My schools financial aid has been the bane of my existence since I started here. I go to a state school. As a 4th year student, and now that I've done a rotation at a nearby much more "highly rated" school, I can say that I'm not sure that the private school would have been worth the money. During the first two years, comparing notes with folks I know there made me mad..their preclinical education was much better, I thought. But where I am now the clinical years are stronger, and that's what really matters.
At any rate, my schools finiancial aid office issues a standard package of expenses, period. There is no allocation for differing needs of students. I am a non-traditional student who has carried expenses that the average 22 year old doesn't have. The financial aid office doesn't care...I get only the standard budget designed for a 22 year old. I had some savings prior to starting school (now nearly gone). I got a (very) part time job which gives me an extra couple hundred bucks a month. I also worked briefly a part time job which paid better, but the hours were too difficult to keep up. I lasted about 4 months of my 2nd year in that. The summer between my 1st and 2nd year, I also worked. (kept the part time job going, too).
The most annoying thing that happened finiancial aid wise was that during my 3rd year, I was awarded a small scholarship. The funds for that came after the tutition had been paid and I had picked up the balance of my loan check. However, since the scholarship award put me "over budget", I was not given the check. Instead, the check was sent to the student loan people. You see, the finiancial aid office holds very strictly to their formula without any consideration for indivdual variation in needs. When you go to talk to someone about it, they just lecture you on the need to keep your debt as low as possible. In addition, the office is inefficent and not particularly helpful in guiding students throught the applciation process. All students this year should have been able to get some extra funds due to a tutition hike, an I had to go to the office 3 times before I finally acually got the check, each time was told there was something else I needed to do that I was not told about previously. I had to physically go because when I tried to handle the matter by telephone, no one seemed to even know what I was talking about.
Now I'm really starting to feel a pinch. For some bizzare reason, we are not allotted funds to apply to residency programs. Nor are we alloted any travel funds for interviews. Furthermore, we aren't allowed to take any financial aid to go to visiting electives. If you are fortunate enough to be accepted to more than one school, I would definitely ask the finiacial aid offices about what funds are alotted for those things.
How I've managed is by trying to cut expenses, working the part time job. And thought I firmly believe that, as I am an autonomous adult and my retired parents should not be expected to contribute one red cent to my medical education, I am fortunate in that they are pretty comfortable in their retirement and willing and able to help me out.