Didn't qualify for FAFSA. Now what?

[geretts]

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I'm supposed to be heading off to med school in a month. I just learned that I am unable to qualify for federal student aid because my citizenship was not confirmed and my former supervisor lost my certificate of naturalization and passport.

How can I finance my first semester/year of medical school without the FAFSA? Private loans? Thanks

 

[pDeluxe]

Contact your school's fin aid office and see what your options are. Depending on the total COA, a private loan might be feasible, but if not, a deferral may be your best bet until you can get everything sorted out.

 

[NickNaylor]

Did you not make copies???

 

[b05010445]

Some county medical associations have interest free private loans for med students in their county (mine did) So either if you went to high school in the US look in that county or if not then look at county you have been residing in. Not all counties have it and I am unsure of their exact requirements, I'm sure it varies. But it's worth just googling.

 

[Ismet]

I'm supposed to be heading off to med school in a month. I just learned that I am unable to qualify for federal student aid because my citizenship was not confirmed and my former supervisor lost my certificate of naturalization and passport.

How can I finance my first semester/year of medical school without the FAFSA? Private loans? Thanks

Private loans are pretty much your only option to cover the bulk of it. Talk to your school's financial aid office and see if they can help you out.

And for goodness sakes, make copies of your important documents, keep the originals in a safe and secure place, and never ever give anyone the originals long enough for them to lose them.

 

[chenzt]

http://www.uscis.gov/n-565

https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do

Better get started, currently it's a 6 month wait to get a replacement in both Texas and Nebraska processing center.

Doesn't fafsa have a record of you obtaining student loans for undergraduate?

How did your supervisor lose it? I would consider getting him/her to help you fix the problem if it was his/her fault (aka sue). It's ridiculous that the supervisor wanted to see both passport and naturalization certificate and then proceed to lose it.

 

[geretts]

Did you not make copies???

No. You need the original documents anyway.

Private loans are pretty much your only option to cover the bulk of it. Talk to your school's financial aid office and see if they can help you out.

And for goodness sakes, make copies of your important documents, keep the originals in a safe and secure place, and never ever give anyone the originals long enough for them to lose them.

Lesson learned.

 

[NickNaylor]

No. You need the original documents anyway.


Lesson learned.

Right, you give your employer or whoever copies and keep the originals for yourself. Always assume when dealing with any kind of bureaucracy that you are dealing with people that are completely incompetent and that everything that can possibly go wrong will. This will save you from headaches like this in the future.

Can you not request additional copies from whatever relevant government agency? It may not help you in the immediate term with this situation, but I find it difficult to believe that losing the documents means you're permanently screwed.