I could get a cost of attendance adjustment to cover the cost of living off campus and for a two bedroom apartment or to rent a house? I'm not looking for institutional aid to cover it or even reduced rate Stafford loans - I'm fine with higher interest grad plus or private student loans. I just want to know if medical school would be financially viable with a dependent. Also, if additional loans are not available, can anyone think of schools where the housing prices are low enough to allow me to survive by "splurging" on housing while skimping on other areas of the budget.

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I'm caring for an elderly parent with a severe physical disability who cannot work and who makes well below the federal poverty guideline in disability benefits each year. There are no welfare housing options where we live and the wait list stopped taking applications over a decade ago; thus, I would be taking my parent with me to medical school. Does anyone know if I could get a cost of attendance adjustment to cover the cost of living off campus and for a two bedroom apartment or to rent a house? I'm not looking for institutional aid to cover it or even reduced rate Stafford loans - I'm fine with higher interest grad plus or private student loans. I just want to know if medical school would be financially viable with a dependent. Also, if additional loans are not available, can anyone think of schools where the housing prices are low enough to allow me to survive by "splurging" on housing while skimping on other areas of the budget.
You can for childcare (not for a bigger house to have kids in), don’t know about adult dependents. But what is allowed by fafsa and what schools do can vary
 
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Yes, the financial aid package you are offered will take into account your dependents (assuming they are actually declared as dependents on your tax returns).
 
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Yes, the financial aid package you are offered will take into account your dependents (assuming they are actually declared as dependents on your tax returns).

You may be talking about how they determine what need you may have but your total cost of attendance estimation does NOT increase for dependents... only for things that are required for you to attend school (childcare, emergencies), but normally they aren’t common. This means that you will need to live on this amount, whether a single person or family.

As a student with a family living on the cost of attendance, look at cost of living carefully if you have the ability to choose between acceptances. It makes a HUGE difference, as some schools are more liberal in their COA estimations.
 
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