FAFSA/DPT/Loans

[ptdream]

hey I am still dependent on my parents...should i fill out independent Tax Return form or dependent one.
Do i get financial aid if I am dependent on my parents???😕😕😕
Thanks in Advance for helping me!!!

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[kjvandal]

in graduate school, at least in PT school, your automatically considered independent of your parents. on the FAFSA it will ask if you want to provide information about your parents finances, and you don't have too since you are considered an independent. So filling our your FAFSA is a lot easier in grad school, that is to say if you don't have a full-time job, investments, real-estate, etc.

Your parents can still claim you on their tax returns without a problem. However if you are an out of state resident, some states actually allow you to establish residency while going to school full time, the state of washington is one such example. As one of the stipulations to establish yourself as a resident, your parents cannot claim you as a dependent.

A lot of people get worked up about having that "independent status", but ultimately what it boils down to is that the government will allow you to borrow more money, both subsidized and unsubsidized. In grad school, you can borrow $8500 subsidized by the government, and an additional $12500 unsubsidized.

 

[PharmDan2]

I actually had a question about this as well.... If i fill out fafsa and say I am independent of my parents, but have no real source of income, are there chances of being given grants that do not have to be payed back? My girlfriend filled out fafsa for undergrad and she is given nearly $8,000 a year in GRANTS! Thats enough to pay for her schooling, rent, and books....and she doesn't have to pay any back!

What do you guys think?

 

[pttrac]

Undergrad = grants

Grad = no grants, loans only, you're on your own

I had plenty of grants and scholarships in undergrad, but once you hit grad all that stuff disappears. You might be able to swing some scholarships but they are on a competitive basis, etc...

 

[blahblah56]

In grad school, you can borrow $8500 subsidized by the government, and an additional $12500 unsubsidized.

is $21000 the most you can borrow per year? I noticed that some school's tuitions can reach up to $25000+ per year.

 

[thorn22]

is $21000 the most you can borrow per year? I noticed that some school's tuitions can reach up to $25000+ per year.

I dont believe so. The FinAid person at the Univ. of Colorado said that each student is entitled to Fed Loans of whatever the tuition is. Then on top of that, they will also loan you $1620/month for living expenses, which comes out to an additional $19,444 over the course of the year.

The amount of loan money you get Federally depends, among other things, on the tuition of the school you are attending.

 

[PharmDan2]

Undergrad = grants

Grad = no grants, loans only, you're on your own

I had plenty of grants and scholarships in undergrad, but once you hit grad all that stuff disappears. You might be able to swing some scholarships but they are on a competitive basis, etc...

Thank you for your quick response! Although the loans will be heavy, it will lead me to the profession of my dreams 👍

 

[CroakerSoaker]

Although the loans will be heavy, it will lead me to the profession of my dreams 👍

Amen brother! you would not believe the number of people who have attempted to discourage me from pursuing an education in PT because of the cost....of course i would like to get into a reasonably priced state school but if my only option is to attend to a pricey private school, then how can someone expect me to give up on my dream because "it will be too expensive??" Not a chance....

 

[kjvandal]

let's all just hope the government doesn't pull the plug on some federal loans and limit the amount of financing because of the current economy.

 

[mcc0037]

I guess I'll play some scratch off games. You would not believe how many times I had to witness some brainless deadbeat (not all but some) win off that crap from $5 to $10,000...my friend's sister to name one who won $10,000 and she's unemployed!!! My ex roommate's friend bought scratch off games drunk and won $500. COME ON!!! I might have to resort to scratching my way through dpt school...

Back to reality... I do have a question though. Is there a difference between state schools and private schools on the difference between how much and many scholarships they offer? Does the pt department set that amount or is that just through the university in general and not the pt department? How does that work?

 

[kjvandal]

I'm not an expert on this issue by any means, but public instuitions of higher learning receive a lot more money from the state when compared to private schools. So i'm guessing private schools are more expensive, however i have undergrad friends from my alma mater at the university of idaho that have gone to private schools with some pretty sweet rides that made their schools very comparable to public instuitions.

 

[callmecrazy]

So i'm guessing private schools are more expensive, however i have undergrad friends from my alma mater at the university of idaho that have gone to private schools with some pretty sweet rides that made their schools very comparable to public instuitions.

This is definitely true for undergrad, and I am someone that took complete advantage. My undergrad costs at a private school were far less than anything you could have found at a public school, and would have been virtually free if I didn't take that 9th semester (after scholarships all ran out).
Unfortunately, this generosity on their part doesn't seem to carry over much into DPT programs.

 

[arich3]

When should you start to apply for FASFA for PT school?

 

[Apollo#1585...]

I dont believe so. The FinAid person at the Univ. of Colorado said that each student is entitled to Fed Loans of whatever the tuition is. Then on top of that, they will also loan you $1620/month for living expenses, which comes out to an additional $19,444 over the course of the year.

I was curious about how you were supposed to supposed to support yourself while in DPT school. The courses are rigorous enough without worrying about a work schedule. Can anyone elaborate on any other avenues of income?

 

[jdaniels360]

You can work part time, but otherwise it's ALL student loans. Stafford and Grad PLUS.

 

[DesertPT]

When should you start to apply for FASFA for PT school?

As soon as you can.


PSA: This thread was bumped from 2009 just so everyone knows not to respond to long-gone posters.

 

[engmedpt]

BUMPED

 

[engmedpt]

let's all just hope the government doesn't pull the plug on some federal loans and limit the amount of financing because of the current economy.

@DesertPT if this scenario were to occur it would seem that there would be a cap that could be taken out. For schools to survive, they couldn't ditch their classes. If the fed were to get it so that tuition fluctuated with starting salaries and average inflation then its the tuition prices that would drastically drop but still remain at a certain level for paying salaries.

What do you think about that?

 

[engmedpt]

^Also heard yesterday that they're trying to make loans dischargable through bankruptcy

 

[DesertPT]

@DesertPT if this scenario were to occur it would seem that there would be a cap that could be taken out. For schools to survive, they couldn't ditch their classes. If the fed were to get it so that tuition fluctuated with starting salaries and average inflation then its the tuition prices that would drastically drop but still remain at a certain level for paying salaries.

What do you think about that?

I have said before that there are two ways I've thought of for professional school tuition to go down by large margins and stay down. First, demand for graduate professional education could drop to be so low that the only way schools could even get students to go to school at all was to make it cheap. That isn't going to happen. There is an endless supply of eager students willing to pay whatever the cost, and no matter how many turn a school down due to price, there will always be someone else who hasn't gotten accepted anywhere and is willing to go. The second option is for the government to put a much lower cap than currently exists on how much students can borrow. If the money isn't available for students to borrow, schools would likely have to lower their prices to meet what was available to students. This strategy would suck bad for a lot of people in the short term, but in the long term the federal student debt crisis will not cease to stifle the economy until less vast sums become available to borrow. Perhaps students would go with private loans instead, but I don't know that most would. Perhaps that wouldn't be so bad, or perhaps it would be the worst thing possible. That's a discussion for another day I guess. Either way, I don't know what the solution is, if there even is a good one. This isn't really a subject I can claim any expertise in. All I know is that the cost of education has risen several-fold faster than the pace of inflation and there are no signs of this steady climb abating any time in the near future. The best recommendation we can make for now is to go to the cheapest school you can get yourself accepted to and put great effort after graduation into getting student loans repaid in a timely fashion. The advent of the $150,000+ DPT in the last few years is certainly frightening, especially in light of the amount of debt people are coming out of undergrad with these days.

 

[engmedpt]

-__-

gah. forgot about private. oh well. beatin this dead horse too much. done bringing it up.

 

[DesertPT]

I don't have any indication that private loans would take over the market if government student loans were squelched, thus allowing the cost of school to remain high. Doesn't seem likely as a lot of students that are getting loans these days are kinda sub-prime borrowers. Private loan companies aren't gonna put up with nearly as much crap from humanities masters graduates working at starbucks as the feds are willing to.

 

[engmedpt]

Private loan companies aren't gonna put up with nearly as much crap from humanities masters graduates working at starbucks as the feds are willing to.