Fee Assistance Denial?!?!

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Astharia

Astharia

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  1. Medical Student
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Hey everyone!
I just got done filling the Fee Assistance application out for AAMS and I immediately got a denial. I think this is because my parents make over 300% of the poverty level for their 2 person household. I'm a nontraditional student who has a family, and I receive no money from my parents. I'm pretty sure that they actually don't want me going to med school. Is there anyway that I can change this decision? I have a family of 5 and our income is well within the guidelines. Is this just a thing that nontrads have to deal with, picking and choosing their applications carefully because they may actually have only enough money to apply to two schools. Just a little panicked here looking at the cost that's about to add up for next year.

Thanks.
 
Last I checked, the only way to appeal is if you entered some information incorrectly. Other reasons (ie. parents dont support) are not a reason for an appeal.

That's how I understand it at least.
 
I mean, I completely understand that they don't want students who's parents have a ton of money taking advantage of the fee assistance program, but it really really hinders nontraditional students like me. If it were my husband who applied, he wouldn't have been denied because his mom is very poor and his dad is deceased.
 
Don't know the specifics of the fee assistance program, but for some financial aid, you are considered independent and don't have to report parental income if you're married, which it sounds like you are, so maybe you could appeal on those grounds.
 
What if your parents are dead? I need FAP too! Is there a way to plead your case to AAMCAS?
 
DoctorDrewOutsidetheLines said:
What if your parents are dead? I need FAP too! Is there a way to plead your case to AAMCAS?
Click to expand...

There's a section in the form where you can indicate if your parents are deceased. They will also waive the parental income if you are estranged from your parents and send in a signed, notarized affidavit stating such.
 
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Tell me about it...My family contributes to my fiances in no way, yet I got immediate denial. My cost from applications alone was nearly 3K, has put me in a serious financial bind this year :/
 
This is terrifying. How ridiculous... why in the world should this be a barrier for medical school applicants. They want to encourage those who traditionally couldn't/wouldn't apply (teen mom here) but... hey... you have to pay a **** ton of money to do it.
 
Not to mention... my parents, family of 2 would have to make under 45k to make me qualify!
 
Is there anything being done to change this for nontrads?
 
On another note why are you submitting your application so late? A little late in the game to have to throw tons of money you don't have at apps.
 
I totally get the idea behind FAP - some people applying to medical school have to supplement their parental income to keep things going at home. However, if that same person is getting FAP but they aren't spending money on anything but themselves, I don't see how it's fair to let them get subsidized, but not someone whose parents make more money (assuming they aren't getting funding from their parents).

By the way, couldn't they come up with a better acronym? 😀
 
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samac said:
On another note why are you submitting your application so late? A little late in the game to have to throw tons of money you don't have at apps.
Click to expand...
For next year. With FAP you get free MCAT study materials, that I need to be using NOW to take the exam in Mayish, and apply in August. The FAP expires the next calendar year (Dec. '16).
 
Astharia said:
For next year. With FAP you get free MCAT study materials, that I need to be using NOW to take the exam in Mayish, and apply in August. The FAP expires the next calendar year (Dec. '16).
Click to expand...
Ah! I had no idea FAP gave MCAT materials.
Never even looked into it because my parents. :/
 
I'm currently in the process of filling out the FAP app, but pretty sure I won't be denied. That sucks. How old are you? I would think at a certain age, like 30+, parents income shouldn't matter anymore.

Perhaps why they do this, is because they assume you had financial assistance throughout your younger years. Hence why they take into account EO-1, EO-2, etc... to determine low-income status in MD applications.
 
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I'm only 26, but I've been independent from my family since I've been 18, when I got pregnant and got married. My husband was in the military so we didn't need financial help from my parents and they've never helped with school stuff.
 
Astharia said:
I'm only 26, but I've been independent from my family since I've been 18, when I got pregnant and got married. My husband was in the military so we didn't need financial help from my parents and they've never helped with school stuff.
Click to expand...

From what I've read, MD schools care more about what opportunities you may or may not have had growing up, rather than how much money you have as of now. Ex: You could have been rich from 0-16, then bankrupt from 16-26, or vice versa. The MD takes into account, whether your parents have a degree, and what type of degree, what are their occupations (EO-1, EO-2, etc...), since that gives an idea about what type of upbringing you may have had and what opportunities/or lack-thereof opportunities. They also see a "yes" or "no" about if you received a pell grant in undergrad. I think they care more about that, then giving out tons of fee waivers to broke mid-20 year olds (which most of us are, regardless of our upbringing/parent's income).
 
gonnif said:
No, to do this solely for non-trads somehow would make insert an unequal element into legally defined process. What needs to be addressed is a needs test based on dependent status for tax purposes. I am sure our active, well functioning congress will work together to make this happen. I am also sure my first wife talks about in nothing but glowing admiration
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I actually didn't mean it as, "change it for nontrads" but that it needs changed and I assume nontrads are who it probably hurts the most.
 
Astharia said:
I actually didn't mean it as, "change it for nontrads" but that it needs changed and I assume nontrads are who it probably hurts the most.
Click to expand...

The problem is that anyone who can now be claimed as "independent," could be broke, but perhaps they came from an extremely wealthy upbringing. That wouldn't be fair to give them a Fee Assistance, just because they are making the same amount of money as someone who is the same age, but came from an extremely poor upbringing. I think it is fair to have family-income/parent occupation/income included. However, perhaps it should be more lenient about how much the parents make and/or contribute.
 
Astharia said:
For next year. With FAP you get free MCAT study materials, that I need to be using NOW to take the exam in Mayish, and apply in August. The FAP expires the next calendar year (Dec. '16).
Click to expand...

You apply every calendar year. You'd have to reapply for 2016 in 2016. Thats what ive done for two years now.
 
🙁
 
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FAP is a joke. It's damn near impossible to get it and I think that is the purpose of it.
 
:shrug:
 
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I got it by writing them a request of estrangement. They have a form. You write what you situation with your parents entails and get a close family friend (or other witness) to corroborate in writing.

It wasn't hard--but I did it super early in the season while they were still feeling flush. They do say you should do it early, and anything additional needs to be done with the initial request. I could be wrong, but I don't think they're very open to appeals.
 
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My parents made a combined income of less than $22,000 last year. I grew up poor. Really poor. My application was approved in less than 9 hours.
 
BeMD13 said:
My parents made a combined income of less than $22,000 last year. I grew up poor. Really poor. My application was approved in less than 9 hours.
Click to expand...

As was mine.
 
Any idea what is the cut off income for FAP ?? My dad makes $43,000 a year and my moms is in another country (I wasn't born in the USA) so I have no means of getting her yearly income because shes been MIA. Do u think I have a shot ?
 
FAP is for the most needy. If you're a nontrad with a decent job (>$20,000), forget about it, regardless of your childhood.
 
Doug Underhill said:
FAP is for the most needy. If you're a nontrad with a decent job (>$20,000), forget about it, regardless of your childhood.
Click to expand...
What if u are unemployed and depending on your single parent who makes 40,000 a year. My question is how needy does one have to be ? Because I certainly cant apply to medical school without this aid .
 
Though this actually seems incredibly unfair, there's a very logical answer to this:

If fee assistant programs went off of the students' income, every single one of us would get assistance because we're broke college students and don't have full time jobs.
Therefore the only thing they can do to choose who gets assistance is look at the parents' income. It doesn't matter if you haven't received $1 from them in 10
years, it's the most logical way to pick out who gets assistance. Again, if we went off of our own incomes, almost every student would be eligible.
 
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