Fafsa

[ribbi_j]

anyone know? if so, I guess I should be bugging them to get on that.

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[OSUdoc08]

So my parents are divorced, but I live equally with both parents/ families. They split the costs for everything. Does anyone know what parent's income I should claim? Can I pick the smaller of the two?

anyone know? if so, I guess I should be bugging them to get on that.

If you are applying for post-undergrad education, i.e. medical school, the parental information is not required.

Therefore, there is no reason for your parents signature for 2 reasons:

1. They don't need to sign your application
2. You don't need to fill out their information

 

[akpete]

Does anyone know which schools do NOT require parental info, as I know that there are a few out there? Also, do I have this right? - Don't put parental info on the FAFSA, but it will be submitted to the med schools separately? I don't want to have to deal with my parents if I don't have to...they are in the middle of a nasty divorce, and, while my mom isn't a problem, my dad, aside from personality issues, always gets an extension and doesn't do his taxes until May (he's self-employed). Also, I list all schools I haven't been rejected at yet, right?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm totally lost in all this FAFSA stuff because my dad refused to file/give me info for all of my undergrad. I even tried to get a private student loan from the bank, but it had to go through the school, and the financial aid office wouldn't even look at my paperwork because no FAFSA had been filed. They basically told me too bad. So I just get really frustrated and worried when it comes to this money stuff. Thanks in advance guys!! 🙂

 

[OSUdoc08]

Does anyone know which schools do NOT require parental info, as I know that there are a few out there? Also, do I have this right? - Don't put parental info on the FAFSA, but it will be submitted to the med schools separately? I don't want to have to deal with my parents if I don't have to...they are in the middle of a nasty divorce, and, while my mom isn't a problem, my dad, aside from personality issues, always gets an extension and doesn't do his taxes until May (he's self-employed). Also, I list all schools I haven't been rejected at yet, right?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm totally lost in all this FAFSA stuff because my dad refused to file/give me info for all of my undergrad. I even tried to get a private student loan from the bank, but it had to go through the school, and the financial aid office wouldn't even look at my paperwork because no FAFSA had been filed. They basically told me too bad. So I just get really frustrated and worried when it comes to this money stuff. Thanks in advance guys!! 🙂

Yes:

-Don't give parental info to the FAFSA at all
-Give parental info to the school you are admitted to only if requested and only after you have committed to that school

 

[gomizzou]

It was mentioned earlier, but it seems there has been some conflicting information in this thread. As fas as I know, every medical school requires parental information. With divorced parents, some schools prefer the parents that you would go to in a crisis (Mich), while others require birth parents (Hopkins). You are not eligible for grants/scholarships if you do not provide this information, only loans. That would suck.
They make you give parental info. so that every college students can't say they only make a grand last year and are independent; it makes it possible for the schools to more fairly distribute the grant money that they have available. Now it sucks for people like me whose parents make enough money to prob. eliminate the chance or receiving a grant but who won't be contributing to med. school either. You can contact the individual schools if you have any questions, but his has been mentioned at more than one interview. Maybe you could provide this info. separately to the schools from FAFSA? I haven't done the FAFSA yet myself but thought that you could include parental info. and still mark yourself as independent????

 

[OSUdoc08]

It was mentioned earlier, but it seems there has been some conflicting information in this thread. As fas as I know, every medical school requires parental information. With divorced parents, some schools prefer the parents that you would go to in a crisis (Mich), while others require birth parents (Hopkins). You are not eligible for grants/scholarships if you do not provide this information, only loans. That would suck.
They make you give parental info. so that every college students can't say they only make a grand last year and are independent; it makes it possible for the schools to more fairly distribute the grant money that they have available. Now it sucks for people like me whose parents make enough money to prob. eliminate the chance or receiving a grant but who won't be contributing to med. school either. You can contact the individual schools if you have any questions, but his has been mentioned at more than one interview. Maybe you could provide this info. separately to the schools from FAFSA? I haven't done the FAFSA yet myself but thought that you could include parental info. and still mark yourself as independent????

The purpose of the FAFSA in regards to medical school is for the qualification for loans only. Stafford & Perkins to be exact. If we are then to change the subject and discuss Grants, we are no longer discussing the FAFSA. While it is true FAFSA does provide grants, this is only for undergrad.

It is also not true to make the statement that all medical schools require parental information, this is simply not true. In fact, most medical schools don't provide grants or need based scholarships. The only time that medical schools require parental information is for emergency contacts. They do not request financial information.

In the event that a medical school does provide grants or need based scholarships, it is not likely the parental income will be used. However, if it does, this information will be requested from you on the forms you fill out once your financial aid package arrives. This is well beyond the time that you submit the FAFSA, obviously.

The FAFSA parental information is only used for undergraduate grants & loans for the determination of subsidized vs unsubsized and perkins eligibility. These determinations for medical school are soley based on the individual. The parental information is available on the FAFSA to fill out, but the form states that this information is optional, since you are considered to be independent as a medical student. There is no reason to fill out this information, whatsover. You may fill it out if it makes you feel better, but it is simply a waste of time.

 

[leechy]

OSUdoc, thanks for all your advice. Cyber-gold star for you 🙂

 

[gomizzou]

That's great if parental info. isn't necessary. The last schools I went to (Mich, Pitt, Hopkins) all specifically mentioned that they need parental info. for any grants, but not if you were only applying for loans. Maybe they meant just to provide the info. on the side, I really can't remember because all of the financial aid info. sessions seem to drag on about FAFSA and everything.

 

[OSUdoc08]

That's great if parental info. isn't necessary. The last schools I went to (Mich, Pitt, Hopkins) all specifically mentioned that they need parental info. for any grants, but not if you were only applying for loans. Maybe they meant just to provide the info. on the side, I really can't remember because all of the financial aid info. sessions seem to drag on about FAFSA and everything.

It seems that some schools require the parental information for grants/scholarships. Ask the specific school if this is true because it is only is required for a small number of institutions.

 

[Haven711]

At the UMich interview they stated that they need you to fill out parental info on the Fafsa in order to be eligible for scholarships. I made a note of it, because I wanted to remember. I cannot comment on other schools.

 

[DrThom]

Schools will want parental information if you want to apply for grants and schlolarship provided by that institution.

 

[fun8stuff]

Schools will want parental information if you want to apply for grants and schlolarship provided by that institution.

It is a safe bet to just fill out the parental info. Every school that my friends and I interviewed at, required it... 20+ schools. I think a majority of schools request it for the reasons mentioned above.

....you could always just call the schools you are considering

 

[favorite]

FYI - Both Case & Cleveland Clinic are very specific that if you are applying for university aid -- In addition to your own tax return, you must send your parents 2004 federal tax return, including w2s & all schedules. The only way around this is to file a statement that your parents parents will not file a tax return and the stated reason. Their forms are very specific about this -- no grey area!

 

[DrThom]

none of the 19 schools I applied to wanted it

how many medical schools give out grants or need based-scholarships?

not many....

every school i've interviewed at has given out some form of grant or scholarship based on need...

 

[lulubean]

Can anyone recommend a place to find the FAFSA codes for various medical schools? I am finding the one on the FAFSA site a bit tough to navigate.

I am specifically looking for the code for USC.

Thanks.

 

[bbtbay]

Do we get the SAR by email or mail? I submitted my FAFSA last Saturday (1 week ago) and haven't gotten anything.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Do we get the SAR by email or mail? I submitted my FAFSA last Saturday (1 week ago) and haven't gotten anything.

email.....

my friend sent hers off about a week ago as well, and recieved her sar within 2 days....you might want to double check your form for errors....

 

[jenna08]

Hi! Okay I know that it was mentioned above that parental information does not needed to be included in the FAFSA. However when I clicked on the "Need Help with this page?" link when it came time to decide whether to include parental financial info, I found this message:

"For federal financial aid purposes, the student is required to provide parental information on the FAFSA if he or she is a dependent student or a graduate health profession student.

The student is considered a graduate health profession student if he or she is applying for federal student aid from graduate programs authorized under Title VII of the Public Health Service Act. The student must give information about his or her parents, even if the student answered Yes to one of the questions above. If the student is unsure whether his or her course of study is considered a graduate health profession program, the student should contact the school's financial aid office. If the student's school requires parental information, the student must complete the parental portions of this application."

I'm hearing conflicting stories from different people and was wondering if it was just best to fill out the parental part anyways...does anyone else know what to do???? Thanks!

 

[markd241]

Oh. I didn't know that we should cancel credit cards from stores 😡 Damn it. I have a million of them. Which credit bureau did you use to check your credit report?

If you have a "million of them" that are maxed , then indeed it is considered very bad. However, if you have a lot of cards the key factor is the ratio of credit you are using. If you only use say 10% of the credit, then this is much better than someone who is using 90% of available credit. Your credit score will be based more on this ratio of usage, and of course payment history.

So don't cancel the cards just pay them off or down if possible and your score goes up 🙂. If you cancel them your score could acutually go down under some circumstances.

Hope this helps.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Hi! Okay I know that it was mentioned above that parental information does not needed to be included in the FAFSA. However when I clicked on the "Need Help with this page?" link when it came time to decide whether to include parental financial info, I found this message:

"For federal financial aid purposes, the student is required to provide parental information on the FAFSA if he or she is a dependent student or a graduate health profession student.

The student is considered a graduate health profession student if he or she is applying for federal student aid from graduate programs authorized under Title VII of the Public Health Service Act. The student must give information about his or her parents, even if the student answered Yes to one of the questions above. If the student is unsure whether his or her course of study is considered a graduate health profession program, the student should contact the school's financial aid office. If the student's school requires parental information, the student must complete the parental portions of this application."

I'm hearing conflicting stories from different people and was wondering if it was just best to fill out the parental part anyways...does anyone else know what to do???? Thanks!

you need to enter the info if your school provides need-based aid---most schools don't offer anything beyond the usual FAFSA aid, and therefore it is no needed, but some do-----ask your fin aid office for details

(my school does not, therefore I've never filled out that information)