Financial aid

[born2run]

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Will getting married prior to matriculation require me to report both my fiancé's and my income for financial aid purposes? Also, is there a resource that provides info regarding how much financial aid specific schools give out? I'm a pell grant recipient as an undergrad, but after getting married my EFC will likely increase significantly. Is it common/uncommon for med schools to give out significant financial aid/scholarships?

 

[backside_attack]

Yes, on FAFSA; you will report yours, your spouse's info, and information about your parents (yes, really, even if you are independent and married).

Good news: this doesn't actually matter, they just require it for whatever reason. So you just plug the numbers in and move on with your life.

Bad news: there's really no need-based aid in medical school. You're offered the max COA and can pick and choose what you'd like from there. According to FAFSA, I can pay 100% of tuition and fees based on my "family" income (husband + mine combined) but I was still offered full COA loans.

Edit: as to resources, you can look up a school's COA (cost of attendance). Federal Direct Loans are capped at $40,500 per year, and anything above that you are typically offered a Grad Plus loan (slightly higher interest rate) UP TO your school's full COA, not exceeding. They do these calculations fairly rigorously for COA, so you can expect it to be accurate as far as the average med student's COA for that school.

 

[Affiche]

A lot of schools actually do offer need-based aid. They'll estimate your EFC, subtract it and your base loan from your COA and then give the remaining balance to you as a need-based ''scholarship''. Schools that do this tend to be the more competitive private schools though rather than the state ones.

 

[born2run]

Yes, on FAFSA; you will report yours, your spouse's info, and information about your parents (yes, really, even if you are independent and married).

Good news: this doesn't actually matter, they just require it for whatever reason. So you just plug the numbers in and move on with your life.

Bad news: there's really no need-based aid in medical school. You're offered the max COA and can pick and choose what you'd like from there. According to FAFSA, I can pay 100% of tuition and fees based on my "family" income (husband + mine combined) but I was still offered full COA loans.

Edit: as to resources, you can look up a school's COA (cost of attendance). Federal Direct Loans are capped at $40,500 per year, and anything above that you are typically offered a Grad Plus loan (slightly higher interest rate) UP TO your school's full COA, not exceeding. They do these calculations fairly rigorously for COA, so you can expect it to be accurate as far as the average med student's COA for that school.

Thanks for the info. Based on your experience, do the living/personal expenses that are factored into your COA actually cover all of your living/personal expenses. There are obviously a lot of factors that play into it depending on the individual, but I guess I'm wondering if it's common for people to have to take out additional loans on top of the ones you mentioned?


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[born2run]

A lot of schools actually do offer need-based aid. They'll estimate your EFC, subtract it and your base loan from your COA and then give the remaining balance to you as a need-based ''scholarship''. Schools that do this tend to be the more competitive private schools though rather than the state ones.

Interesting. So do these schools consider your spouse's/parents' income as if it's your own? Or do they place different weight on income that's not yours? It's unfortunate because I have been financially independent for a while now, in spite of having parental income that would generate a significant EFC. Fortunately, I am considered independent as an UG and don't have to report their income so I receive a generous financial aid package. Even with that, I've had to take out some loans.


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[Bethany555]

Here is an example Cornell gives:

http://weill.cornell.edu/education/admissions/fin_aid_bud.html

Parental Income:
Gross Income = $98k + $212k in assets (i.e. house)
~10k grants

Gross Income = $47k + $0k in assets
~40k grants

In general, spousal income is counted more heavily than parental income. Many schools eliminate the parental contribution if you are over ~30 upon entering, (although some schools consider parental contribution up until you are 35+)!

If you received Pell Grants, I assume your family income is <50k/year. Therefore, if you get into a top school, you could expect significant aid. However, with your spouse's income, that may change unfortunately. For Harvard, for example, parental income <100k has a 0 EFC and spousal income <40k has 0 EFC. I would contact individual financial aid offices for more detailed information.

 

[born2run]

Based on my stats, I'm shooting more for low-mid tier md schools. Are the low-mid tier private schools as generous as top tier schools? For instance, I live in Florida, where IS tuition is ~25-30k. I applied to all of my state schools of course and would be happy matriculating to one of them, but what are the chances hat an OOS private school such as Drexel/Jefferson/Quinnipiac/wake Forest (as a few examples) would offer me a financial aid package that would bring tuition closer to my IS schools? I don't have stellar stats so I'm not counting of substantial merit based scholarships. Are more expensive schools more generous with aid?


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[born2run]

Here is an example Cornell gives:

http://weill.cornell.edu/education/admissions/fin_aid_bud.html

Parental Income:
Gross Income = $98k + $212k in assets (i.e. house)
~10k grants

Gross Income = $47k + $0k in assets
~40k grants

In general, spousal income is counted more heavily than parental income. Many schools eliminate the parental contribution if you are over ~30 upon entering, (although some schools consider parental contribution up until you are 35+)!

If you received Pell Grants, I assume your family income is <50k/year. Therefore, if you get into a top school, you could expect significant aid. However, with your spouse's income, that may change unfortunately. For Harvard, for example, parental income <100k has a 0 EFC and spousal income <40k has 0 EFC. I would contact individual financial aid offices for more detailed information.

Thanks for the input. I qualify for a pell grant because I'm older than 24 and therefore considered financially independent of my parents (which I actually am). If I had to include their income, there's no way I'd receive need-based aid for undergrad (my tuition is very inexpensive relatively speaking).

So if you are married and <30, schools will consider your parents' income as well as your spouse's?


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[Eccesignum]

Thanks for the input. I qualify for a pell grant because I'm older than 24 and therefore considered financially independent of my parents (which I actually am). If I had to include their income, there's no way I'd receive need-based aid for undergrad (my tuition is very inexpensive relatively speaking).

So if you are married and <30, schools will consider your parents' income as well as your spouse's?


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It depends on the school. Some have policies that consider anyone over a certain age independent (and that age can vary wildly), and some consider you a dependent even if you're 40.

 

[f4reignbeauty]

Yes, on FAFSA; you will report yours, your spouse's info, and information about your parents (yes, really, even if you are independent and married).

Good news: this doesn't actually matter, they just require it for whatever reason. So you just plug the numbers in and move on with your life.

Bad news: there's really no need-based aid in medical school. You're offered the max COA and can pick and choose what you'd like from there. According to FAFSA, I can pay 100% of tuition and fees based on my "family" income (husband + mine combined) but I was still offered full COA loans.

Edit: as to resources, you can look up a school's COA (cost of attendance). Federal Direct Loans are capped at $40,500 per year, and anything above that you are typically offered a Grad Plus loan (slightly higher interest rate) UP TO your school's full COA, not exceeding. They do these calculations fairly rigorously for COA, so you can expect it to be accurate as far as the average med student's COA for that school.

Need-based aid is generally school-specific. Mine offers need-based scholarships, and also sends us the applications for outside ones as well.

 

[Bethany555]

Based on my stats, I'm shooting more for low-mid tier md schools. Are the low-mid tier private schools as generous as top tier schools? For instance, I live in Florida, where IS tuition is ~25-30k. I applied to all of my state schools of course and would be happy matriculating to one of them, but what are the chances hat an OOS private school such as Drexel/Jefferson/Quinnipiac/wake Forest (as a few examples) would offer me a financial aid package that would bring tuition closer to my IS schools? I don't have stellar stats so I'm not counting of substantial merit based scholarships. Are more expensive schools more generous with aid?


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Maybe there are exceptions, but most mid low-tier schools don't give much need-based aid. The reason why top schools (Harvard, Hopkins, etc.) can offer some need-based aid is because of their huge endowments. The ways to get cheaper tuition include:

1) In-state tuition
2) Institutional Merit Scholarships: For most, you are automatically considered upon applying. For some, you have to write an essay, etc. However, these are often very competitive and only given to the top % of students.
3) Outside Scholarships: These are usually small and limited to certain demographics (parent's job, location, race, gender, religion, etc). The ones that are not (like Soros) are extremely competitive.
4) Schools like Mayo / CCLCM that offer scholarships to everyone
5) Top schools that offer good need-based aid

Based on what you said, I think in-state tuition is your best bet.

 

[born2run]

Thank you guys for all the help!


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