FASFA: are you supposed to declare independency?

[ghm]

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hi. i was wondering if anyone knew if we are suppose to declare ourselves independent. . .or can we declare ourselves dependent even though med school is graduate school.

also. .which is better financially?

 

[SMW]

Welcome to SDN!! 🙂 FAFSA automatically considers all med students independant. This is true even if your parents are declaring you as a dependant on their income tax return. It is to your advantage to be considered independant by the feds as you will automatically qualify for the maximum amount of Stafford loans, despite parental income, and whether or not they intend to help you. Do an SDN search and you will find many, many long discussions of the ins and outs of FAFSA and financial aid. Also, there is a very good discussion of financial aid in the MSAR.

 

[altaskier]

Be aware that some schools to require you to put down parental info. There is one section in FAFSA and if you answer "yes" to any of the questions, you don't have to put down parental info. But, put it down anyway.

Hope this helps