Financial Aid for Non-trads?

[LEdaddy]

I have no idea how this works. When we have dependents, own houses, have not been claimed as dependents by our parents for years, how does financial aid, loans etc. work?

Any information on the process is appreciated.

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[gman33]

Are you talking about financial aid in med school or while doing post-bacc work? The process and options are very different.

In med school, you can get loans from a variety of sources. There should be a way to borrow 20,30 or even 40 thousand more than your tution expenses each year. That being said you do want to think about how you plan on paying back all that money. You might be better off selling your house or figuring out other ways to cut back your expenses.

If you want to be considered for scholarships or grants you will still need get financial information from your parents. This seemed crazy to me, since I'm in my 30's, married and have all the financial obligations you mentioned. The system is really geared towards traditional students. Outside of increasing your student budget a little for daycare, I was told that most schools can't really take your other expenses (spouse, kids, home ownership) into account when they are putting together your finacial aid package.

If you are looking for info about post-bacc aid, that is a different story. Your options are more limited. You can get $10,500 in federal loans and after that, you need to find private loans to cover everything else. If you own your home, maybe a HELOC can help you out.

 

[LEdaddy]

Thanks, I was interested in hearing about the med school aid. Doesn't sound too promising, though both of my parents are retired now.

 

[chemphd]

All of the schools I've been in contact with consider your parents' information until you turn 30 OR get married (whichever comes first). If you're married, they consider your financial situation and that of your spouse.
Generally they assume that if you have dependents and/ or a spouse that your spouse's salary will take care of that, but you can get an allowance for dependent children included in your aid package from a lot of schools.
Kinda seems silly to me that people who have been financially independent for several years would be considered with their parents. Exactly what happens there depends on schools. At one school I interviewed at, they said that your financial situation (just you and spouse) counts for the basic- so that's the maximum aid you could get. They count your parents' income toward an adjusted financial aid package and to figure out what the grant/loan ratio is.

 

[CultureDoc]

So, if they do take parental info into account (despite marriage), I'm assuming it's just YOUR parents' info and not that of your spouse's parents? (Which, really, makes very little sense in the end.)

 

[chemphd]

So, if they do take parental info into account (despite marriage), I'm assuming it's just YOUR parents' info and not that of your spouse's parents? (Which, really, makes very little sense in the end.)

Like I said, the school I've been to said that they count either your parents or your spouse if you're under 30, just you if you're over.

Schools have different rules on the parental information, or so it seems. Some require stepparent's information as well, but most of the time it's only your biological parents.

 

[lumanyika]

some of these financial aid criteria are just ridiculous.what if your parents are deceased?

 

[chemphd]

I'm pretty sure they wouldn't count them then

 

[cabinbuilder]

Listen, I went to med school as an older student, 30, divorced with two kids. They do not use your parents income as a factor unless you list them as a source of monies on your FAFSA/SAR or your parents still claim you on your taxes. However, if you are married, your parents cannot claim you as a tax rightoff so that is out the window. You guys are making this way harder than it needs to be.

The trick is to go to medical school with a great credit rating. You cannot get medical school loans without good credit. You cannot have anything in collections. Try to minimize your credit card debt and personal debt before going to school since the student loans only stretch so far. So I took out the maximum loans which covered tuition, housing and left me with about $8000 per semester left over living money. I paid all of my rent in a six month block so I had two payments a year. Now I had a spouse that worked so I was able to stretch that and survivie. But if you have tons of bills, car payment, insurance, health insurance, undergrad loans you pay, credit cards, personal loans, etc. dont' forget utilites on top of that, so that money goes very quickly.

Usually those students who used their parents income are under 25 and unmarried. The rest of us are on our own. This is my personal experience with the financial aid process in med school. There are a few scholarhips and grants but don't count on those to beef up your overall cash flow.

 

[Torojon]

I'm not sure if it's been addressed yet, but there are quite a few non-traditional scholarships. I'm 19 and considered a non-traditional student because of my family background/issues and I applied to several non-traditional scholarships. Most of the scholarships are geared towards individuals who are 25 and older, or who have been out of school for atleast 3-5 years. If your school has a Women's Center(you don't have to be female to utilize these) I would advise you to seek them out.

I hope it helps, good luck and god bless!

P.s. I believe it is federal law that you must be over 23-24, married, have dependents, or be an emancipated minor/young adult to not declare your parents on your FAFSA. I don't think these regulations can be managed on a per school basis, as it's federal aid.