Financial Aid for Students w/ Kids

[thegenius]

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I'm getting ready to start to fill out my FAFSA form and I got to thinking about financial aid and need. It would make sense that those students who have kids have a greater financial need than those who don't have kids, right?

When I have to fill out my budget, I need to account for what it will cost to take care of my kid(s). Can any current students with children shed some light on this? I know my need will be greater than those students who don't have children...do medical schools and the govt take this into account?

 

[Truth74]

I'm getting ready to start to fill out my FAFSA form and I got to thinking about financial aid and need. It would make sense that those students who have kids have a greater financial need than those who don't have kids, right?

When I have to fill out my budget, I need to account for what it will cost to take care of my kid(s). Can any current students with children shed some light on this? I know my need will be greater than those students who don't have children...do medical schools and the govt take this into account?

There are two questions about exemptions on the FAFSA which kind of cover how many children one has and how many people are in the household. The need for undergrad is taken into account. In my area (and my case), it costs about $4000 a semester for three children. With aid and grants from the U, I had a deficit of about that much to cover. That was because I was a transfer student and couldn't apply for some of the scholarships available.

Check with your school financial aid advisor, or an aid advisor at your prospective school to get specific information.

 

[Static Line]

I'm getting ready to start to fill out my FAFSA form and I got to thinking about financial aid and need. It would make sense that those students who have kids have a greater financial need than those who don't have kids, right?

When I have to fill out my budget, I need to account for what it will cost to take care of my kid(s). Can any current students with children shed some light on this? I know my need will be greater than those students who don't have children...do medical schools and the govt take this into account?

There isn't anything real magical about it. You can't doctor your Fafsa form to get any more money than is allowed. Whenever you are you are accepted to med school your school will ask you if you need financial aid. If you say yes, then you will have to do the paperwork that they tell you to fill out. Bottom line is you are only eligible for approx $230,000 total give or take a few k, and that includes any loans incurred from undergrad. This is a combination of federal and private loans to cover school and living expenses; however, the max federal loan you can get is only $189.000. The other loans you are not guaranteed because you must be credit worthy to get them in order to make up that difference. Our financial aid person told us we could get a little more than that but you have to have a really good reason, and she basically said to only count on the 230k because you will be hard-pressed to find a good reason to get more. I have a friend who got a total of 246k but he went through a caribbean school so I am not sure if he fell under a different catagory, and he told me that he was maxed out. 230k is the magic number.

 

[thegenius]

There isn't anything real magical about it. You can't doctor your Fafsa form to get any more money than is allowed. Whenever you are you are accepted to med school your school will ask you if you need financial aid. If you say yes, then you will have to do the paperwork that they tell you to fill out. Bottom line is you are only eligible for approx $230,000 total give or take a few k, and that includes any loans incurred from undergrad. This is a combination of federal and private loans to cover school and living expenses; however, the max federal loan you can get is only $189.000. The other loans you are not guaranteed because you must be credit worthy to get them in order to make up that difference. Our financial aid person told us we could get a little more than that but you have to have a really good reason, and she basically said to only count on the 230k because you will be hard-pressed to find a good reason to get more. I have a friend who got a total of 246k but he went through a caribbean school so I am not sure if he fell under a different catagory, and he told me that he was maxed out. 230k is the magic number.

Wow, well I hope I don't max out to the 230K limit. That is ridiculous. Thankfully I have some savings.

OK, the jist of this is that it's all on the FAFSA forms. Sounds good.

Thanks.

 

[scpod]

When I have to fill out my budget, I need to account for what it will cost to take care of my kid(s). Can any current students with children shed some light on this? I know my need will be greater than those students who don't have children...do medical schools and the govt take this into account?

Your budget is set by the medical school. No matter what, you cannot get more than the "cost of attendance" as determined by your medical school. If you have children, your cost of attendance is adjusted per child because they are your dependents. Your spouse, however, is not taken into consideration. They are figuring "your" cost of attendance, not that of your family.

About the other posts with the 230K limit. If your "cost of attendance" is less than 230K, then you won't get that much.

 

[Trismegistus4]

Bottom line is you are only eligible for approx $230,000 total give or take a few k, and that includes any loans incurred from undergrad. This is a combination of federal and private loans to cover school and living expenses; however, the max federal loan you can get is only $189.000. The other loans you are not guaranteed because you must be credit worthy to get them in order to make up that difference. Our financial aid person told us we could get a little more than that but you have to have a really good reason, and she basically said to only count on the 230k because you will be hard-pressed to find a good reason to get more. I have a friend who got a total of 246k but he went through a caribbean school so I am not sure if he fell under a different catagory, and he told me that he was maxed out. 230k is the magic number.

How exactly is this number enshrined as the upper limit? Given that the overall cost of attendance for just a single student with no dependents has now exceeded $52k/year at some schools, wouldn't that make it impossible for someone with kids and undergrad loans to finish med school? What would a med school do with such a person?

 

[Static Line]

How exactly is this number enshrined as the upper limit? Given that the overall cost of attendance for just a single student with no dependents has now exceeded $52k/year at some schools, wouldn't that make it impossible for someone with kids and undergrad loans to finish med school? What would a med school do with such a person?

What schools are that high? The most expensive I have scene is 36k/yr. That is still high though.

I don't have an answer for you. I am not a fin aid person. I am just telling you what our financial aid person advised us of during orientation week, when she was trying to council people on not to blow their money because there was no more help for them once they exceded the limit. Plus I also have a friend who maxed out his loans. You will be hard-pressed to get more.

 

[thegenius]

What schools are that high? The most expensive I have scene is 36k/yr. That is still high though.

I don't have an answer for you. I am not a fin aid person. I am just telling you what our financial aid person advised us of during orientation week, when she was trying to council people on not to blow their money because there was no more help for them once they exceded the limit. Plus I also have a friend who maxed out his loans. You will be hard-pressed to get more.

USC estimated the first and second years to be 63K and 62K, respectively. It goes down from there. It's absolutely ridiculous.

I do have some savings from the money I've made as a software engineer, but I had this impression that it wouldn't be that bad going to medical school. My wife does has the option of working, but if we have two kids and her salary basically matches what day care is for two kids, then there is no point in her working. All of these questions, I gotta start taking to a financial aid office.

 

[Trismegistus4]

What schools are that high? The most expensive I have scene is 36k/yr. That is still high though.

36k/yr for tuition alone, yes. But, for example
Jefferson's 2005 handbook (warning, PDF) lists the overall cost of attendance as $56,978 (page 37).

 

[Static Line]

USC estimated the first and second years to be 63K and 62K, respectively. It goes down from there. It's absolutely ridiculous.

Is that for tuition? Or is is for the budget that they allow for students? Both Duke and Georgetown, private med schools like USC, on the east coast, are only in the 30's for tuition. That is crazy if it is for tuition. I wouldn't even consider going there myself.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

where does the $230k limit come from? i have $50k from law school, and there's really no way to keep my borrowing below $230k total for almost any school. i know you usually seem to need a cosigner if you go over certain limits, but my understanding is that most private loans did not have a cap provided that you have good credit and a co-signer.

 

[Static Line]

where does the $230k limit come from? i have $50k from law school, and there's really no way to keep my borrowing below $230k total for almost any school. i know you usually seem to need a cosigner if you go over certain limits, but my understanding is that most private loans did not have a cap provided that you have good credit and a co-signer.

I don't know the 230k limit to be factual. I am only repeating what the head person of our financial aid office told us during our orientation week. She said that some MS-1s from the year before spent their money, and then turned to her for more help. She said there was no more financial help for them after they spent what the school has budgeted for them for the year, and then she told us about the 230k limit total. Perhaps it only applies to us. It could be that each school has a different student loan total based on the tuition of the school. For our school with a 29.5 k/year tuition we have a total of 230k in borrowing of any federal or private loan school money. You may be able to borrow more money but perhaps not as a student loan, I don't know. I really do not know who else that total applies to but for our school, 230k is the limit. Probably a good question for the financial aid office of the school you are looking at attending.

 

[Static Line]

36k/yr for tuition alone, yes. But, for example
Jefferson's 2005 handbook (warning, PDF) lists the overall cost of attendance as $56,978 (page 37).

I just read it. It is talking about what I am talking about. Tuition and living expenses. For my school, the overall cost is $53/54k per our budget. Out of that 53k I deduct the 29.5k for tuition, and presto, the remainder is for my living expenses. We can't get any more than that per year.