fafsa question

[bodonid]

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So, I don't file my own taxes. I don't know the first thing about taxes. My father just told me that my taxes haven't been filed in three years. My question is this: are students required to submit FAFSA in order to matriculate? When is it due and what happens if I don't get it in on time?

 

[Daydreamer2008]

So, I don't file my own taxes. I don't know the first thing about taxes. My father just told me that my taxes haven't been filed in three years. My question is this: are students required to submit FAFSA in order to matriculate? When is it due and what happens if I don't get it in on time?

if you want financial aid then yes you should file. usually schools want it by march 1 or so...

 

[DoctorDreamer]

Most schools will want them filed in the next couple of weeks. If you want any kind of federal aid you have to file it. If you are just paying in cash, you shouldn't have to worry about it.

 

[bodonid]

i don't really want (wouldn't get) federal aid, I just heard somewhere that fafsa is required to go to state schools.

 

[medguy83]

You don't necessarily have to file any taxes in order to file for federal aid. I know of many premeds that don't even have jobs when applying to med schools. All you need is some basic info. Some schools may require you to include your parents' tax info (mostly for scholarships). If your parents haven't filed yet they should do so soon. Just put the info in and submit it. The last thing you need is a last minute scramble to somehow come up with tuition you can't afford.

 

[TheMemoirist]

So, I don't file my own taxes. I don't know the first thing about taxes. My father just told me that my taxes haven't been filed in three years. My question is this: are students required to submit FAFSA in order to matriculate? When is it due and what happens if I don't get it in on time?

I don't think FAFSA is a requirement for matriculation, but it certainly is a requirement for getting a student loan and/or any other type of financial aid, with the possible exception of certain merit-based scholarships. Unless you are able to pay for med school outright, you will need to file your FAFSA pretty soon. (March 31st is the deadline at my school.) I don't know if there is a universal deadline, so you'd have to check the school(s) where you will be submitting it.

As for penalties for late submission, again, you'd have to check with your school's financial aid office.

 

[167649]

i don't really want (wouldn't get) federal aid, I just heard somewhere that fafsa is required to go to state schools.

It isn't just government loans, but the individual schools use the information from the fafsa to determine their own distribution of aid and certain scholarships. You don't need it to matriculate, but if you want to be eligible for any kind of aid from the school you almost always need to send it (Unless you can walk into the office with 40g's in a briefcase to pay your tuition). I would fill it out, it isn't really all that bad. If you haven't been required to file any taxes for a while it should be even easier.

 

[AlaskaGrown]

Safest bet is to just call and ask your question of the schools to which you have been admitted and/or are still considering. Every school's financial aid department has different requirements/procedures. Since you are not considering loans, you will be in a very different situation than the majority of us and you will probably have to make special arrangements with the med school financial aid office. Which they will undoubtedly be pleased to know about early on.

 

[MSU2012]

i don't really want (wouldn't get) federal aid, I just heard somewhere that fafsa is required to go to state schools.

Obviously I don't know your situation, but unless you are independently wealthy, virtually everyone qualifies. Federal loans do not take your parent's income into account at all. If you make a substantial amount of income on your own or are married, that may be a slightly different story - one of the places I interviewed told me that if you are married, the amount of aid you are eligible for only starts to decline if your spouse makes more than $60,000 a year...obviously this was a blanket statement, but it's at least some idea of the numbers.

Are you seriously not going to need any loans??

 

[bodonid]

Obviously I don't know your situation, but unless you are independently wealthy, virtually everyone qualifies. Federal loans do not take your parent's income into account at all. If you make a substantial amount of income on your own or are married, that may be a slightly different story - one of the places I interviewed told me that if you are married, the amount of aid you are eligible for only starts to decline if your spouse makes more than $60,000 a year...obviously this was a blanket statement, but it's at least some idea of the numbers.

Are you seriously not going to need any loans??

Yes i will need loans, but I was just trying to figure out whether they kick us out if we fail to submit, as it is a "requirement" for matriculation.

Also, I can get private loans. I have friends that manage a bank.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Yes i will need loans, but I was just trying to figure out whether they kick us out if we fail to submit, as it is a "requirement" for matriculation.

Also, I can get private loans. I have friends that manage a bank.

I don't know how ethical it is for your friends to loan you money from their bank just because you guys are friends. Also, unless your friends are cutting you some really good deal (again ethically/legally questionable), federal loans usually come with better terms. So it's probably still a good idea to submit a FAFSA. It doesn't matter that you're not filing taxes.

 

[167649]

Yes i will need loans, but I was just trying to figure out whether they kick us out if we fail to submit, as it is a "requirement" for matriculation.

Also, I can get private loans. I have friends that manage a bank.

Yeah, I'm also not too sure on the legality of all that. Honestly, stop making excuses; it is in your best interest to just fill the FAFSA out. It takes an hour.