Fafsa?????

[notinmyhaus]

So i have recently been accepted to multiple medical schools and decided to try and apply for aid. I have filled out FAFSA every year in college and never have received aid. My parents are a little more well to do, basically make more than 250k a year. Would it be wise to not fill in their information and file myself as a independent to get more aid? I know some schools I was accepted at said they would "like" you to fill out your parent's information but by law I was pretty sure that I am not required to???? If anyone with specific knowledge on the subject could help I would be very appreciative.

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[JJMrK]

It only helps you to include parent information, and here's why: The parental information is used by individual schools to asses your eligibility for private scholarships. At most schools, if you do not fill out the information, you are not eligible (even if the school gives like $5000 to almost every student, or something like that).

In other words, you are certainly not required to include your parents' information, just be aware that you are excluding yourself from consideration for private/school awarded scholarships at most medical schools.

 

[ChiDO]

you are considered an "independent" student as soon as you go to professional school, even if your parents still claim you as a dependent.

You don't have to fill our your parents information unless your school asks you to; also, it's usually required for "exceptional" need based loans, which with your parents making 250k you will not qualify for.

Just fill out the fafsa and you'll get all the govt loans for med school.

 

[KTDseven77]

One of my schools specifically said that they require parental information on the FAFSA if you want to be considered for aid from their school, even though we are all independent students. If you exclude this info, you will only be eligible for federal loans, so it's better to include the info and take your chances on getting add'l aid from your schools.

 

[searun]

I am a third year med student at a private med school. Every year I receive a need based grant that pays for my tuition, about $45,000 per year. In order to receive this grant, I am required to include my parents financial information on the FAFSA. This is standard procedure at other med schools.

So no needs based aid without information on the parents. You will be limited to federal loans and private loans, but no money directly from the med school.

However, if your parents make alot of money, you are unlikely to receive any need based grant money anyway. You will likely be looking a package of loans to cover your tuition and various expenses, unless your parents are willing to help pay for your med school tuition and expenses.

 

[sassilysweet]

So i have recently been accepted to multiple medical schools and decided to try and apply for aid. I have filled out FAFSA every year in college and never have received aid. My parents are a little more well to do, basically make more than 250k a year. Would it be wise to not fill in their information and file myself as a independent to get more aid? I know some schools I was accepted at said they would "like" you to fill out your parent's information but by law I was pretty sure that I am not required to???? If anyone with specific knowledge on the subject could help I would be very appreciative.

lol "little more well to do"
My mom makes $25,000

 

[Legacy87]

On average, what income cap do parents usually have to make in order to receive need-base scholarship?

 

[mangareader]

On average, what income cap do parents usually have to make in order to receive need-base scholarship?

Wouldn't it be similar to undergraduate? Depends on public or private, with private being more generous. Most private schools I have seen are around <80k, but this is based mostly on the school's undergraduate finaid policy.

In regards to the OP, you have to provide your parent's tax info for need based aid, but with 250K+ a year, I doubt you would receive any aid.

 

[JJMrK]

I am a third year med student at a private med school. Every year I receive a need based grant that pays for my tuition, about $45,000 per year. In order to receive this grant, I am required to include my parents financial information on the FAFSA. This is standard procedure at other med schools.

So no needs based aid without information on the parents. You will be limited to federal loans and private loans, but no money directly from the med school.

However, if your parents make alot of money, you are unlikely to receive any need based grant money anyway. You will likely be looking a package of loans to cover your tuition and various expenses, unless your parents are willing to help pay for your med school tuition and expenses.

On average, what income cap do parents usually have to make in order to receive need-base scholarship?

Wouldn't it be similar to undergraduate? Depends on public or private, with private being more generous. Most private schools I have seen are around <80k, but this is based mostly on the school's undergraduate finaid policy.

In regards to the OP, you have to provide your parent's tax info for need based aid, but with 250K+ a year, I doubt you would receive any aid.

Some schools (a few of the UC's, for example) try to give a small amount of money to everyone. Even if it's only a few thousand dollars/year, if the only thing it takes is your parent's financial information, it makes sense to fill out the form. It can only help you.

 

[htg2010]

it really bugs me that they determine our financial need based on our parents income even though we are considered "independent." My parents are fairly well off and thus far have been able to put me and my sister through catholic high school and me through college so far, but they will not help me out with med school. not that I would let them, because I already feel they have given me enough already.

so even though my parents make decent money, I am broke as hell and will probably end up getting little need based financial aide despite my parents not supporting me through med school

 

[Appless]

On average, what income cap do parents usually have to make in order to receive need-base scholarship?

depends on family size. You can google gov poverty limits. But as a general rule you should be somewhat near those limits if you even want to be considered need based. You have to be pretty poor. Middle class making 60k a yr wont cut it. You also have to remmeber that need based stuff is mostly prioirty meaning the most of it goes to those most poor or in most need. So you may be near such limits but it depends on who else they are giving that aid too. If you recieved a lot of free aid in college and qualified for undergrad need based stuff, you probably stand a good chance for it in md school.

it really bugs me that they determine our financial need based on our parents income even though we are considered "independent." My parents are fairly well off and thus far have been able to put me and my sister through catholic high school and me through college so far, but they will not help me out with med school. not that I would let them, because I already feel they have given me enough already.

so even though my parents make decent money, I am broke as hell and will probably end up getting little need based financial aide despite my parents not supporting me through med school

True but if they based it on that everyone would get aid. A lot of my rich friends i know arent having their parents pay for the tuition and stuff. but they always have their parents to fall back on if they get in a bind. If you didnt get enough in loans and couldnt afford food or rent are you telling me your parents would tell you tough luck? Not likely. While those who are poor and have parents who make nothign do not have this luxary. If it isnt your situation its not something you would really understand. Its not stupid to do aid this way. Why should you someone who grew up privalaged get more then those of us who grew up with nothing and whos parents make minimum wage or less?

 

[htg2010]

True but if they based it on that everyone would get aid. A lot of my rich friends i know arent having their parents pay for the tuition and stuff. but they always have their parents to fall back on if they get in a bind. If you didnt get enough in loans and couldnt afford food or rent are you telling me your parents would tell you tough luck? Not likely. While those who are poor and have parents who make nothign do not have this luxary. If it isnt your situation its not something you would really understand. Its not stupid to do aid this way. Why should you someone who grew up privalaged get more then those of us who grew up with nothing and whos parents make minimum wage or less?

You make a good point, and yes my parents would help me out with basic living costs if needed, but on a whole I am 100% on my own. While the gov't needs some sort of requirements on giving out need based fin. aid, I don't think anyone should feel entitled to receiving it, even if the parents make minimum wage or less. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that most medical students will not be relying on their parents for monetary help, so therefore, a parents financial status should logically not be carried over to the student, an independent. however, its the status quo, and it works, but it just seems odd to me.

p.s. im not trying to offend you, elijah, just debating

 

[searun]

You make a good point, and yes my parents would help me out with basic living costs if needed, but on a whole I am 100% on my own. While the gov't needs some sort of requirements on giving out need based fin. aid, I don't think anyone should feel entitled to receiving it, even if the parents make minimum wage or less. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that most medical students will not be relying on their parents for monetary help, so therefore, a parents financial status should logically not be carried over to the student, an independent. however, its the status quo, and it works, but it just seems odd to me.

p.s. im not trying to offend you, elijah, just debating

You will be surprised by how many med students come from wealthy families and whose parents pay for the cost of med school. I attend a well known private med school and many of my classmates have parents who pick up the entire tab. For example, I have three roommates who are my third year classmates and their parents pay for everything. I can barely pay for a beer when we go out.

I do agree that students from wealthy families are at a disadvantage (for financial aid) if their parents refuse to help pay the bills. But perhaps it balances out because the rich kids have already had alot of advantages along the way.

 

[Dannyw]

lol "little more well to do"
My mom makes $25,000

haha ya that one stung

 

[SteinUmStein]

You make a good point, and yes my parents would help me out with basic living costs if needed, but on a whole I am 100% on my own. While the gov't needs some sort of requirements on giving out need based fin. aid, I don't think anyone should feel entitled to receiving it, even if the parents make minimum wage or less. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that most medical students will not be relying on their parents for monetary help, so therefore, a parents financial status should logically not be carried over to the student, an independent. however, its the status quo, and it works, but it just seems odd to me.

p.s. im not trying to offend you, elijah, just debating

You are absolutely not on your own if you have wealthy parents who could/would bail you out if you were in a serious bind. That is not "on your own." You may be financing yourself, but you've had help along the way, by your own admission. Many, many students have not had this luxury. I recommend the book Outliers for a full explanation of how vital this is to your success.

On a practical level, how can med schools differentiate between students with wealthy parents who pay for everything and students with wealthy parents who pay for nothing? Ask them, on Scout's Honor? It's just not possible to tell who is getting the family-sponsored full ride and who isn't. They do know without a doubt that there are students whose parents could not possibly help them even with their grocery bill, even if they wanted to.

I really don't think there's much that could or should be changed about the need-based aid system for medical schools. Just my hard-earned $0.02.

 

[alibai3ah]

depends on family size. You can google gov poverty limits. But as a general rule you should be somewhat near those limits if you even want to be considered need based. You have to be pretty poor. Middle class making 60k a yr wont cut it. You also have to remmeber that need based stuff is mostly prioirty meaning the most of it goes to those most poor or in most need. So you may be near such limits but it depends on who else they are giving that aid too. If you recieved a lot of free aid in college and qualified for undergrad need based stuff, you probably stand a good chance for it in md school.


True but if they based it on that everyone would get aid. A lot of my rich friends i know arent having their parents pay for the tuition and stuff. but they always have their parents to fall back on if they get in a bind. If you didnt get enough in loans and couldnt afford food or rent are you telling me your parents would tell you tough luck? Not likely. While those who are poor and have parents who make nothign do not have this luxary. If it isnt your situation its not something you would really understand. Its not stupid to do aid this way. Why should you someone who grew up privalaged get more then those of us who grew up with nothing and whos parents make minimum wage or less?

This is a good point. But what I don't understand is why location/cost of living isn't taken into account in this whole FAFSA EFC calculation. My parents combined do make 6 figures but we are not rich at all. I live in California and I just feel six figures in this area is very different than six figures in Kentucky. My standard of living (while comfortable) is not that wealthy. At least not as wealthy as one would presume someone living with a six figure salary......But I do understand that some people can't even make ends meet and so they deserve it more.

 

[Appless]

This is a good point. But what I don't understand is why location/cost of living isn't taken into account in this whole FAFSA EFC calculation. My parents combined do make 6 figures but we are not rich at all. I live in California and I just feel six figures in this area is very different than six figures in Kentucky. My standard of living (while comfortable) is not that wealthy. At least not as wealthy as one would presume someone living with a six figure salary......But I do understand that some people can't even make ends meet and so they deserve it more.

this i do agree with COL should be taken into account a little more. 100k in cali gives you a comfortable living. but in some areas such as southern IL or other more rural areas. 100K there is equivalent to like 300k in cali. But once again no system is perfect.

You make a good point, and yes my parents would help me out with basic living costs if needed, but on a whole I am 100% on my own. While the gov't needs some sort of requirements on giving out need based fin. aid, I don't think anyone should feel entitled to receiving it, even if the parents make minimum wage or less. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that most medical students will not be relying on their parents for monetary help, so therefore, a parents financial status should logically not be carried over to the student, an independent. however, its the status quo, and it works, but it just seems odd to me.

p.s. im not trying to offend you, elijah, just debating

Im not offended just wanted to give my point . I understand where you are coming from, you get nothing for aid because your parents are well to do/rich/whatever you want to say. But Stein makes a good point. You have help, not as much as before but unless youve really been in such a situation where housing and food isnt available and you are depending on say homeless shelters or other services liek that, its hard to grasp i think for those people who grew up with everything they needed. I think in some ways you are right the system does fail a bit but really i dont see how else to do it. I just dont think its justified for someone who grew up wealthy with money, someone who has a support system to get money over someone who has nothing and comes from poverty.

 

[JJMrK]

it really bugs me that they determine our financial need based on our parents income even though we are considered "independent." My parents are fairly well off and thus far have been able to put me and my sister through catholic high school and me through college so far, but they will not help me out with med school. not that I would let them, because I already feel they have given me enough already.

so even though my parents make decent money, I am broke as hell and will probably end up getting little need based financial aide despite my parents not supporting me through med school

They have to start somewhere. It's actually probably a good indicator for most people. Also, as I said before, some schools are good about trying to give everybody at least a little something.

 

[Vadoff]

So i have recently been accepted to multiple medical schools and decided to try and apply for aid. I have filled out FAFSA every year in college and never have received aid. My parents are a little more well to do, basically make more than 250k a year. Would it be wise to not fill in their information and file myself as a independent to get more aid? I know some schools I was accepted at said they would "like" you to fill out your parent's information but by law I was pretty sure that I am not required to???? If anyone with specific knowledge on the subject could help I would be very appreciative.

Your parents make over 250k a year and you're applying for financial aid!?? Are you s**ting me?
And what's more, you want to lie about your dependency status so you can have a better chance at claiming it...?

Am I the only one who sees something wrong here?

 

[JJMrK]

Your parents make over 250k a year and you're applying for financial aid!?? Are you s**ting me?
And what's more, you want to lie about your dependency status so you can have a better chance at claiming it...?

Am I the only one who sees something wrong here?

Probably.

1) All graduate students are considered independent for federal financial aid purposes.
2) Filling out the FAFSA form is the only way to get access to federal loans, which are what most people use to get through medical school.
3) The OP wanted to know about leaving out his parent's information, which is not required. (As I've said before, though, it's a good idea to include this since most schools require it to consider you for institution-given aid/private scholarships.)

 

[SteinUmStein]

Your parents make over 250k a year and you're applying for financial aid!?? Are you s**ting me?
And what's more, you want to lie about your dependency status so you can have a better chance at claiming it...?

Am I the only one who sees something wrong here?

There's nothing wrong with filing FAFSA and applying for financial aid if your parents make over 250k. You just can't expect to be given a bunch of need-based aid because you are considered "independent" of your parents. It's simply not going to happen.