Standard loans for professional programs like vet school are not need based. You really aren’t eligible for things like Pell Grants at the graduate level. There are a few rare exceptions, but for the standard run-of-the mill Federal Direct and Grad Plus loans, you’re essentially guaranteed to be awarded up to the cost of attendance for your school. It won’t really matter what you made previously. They’ll ask for your parents info too, but professional students are all considered independent students, so the parent info is only considered for like a Health Professions Student Loan which has a lower interest rate but is usually only a few thousand. If you don’t put parent info you just don’t get considered for that loan I don’t think. The first 20k or so most vet students borrow a year is paid out as a federal direct unsubsidized loan, then you can take out the rest of the COA as a Grad Plus loan. These aren’t competitive, so it doesn’t really matter when you submit the FAFSA. I think Grad Plus loans may require a credit check but I haven’t heard of anyone not actually being able to get them. There really isn’t much benefit to submitting early. I didn’t do mine until like late June or July back in the day and everything was fine. It shouldn’t be an issue to wait until you make a decision in April, though Beans is right you can do it early and nothing happens with it at the schools you don’t go to.
