financial aid

[foreseen]

When, in the process of being accepted to optometry schools, do we find out how much financial aid we are eligible to get. As I remember, I started classes in undergrad before finding out how much I would get. Is the amount of financial aid one of the factors to choose schools to apply to or do we start classes before finding out? I know there are statistics of what percent of students get aid and the range of the aid, but I'm asking about personalized information.

Thanks.

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[blysssful]

Everyone in graduate school is considered an independent, so regardless of your parents income, you qualify for the maximum amount (~42K/year for federal loans), unless you have a substantial amount of money on your own.

There is also the Grad Plus loan. I'm not sure what the max is for that (I THINK its about 15K/year, but don't quote me on that), but it has a higher interest rate that starts accruing as soon as you take it out.

I don't think you find out how much you get before you have to make a decision though. I didn't find out exactly how much until the summer.

Those figures might be slightly different for each school, but I think that's the ballpark. You should talk to the financial advisors of the schools you are interested in to see if there are any huge differences. Of the three that I interviewed at (SUNY, SCCO and NECO) the federal loan amount was roughly the same. However, I think there are some nuances if you are married.

 

[foreseen]

Thank you blysssful. I have been seeing the aid was pretty much the full amount, I nievely belived they might have been grants ...loans make much more sense.

Is all of it just federal loans or are there grants and scholarships involved? Because I've read they want to "minimize the amount of debt" we accumulate during optometry school. That was a quote from one of the schools I applied to, but they weren't specific about the types of aid.

and i will most definitely ask the financial advisers, I just don't want to sound stupid when I do

 

[blysssful]

Thank you blysssful. I have been seeing the aid was pretty much the full amount, I nievely belived they might have been grants ...loans make much more sense.

Is all of it just federal loans or are there grants and scholarships involved? Because I've read they want to "minimize the amount of debt" we accumulate during optometry school. That was a quote from one of the schools I applied to, but they weren't specific about the types of aid.

and i will most definitely ask the financial advisers, I just don't want to sound stupid when I do

Unfortunately, the "free money" (in terms of grants and scholarships) is pretty limited. The bulk of your funds will probably be coming from the federal loans.

Grants and scholarships do exist. Generally speaking, they are either merit or need based, but either way they're usually not in huge amounts. For example, this page lists some of SUNY's scholarship opportunities. I'm sure most of the schools offer pretty similar opportunities.

There is also the option of participating in the Health Professions Service Program (HPSP). They pay for most/all your education expenses, but there is a service commitment post-graduation.

 

[JMU07]

Grad plus has no max. Stay away from it, the interest rate is higher and it accrues during school.

Grants don't really exist in grad school. The Pell Grant is only for undergrad. Scholarships depend on the school - some like SCO have a ton, some have zero.