Financial Aid

[sultana]

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this may be jumping the gun a bit, but I wanted to a thread started on the subject of financial aid...I got my first acceptance recently (at a private school) and after the initial joy of getting in, I realized how much debt I'm going to be in when I get out of school! What's the deal with financial aid, when do I apply, do have to fill a FAFSA...anyone have words of advice??

 

[Dendrite]

this may be jumping the gun a bit, but I wanted to a thread started on the subject of financial aid...I got my first acceptance recently (at a private school) and after the initial joy of getting in, I realized how much debt I'm going to be in when I get out of school! What's the deal with financial aid, when do I apply, do have to fill a FAFSA...anyone have words of advice??

Unless you have the means to pay for a medical education on your own or through private loans/family, I recommend you fill out the FAFSA. It gives you the opportunity to get subsidized loans in which the government pays the interest for the four years of medical school. When you send the FAFSA to your medical school, they use it to determine whether you get any institutional aid or any other financial assistance. The FAFSA for the Fall of 2008 is already up online on their official website, although it is difficult to fill it out without receiving tax information the IRS mails out to everyone in early February. Never too early to check it out though. Check your school for deadlines specific to it.

Hope this helps.

 

[sultana]

thanks for the help. I'll get on that ASAP 🙂

 

[TerraMedicX]

I filled out my FAFSA yesterday, and got my EFC today. All you need is your W2 and your 1040 you're filing with the IRS. So get your taxes done early and fill out your FAFSA.

Now, since I've been working for two years since I finished my undergrad and I worked A LOT...I need to call my school about a Request for Professional Judgment. Anyone have any experience with this??

Nate.

 

[mc4435]

Do both my parents AND myself have to fill out a FAFSA??

 

[Crixivan]

Do both my parents AND myself have to fill out a FAFSA??

If you have a Bachelor's degree or plan to enroll in a graduate program (including medicine), you are considered independent for the purposes of federal aid. There are some schools, however, that may give need-based aid dependent on parental income, so you might check with the school(s) of interest.

 

[mc4435]

If you have a Bachelor's degree or plan to enroll in a graduate program (including medicine), you are considered independent for the purposes of federal aid. There are some schools, however, that may give need-based aid dependent on parental income, so you might check with the school(s) of interest.

So I fill out my own FAFSA and include my parents information on that one? Most of the financial aid handouts I have from schools do mention parents information.

 

[1956Goldtop]

I thought that most schools require parental information for any institutional aid? I think all you do is fill out your own FAFSA but add in your parents information on the corresponding pages.

Have you all been getting your W2's already? I still have not filed my taxes so I still have a long way to go. Does it really matter when we file it as long as we file it reasonably before the deadline (i.e., if we submit earlier, are we likely to get more aid?)

Also, I would check with your schools because some institutions have many other forms you have to fill out. I know for DMS, there are 2 others.

 

[da me ka don]

Sorry to hijack your thread OP, but do you guys think it is okay to fill financial Aid for a particular school you are waitlisted in or think you will get into in April or so. I do not mean FaFSA that only requires you to list the schools. I mean each school's individual financial aid form (Many schools have this).

 

[1956Goldtop]

Yes, most schools advise doing this actually.

 

[Crixivan]

So I fill out my own FAFSA and include my parents information on that one?

Yeah, if you want/need to declare your parents' income, that's where you do it.

I thought that most schools require parental information for any institutional aid?

You don't have to in order to be eligible for the $40K Stafford maximum available from Uncle Sam, but some institutions may offer aid based on your parents' income.

 

[pandulce321]

I filled out my FAFSA yesterday, and got my EFC today. All you need is your W2 and your 1040 you're filing with the IRS. So get your taxes done early and fill out your FAFSA.

Now, since I've been working for two years since I finished my undergrad and I worked A LOT...I need to call my school about a Request for Professional Judgment. Anyone have any experience with this??

Nate.

Can you further explain the "Request fir Professional Judgment." I have a full-time job right now, but I have only been working for 6 months. Thanks!

 

[Luxian]

Do both my parents AND myself have to fill out a FAFSA??

FAFSA has an age cutoff to decide whether or not you have to submit your parents information. Check their website to see. The individual schools however almost universally ask for parents info. So basically, if you are a non-trad (like me) you fill out FAFSA on your own, then provide parents info (usually just a copy of their tax return and maybe a short form) for the individual school.

Just a note of annoyance: it does feel wrong to ask my 70 year old parents to submit to a financial inquisition when I am absolutely taking no money from them. (Would you take money from a grandma on social security? No way!) Then again, the schools have made it very clear you get nothing over the federal $8500 if you don't submit your parents information, and I'm not independently wealthy here on my last five years working in public health. I thought I'd only have to put myself through this sort of pain, not my elderly parents too!!

 

[Doctor Bagel]

FAFSA has an age cutoff to decide whether or not you have to submit your parents information. Check their website to see. The individual schools however almost universally ask for parents info. So basically, if you are a non-trad (like me) you fill out FAFSA on your own, then provide parents info (usually just a copy of their tax return and maybe a short form) for the individual school.

Just a note of annoyance: it does feel wrong to ask my 70 year old parents to submit to a financial inquisition when I am absolutely taking no money from them. (Would you take money from a grandma on social security? No way!) Then again, the schools have made it very clear you get nothing over the federal $8500 if you don't submit your parents information, and I'm not independently wealthy here on my last five years working in public health. I thought I'd only have to put myself through this sort of pain, not my elderly parents too!!

Unfortunately most of us get no more than that $8500 even if we submit parental info because that's the max for need-based federal aid unless you get Perkins loans, which are awarded somewhat arbitrarily by schools. So the bulk of any aid package will be made up of unsubsidized stafford loans and GradPlus loans, which are all not need-based.

As for parental info, there's really not an age cutoff except for at a few schools. All graduate students are considered independent for federal financial aid, but schools generally want parental info for the non-federal stuff (school-funded grants/scholarships).

 

[JakeMedBiller41]

I would research it a little more. Play it safe and go to the governements financial aid website or try sites like http://EasyStaffordLoan.com A good google search will give you alot of articles on FASFA and Stafford Loans.

 

[alwaysaangel]

FAFSA has an age cutoff to decide whether or not you have to submit your parents information. Check their website to see. The individual schools however almost universally ask for parents info. So basically, if you are a non-trad (like me) you fill out FAFSA on your own, then provide parents info (usually just a copy of their tax return and maybe a short form) for the individual school.

Be careful about this - a lot of schools want your parental info ON your fafsa. Just for ease of access for them. It won't be included in your EFC. It will just be on there in an organization that they are used to

Just a note of annoyance: it does feel wrong to ask my 70 year old parents to submit to a financial inquisition when I am absolutely taking no money from them. (Would you take money from a grandma on social security? No way!) Then again, the schools have made it very clear you get nothing over the federal $8500 if you don't submit your parents information, and I'm not independently wealthy here on my last five years working in public health. I thought I'd only have to put myself through this sort of pain, not my elderly parents too!!

It does, but remember plenty of 70 year olds are very well off and would be able to help their child go to med school - or would be leaving them a nice inheritance good for paying off student loans. Parental income is the only thing schools have to compare a bunch of 22 year old incomeless students so its what they use.