financial aid packages after acceptances

[clothcut]

hello,

i'm a little confused here... i've been accepted to a few schools and of course, money will be a significant factor in my decision. however, i've been accepted to some schools for as long as 2+ months and have not heard anything in terms of what i need to do. i know that i can't file until the end of jan. according to the IRS, and i won't be receiving my W-2s until mid. feb from my workplace. is there a general timetable for when we hear about fin. aid packages, though, before may 15?

also, just as important, i am a 'disadvantaged' applicant economically and haven't been on speaking terms with my parents for 3+ years and am not expecting any financial support from them -- however, i know that certain 'need-based' applications require their information. how do i go about articulating this to a financial aid office?

thanks!

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[over2012]

Hello! Congrats on your acceptances! I am in the same situation as you. I suggest you email each school that you have been accepted to and figure how to do the appeal process (appeal process so that they don't require your parental financial information). They all vary. One of my schools doesn't need parental information while another requires 4 letters (from non-relative sources) and a personal statement. Did your parents contribute to your undergrad education? If they did then you are "kinda" screwed because most medical schools take into consideration your undergraduate financial aid when you need to do a parental appeal for medical school financial aid. In my case, I "think" I will be okay because my was able to not put down my father's information for financial aid during undergrad (Non-Custodial Waivers and all that jazz...).

I really hope this helped! I would start the appeal process RIGHT NOW. One of my schools (that requires a lot of letters...) has a deadline of March 1st!

PS: I think it's against the federal law for your job to hold your W2 past Jan 31st but, maybe I'm wrong...?

 

[clothcut]

Hello! Congrats on your acceptances! I am in the same situation as you (albeit, my mother passed away and I haven't talked to my dad in more than a decade). I suggest you email each school that you have been accepted to and figure how to do the appeal process (appeal process so that they don't require your parental financial information). They all vary. One of my schools doesn't need parental information while another requires 4 letters (from non-relative sources) and a personal statement. Did your parents contribute to your undergrad education? If they did then you are "kinda" screwed because most medical schools take into consideration your undergraduate financial aid when you need to do a parental appeal for medical school financial aid. In my case, I "think" I will be okay because my was able to not put down my father's information for financial aid during undergrad (Non-Custodial Waivers and all that jazz...).

I really hope this helped! I would start the appeal process RIGHT NOW. One of my schools (that requires a lot of letters...) has a deadline of March 1st!

PS: I think it's against the federal law for your job to hold your W2 past Jan 31st but, maybe I'm wrong...?

Thanks a lot! I also did the non-custodial waiver in HS and did not receive financial support from family from undergrad (loans/work-study). I called up my job and they stated an outside organization handles and the expected time would be end of Jan to mid-Feb. Nonetheless, I'll be reaching out ASAP to schools.

 

[sazerac]

Keep in mind that you could get a scholarship (free money) from the school after May 15th, as well.

Yes that makes it difficult to pick a school based on cost, but that's just the way it is. Everybody wants to pick a school based on cost, and for good reason, but we don't always have all the information to evaluate costs.

 

[mvenus929]

Each school will have some sort of application for financial aid, but they aren't really going to start pushing them until next month, because they're still focused on taking care of the current students and waiting to see who gets admitted. Fill out the FAFSA when you are able. Most schools I've seen have a deadline of somewhere around April 1 to get your financial aid package by May 15th, but some schools may have to give you a rough preliminary award because they may not have established tuition rates by the time you apply for financial aid.