Financial aid, scholarships..etc

[ctwen]

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I don't know much at all when it comes to applying for financial aid or scholarships. It is obvious that the tuition rate for most PT schools are quite high ranging from 30-50k one year and I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction for scholarships/merits that might alleviate the financial burden a bit. Thank you!

 

[djb051]

Hello, I would start here.

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

You can go there to apply for grants and loans. From what I am aware, there is not much grant money available for graduate students. You can, however, potentially get offered a lot in loans depending on your income.

Before you apply, they have frequently asked questions on the website, and they also explain the different types of grants and loans available and who would be eligible for them. They also have a monthly loan repayment calculator to give you an idea of what your monthly payments would be after graduation. Obviously, it would depend on the interest rate, how much you borrowed, and the loan term.

Apply early, like at the beginning of January. The sooner you apply, the more money you can be offered.

If you are not offered enough money through the federal government to cover all expenses, you can then apply for private loans.

 

[markelmarcel]

The bulk of aid for graduate students (DPT students included) is through federal loans and then once you hit your max borrow for those you can get gradPLUS loans to cover the rest/living costs/etc. Beyond that, some schools offer small chances at financial help via scholarships, but usually it's only around $1,000 or so, so it doesn't get you very far. You can try joining sites like FastWeb to keep your eyes open for scholarship opportunities, but I've found I barely have time to keep on top of my classes, let alone do things to try to apply for scholarships.

 

[bhatiaa1]

I am also not familiar with the FAFSA process. Would I be able to apply now before being accepted to a DPT program? I feel confident I will, but no official acceptance letter, yet.

Also, I file my taxes as an independent (and not dependent on my parents). However, I have heard you still have to submit your parents information. Is this true?

 

[Shelby029]

You are required to submit your parents tax information if you are under either 23 or 24. I think there are some exceptions-if your married, ect. If you look at the form you should be able to tell, but it's hard to get anything from FASFA. Also I'm not sure if it works the same for graduate programs.

 

[myzougrad]

Students entering Graduate programs are automatically declared independent of their parents for FAFSA purposes. You only have to list money and income in your own name.

 

[djb051]

I am also not familiar with the FAFSA process. Would I be able to apply now before being accepted to a DPT program? I feel confident I will, but no official acceptance letter, yet.

Also, I file my taxes as an independent (and not dependent on my parents). However, I have heard you still have to submit your parents information. Is this true?

Hi, from what I have read before, all graduate students apply for financial aid as an independent so the aid you receive will be based on only your income.
Also, I read that you do apply for financial aid before knowing if you get accepted or not. If you wait too long to apply, you may not be offered as much money than if you were to apply sooner. The aid offered will be sent to the school if you get accepted. If you do not get in, the aid offered will not be sent to the school.

 

[bhatiaa1]

thanks for the replies
this helps!

 

[ctwen]

When applying to FAFSA does it matter what grad school I get into such as Samuel Merritt or USC or Loma Linda? or does it apply to ALL DPT grad schools. I haven't had any official acceptances either and don't want to waste time twiddling my thumbs if I can get more financial aid if I apply now. Thanks.

 

[redtegu]

If you are begging DPT school in 2012, you need to fill out the FAFSA for academic year 2012-2013. If you try to fill out the FAFSA now, it will be for 2011-2012 and the school will not accept it. As far as I know, this is true for all schools that begin in the Fall of 2012.

The earliest you could apply for federal aid is January 1st of 2012 because this is when the 2012-2013 FAFSA becomes available...

 

[Litlwarrior08]

Students entering Graduate programs are automatically declared independent of their parents for FAFSA purposes. You only have to list money and income in your own name.

On the FAFSA app you have a number of questions to ans to determine if you are dependent or indep. Since we ans. yes to receiving a BS/BA that qualifies us as independent.

CTWEN---Yes------apply ASAP when you have all your tax / wage statements-in Jan-Feb prior to admittance. You can send it in before you actually file taxes and then update later. It is just a check box asking if you filed or plan to file. I don't make enough to file taxes but will need my statements for the school financial aid office. I believe you can choose 10 maybe more schools which to send the report. So don't worry about being accepted or not. lots of info on their website if you look and click.....