Fafsa

[CBRGrl]

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Hey Guys,

So I sat down this morning to fill out my FAFSA for attending vet school next year and it is telling me that I need to have my parent's information included in my application. Apparently to apply for "health professionals loans" you have to include your parents earnings. Anyone know what this is about...seems as tho if you've gotten a bachelor's, you're over 23, and you're now going to be a Dr, the US govt should realize you no longer rely on your parent's financially. Just my 2 cents I guess....

 

[athane960]

Yeah, that threw me for a loop too since I have not lived with my parents for 6 years, not even in the same state. Oh well, I filled it out anyway.

 

[Shanomong]

I wonder if I filled mine out wrong? I had the option of entering that info if I wanted to... now I"m going to go double check 😛

 

[rachroo]

Any OSU people who sat through the Financial aid meeting, feel free to add on or correct me...

...but, OSU suggested filling your parent's info (even if independent) since it allows you to apply for the Health Student loan that has a lower interest rate and a longer deferment for payments.

I'd contact the vet school you will be attending to see what they advise.

​

 

[LVT2DVM]

.http://www.financialaid.iastate.edu/vetmed/

 

[david594]

From the OSU info session it will only benefit you to include your parents information by allowing you to qualify for better forms of aid. (health profession student loans being the big one)

 

[r00]

REALLY?!

this is a big issue for me because I am NOT telling my parents that I am going for my DVM, and my wife's (going for her M.D.) parents aren't from the US and dont file taxes, etc...

do you just need to know their general income info or have OFFICIAL income info to get those loans?

 

[VAgirl]

REALLY?!

this is a big issue for me because I am NOT telling my parents that I am going for my DVM, and my wife's (going for her M.D.) parents aren't from the US and dont file taxes, etc...

do you just need to know their general income info or have OFFICIAL income info to get those loans?

You need to not only know their exact income, but you need to know how much they have in various bank accounts, what the value is of various investment properties, etc. This is not information you could fill out without having gotten details from your folks. If you're not willing to discuss you application to vet school with your folks, it looks like you'll have to forgo the opportunity to apply for HPSL.

The down side is that the HPSL is a great loan if you qualify. The up side is that some schools (including UC Davis) don't have any money from the HPSL program anyway, so it's not even an option at those schools.

 

[sofficat]

During our orientation they told us that we needed to fill out the parent part, and even brought up a guy in the class ahead of us who is 50 years old and he still had to do it.
s-t-u-p-i-d, imo

 

[VAgirl]

During our orientation they told us that we needed to fill out the parent part, and even brought up a guy in the class ahead of us who is 50 years old and he still had to do it.
s-t-u-p-i-d, imo

Yep. Unless they're deceased. Even if your estranged, you still have to enter it or you won't have a chance at qualifying for the HPSL. Very stupid, I agree.

 

[sambone]

REALLY?!

this is a big issue for me because I am NOT telling my parents that I am going for my DVM, and my wife's (going for her M.D.) parents aren't from the US and dont file taxes, etc...

do you just need to know their general income info or have OFFICIAL income info to get those loans?

For some schools you don't need to include your parents info if you are married or over 30.

Also, the Health Professions Loan is actually pretty small - usually <2K I think. (Correct me if Im wrong!) So I don't know that it really makes a big difference unless your school requires that info for need based grants.

 

[VAgirl]

For some schools you don't need to include your parents info if you are married or over 30.

I didn't think you ever needed to include parental info except for purposes of HPSL...

 

[david594]

But if you get 2000 dollars of HPSL a year insteaad of grad plus loans you will have saved nearly 2000 dollars in interest by the time you are 1 year out of school. You will also save a similar amount by the time you are done paying your loans.

 

[sambone]

I didn't think you ever needed to include parental info except for purposes of HPSL...

Cornell requires it for school grants, which are need based, from the school itself and do not need to be repaid. Im not sure if other vet schools give these out, but I also got them for undergrad and they reduced my tuition by ~60%.

 

[CBRGrl]

Wow, thanks so much for everyone's response. I guess I'll have to call home and snag a copy of my parent's tax returns. Anyone know about CSU in particular? Weather or not they offer the health profession students loan....I know they'll prolly go over it at the orientation, but that's not until August...

 

[r00]

I also appreciate all the responses... what about for my wife? Her parents dont live here in the USA and never have and never will... could she theoretically just make it up?

 

[VAgirl]

I also appreciate all the responses... what about for my wife? Her parents dont live here in the USA and never have and never will... could she theoretically just make it up?

I have no idea what she would be expected to put down on the form. Do they just want to know about money in US banks, US income tax, etc? No idea. Best thing would be to call some school's financial aid dept and try to find some answers to her situation.

 

[tealamutt]

The way the HPSL works is that it is a "pot" and whatever is payed back each year from previous lendees goes into the "pot" and that is divided up among those who qualify. Ours had less $5,000 this year so almost no loans were given. This information is not made very clearly, so I would not count on getting much from this particular loan. If you do get something, it's icing on the cake, but nothing to budget with!