Fafsa

[flipflopper]

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Hey,

Does anyone know if we need to file a FAFSA if we are hoping to attend school in the fall? Do vet schools often give out financial aid? I thought students mostly had to take out private loans...if this is true then why is the FAFSA necessary. In addition, would the FAFSA be required for schools such as Edinburgh or RVC or just those in the states? Thanks!

 

[BlacKAT33]

Hey,

Does anyone know if we need to file a FAFSA if we are hoping to attend school in the fall? Do vet schools often give out financial aid? I thought students mostly had to take out private loans...if this is true then why is the FAFSA necessary. In addition, would the FAFSA be required for schools such as Edinburgh or RVC or just those in the states? Thanks!

I know there was a previous thread about this, but im glad you asked this again because it is a slightly different Q.
I also wanted to know... why is the FAFSA needed if you will probably need to take out private loans too? Do all students apply for both? Is it because you may not get enough from the private loans?

 

[eventualeventer]

Actually, most people borrow at least some of their money through several programs (e.g., Stafford, Grad Plus) which are either subsidized or at least guaranteed by the federal government. You have to fill out a FAFSA to be eligible for these.

 

[eventualeventer]

Sorry, BlacKAT, didn't see your post. My understanding is that federal loans have more favorable interest and repayment terms than private loans. I'm no expert, though.

 

[rugbychick16]

Most students in vet school fills out the fafsa unless they are paying for it up front with their own money or someone else is paying their way. Federal loans tend to have more favorable interest rates and are generally considered less of a hassle than private loans. There are exceptions though, people and their parents who don't like federal loans and do it all private.

So yes, even if you don't know if you are going/where you're going, its a good idea to fill it out!

 

[BlacKAT33]

thanks for the responses eventualeventer and rugbychick!

Flipflopper, i found the other fafsa thread if you're interested.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=676010&highlight=fafsa

 

[Klhughes]

At some schools you may need to take out both federal and private loans... especially if you are an out of state student.
For me due to tuition increases my maxed out federal loans no longer cover all of the tuition and fees so I take out grad plus loans to cover the last bit of tuition and my living expenses since I don't work.

 

[luvgoldens482]

How do you apply for grad plus loans or private loans?

 

[Klhughes]

How do you apply for grad plus loans or private loans?

For mine I went through the bank that I had choosen for something with my federal loans (I lose track of all I have taken out). I then just went to the bank's website and followed the links on there for the student loan area. If you search for grad plus loan or student loans (if not a grad student yet) on google you will often get a link of places that offer them. I would stick with a bank you are familiar with.
You can also check with your financial aid department and see if they have any lenders that they recommend. They will also be able to tell you how much you can take out. I can only take out up to the number that they have predicted as the estimated cost of tuition and living expenses.

 

[david594]

To keep things straight for people, Grad Plus loans are a type of federal loans. They are meant to cover up to a students yearly cost of attendance beyond federal stafford loans.

 

[DVMDream]

To keep things straight for people, Grad Plus loans are a type of federal loans. They are meant to cover up to a students yearly cost of attendance beyond federal stafford loans.

Do you have to fill out the FAFSA to be considered with the Grad Plus loans, too? I think the answer is yes, but I just wanted to make sure there is no other application to be filled out for the Grad Plus loans. Thanks! 🙂

 

[parietal]

Do you have to fill out the FAFSA to be considered with the Grad Plus loans, too?

Yes, the FAFSA is required for all federal loan programs, including Grad Plus. I'm fairly certain it's the only application required for Grad Plus and all other federal loans, but you could take to the financial aid person at your favorite vet school to be sure.

 

[sumstorm]

Some schools also offer the HPS loan. So plan on filling out the FAFSA. I recommend doing this even if you plan on paying cash for everything because it can be chaos to fill it out later. Worst case scenario is you do the legwork on the FAFSA, then turn down the loan (no cost other than time), best case scenario, if there is a disaster and you need the money, everything is in place (I am speaking from personal experience this semester.)

Oh, another reason for the preference towards federal loans is that there are some tax benefits, and some students are having a very difficult time acquiring private loans.

 

[bunnity]

Does anyone know if we need to file a FAFSA if we are hoping to attend school in the fall? If you want financial aid including any federal loans, yes.


Do vet schools often give out financial aid? Some do. Federal loans (there are several, including Stafford, Grad Plus, Health Professions, and Perkins) are considered financial aid and are offered through every school, and some schools have grants or scholarships too.

I thought students mostly had to take out private loans...if this is true then why is the FAFSA necessary. As a US vet student you will be eligible for $40,500 a year in Stafford loans - current rate is 6.8% - regardless of your personal fianances, your credit, or amount your parents make. If you can demonstrate high need (based on what you and your parents make and have) you may be eligible for additional funding in Perkins and Health Professions loans (up to $5000 each at 5%). Depending on your school, cost of living, and financial situation, you may need to take out additional loans on top of that. You could do Grad Plus, which you may need a cosigner for, or you could do private loans. Grad Plus are federally sponsored, with worse rates than Stafford, but often better rates than private. For any of the loans I just mentioned, other than the private ones, you need to file a FAFSA.

In addition, would the FAFSA be required for schools such as Edinburgh or RVC or just those in the states? Thanks! If you are planning on getting loans then yes. You would still be borrowing through the US government.

Please feel free to ask any other questions about FAFSA - I have learned from experience and didn't have my parents helping me, so I would be happy to pass on my knowledge 🙂

 

[Smileystar5]

Is there a specific deadline would should the fafsa by? Or should we just check the student financial aid website of each university we apply to?

 

[david594]

Is there a specific deadline would should the fafsa by? Or should we just check the student financial aid website of each university we apply to?

Check with your school. Some have priority deadlines that you should shoot for, but otherwise its kind of an open ended thing.

Sooner is definitely better though because if you have an issue, you want to know about it ASAP so you can get it straightened out.

 

[sumstorm]

I *think* UPenn has the earliest deadline for vet school. I remember I had to fill mine out BEFORE I knew if I was accepted or rejected at 5/6 schools.

 

[Klhughes]

Yes, the FAFSA is required for all federal loan programs, including Grad Plus. I'm fairly certain it's the only application required for Grad Plus and all other federal loans, but you could take to the financial aid person at your favorite vet school to be sure.

The only other thing you fill out for grad plus is the actual request for the money from the bank that you choose. At TN at least, the school does not just offer grad plus (I'm assuming this is the same at other schools) so you need to pick your bank and apply for it (I applied through the website). It's a really basic thing. The nice thing is that if you don't take your max out, you can come back later and request an additional loan to take out more.

 

[Ben and Me]

I *think* UPenn has the earliest deadline for vet school. I remember I had to fill mine out BEFORE I knew if I was accepted or rejected at 5/6 schools.

I didn't fill mine out for Penn until like June, and still got the funding that I wanted. I'm not sure if there was an earlier deadline for Health Professionals or Perkins Loans, since I wouldn't have been eligible for those. I only applied for Stafford loans.

The best person to ask re: deadlines would be your admissions contact at each school, if you're worried.

 

[bunnity]

The best thing to do is just get your taxes filed as soon as you get your W2 and then file your FAFSA as soon as you get your tax return approved. It can be a pain in the ass and you don't want to get stuck with a problem right before it is due. I think the deadline for Penn was April 1.

 

[sumstorm]

I didn't fill mine out for Penn until like June, and still got the funding that I wanted. I'm not sure if there was an earlier deadline for Health Professionals or Perkins Loans, since I wouldn't have been eligible for those. I only applied for Stafford loans.

The best person to ask re: deadlines would be your admissions contact at each school, if you're worried.

It may have been the HPS, but I had emails from UPenn that had a deadline that was earlier than March (I only remember the timeline because I hadn't been accepted yet.) I remember they were the only school that I applied to that wanted familial info as well. For me, the schools that wanted stuff earlier all sent me emails or letters saying so. We planned to pay out of pocket, but did the FAFSA 'just in case' and when we had an economic down turn paired with a family emergency, I was very glad I did, because all I had to do was call and I had money to cover living costs for the semester.

 

[Ben and Me]

I remember they were the only school that I applied to that wanted familial info as well.

Again, not true. I didn't put in any familial information and still received my Stafford Loans.

Putting out info on the internet unless you are 100% positive isn't really helpful for folks who are applying this year.

To those who are applying: If you have any questions about Penn's FAFSA, I'd get in touch with your admissions contacts. If I remember correctly from last year, they told us not to fill out the FAFSA, etc until we had made our final decision. And once you have made your decision, there are folks at each and every school that are there to help you through the process. I'd hate to see someone mess up their eligibility for certain loans, etc just because they got misinformation on the internet.

 

[Pouches Rock]

To those who are applying: If you have any questions about Penn's FAFSA, I'd get in touch with your admissions contacts. If I remember correctly from last year, they told us not to fill out the FAFSA, etc until we had made our final decision. And once you have made your decision, there are folks at each and every school that are there to help you through the process. I'd hate to see someone mess up their eligibility for certain loans, etc just because they got misinformation on the internet.

You shouldn't have to wait until you make your final decision because on your fafsa you will have to list the schools you might attend and you can just list all of the vet schools that apply.

As for a specific time frame to get in the fafsa; usually this doesn't apply to government loans like stafford. If your school also offers grants or other loans unrelated to the government then they may have specific dates that are important. Many such grants/loans operate with a annual lump sum to give money from and they will give the maximum amount possible at the time you are awarded your aid. This means that people who get in their fafsa earlier will get more grant money than people who turned in their application later. It is also possible that the grant will have run out completely and you will get nothing.

So to sum up; I would list all of the schools you have applied to on the fafsa and do it as soon as you have your taxes done.

Also I have been misinformed by people working in the financial aid departments so always double check information whenever possible. There is a lot of useful information on the fafsa webpage and a variety of helplines.

 

[sumstorm]

Again, not true. I didn't put in any familial information and still received my Stafford Loans.

Putting out info on the internet unless you are 100% positive isn't really helpful for folks who are applying this year.

STAFFORD is not the only financial aid option available through a school. I know the familial info was for HPS. And, as I said, I got ALL of that information via emails FROM the school; so students in the application process would know that they didn't just expect me to search it out; they sent me an email saying 'do this now' if you want full consideration for X. I am sorry if this isn't really helpful to you, but it may be helpful to students who have over run email inboxes and don't notice an email that came in from Keiter, and in my case, did not say PennVet or any other indication of a vet school in the subject line. And, as always, things change from year to year.

This was from the email I received last year:

Please read this important information if you have applied for 2009-2010 and you are interested in ANY Financial Aid or Scholarships for the upcoming school year.
You must complete the FAFSA to be eligible for ANY financial aid or scholarship. The priority deadline to file is March 1, 2009 and is coming fast.

As noted, may be different this year. Maybe it doesn't matter and they just send this out to make stupid folks like me run around getting their FAFSA done. Maybe I am the only person who got it. No idea, but once again, I was sharing my experience with others, and that is all it can be taken as; my experience. YMMV

 

[Pouches Rock]

I went and looked up how many schools you can list and it is up to 10. If you have more schools than that you will have to wait until the original 10 schools have processed your application and then you can do an online correction to add/delete schools. Just be aware that if you do any other corrections fafsa the original 10 will not get the information.


Also online corrections can be done up until September 21st. After that I do not know the procedure perhaps you can contact fafsa and do paper correction.

 

[bunnity]

Again, not true. I didn't put in any familial information and still received my Stafford Loans.

Putting out info on the internet unless you are 100% positive isn't really helpful for folks who are applying this year.

To those who are applying: If you have any questions about Penn's FAFSA, I'd get in touch with your admissions contacts. If I remember correctly from last year, they told us not to fill out the FAFSA, etc until we had made our final decision. And once you have made your decision, there are folks at each and every school that are there to help you through the process. I'd hate to see someone mess up their eligibility for certain loans, etc just because they got misinformation on the internet.

Penn DOES want familial info for HPS, Perkins, and any scholarships. Sumstorm is right.