Food Stamps in med school?

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7theNatural

7theNatural

Pre-med.... Post-Comedy
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My roommate has this scam he cooked up..

Since you have 40K in expenses per year and no income I guess that would make you eligible for food stamps or a bridge card or whatever.

I've never felt poor and think our loans cover just about everything and don't really know if my morals are flexible enough to jump on board. I'd kinda feel like I'm leeching off the system, even though the gov't would probably make that $ back and more on my loan interest.

What do you guy's think, free food?
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My dad did this in college decades ago. I don't think you can do it anymore.
 
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If you qualify for food stamps and can get them, by all means do it, they have criteria for eligibility and if you honestly qualify, wheres the moral dilemma? Its not as if you have $200K/yr in undeclared income and you are using the food stamps to feed your dog, filet mignon everynight. Consider it as the govt helping subsidize your medical eduction.

I personally wouldn't do it (2/2 laziness), but its not a bad idea, and i don't think anything is wrong with it. If i didn't have to pay for food, I could defiantly make ends meet at the end of the semester. I recently did an away Sub-I rotation at a hospital back home where i volunteered before med school. When you sign in at the volunteer office, the secretary would give you a $6 meal voucher and validate your parking . I still had the Jacket and ID card that read "volunteer" ....and i certainly appreciated that extra $10 day in my pocket each day.
Unlike yourself, my student loans don't seem to cover all expenses, I am always a few bucks short right before the next loan disbursement. I live pretty lean and figure greater than 90% of my $$ goes toward necessity's ie:food, rent, utilities, auto insurance, gas, ect, but the cost of living (in Boston) isn't accurately reflected by my school financial aids office estimate.
 
When I was working through college I started an application but couldn't get them because one of the requirements was a low amount of money in the bank, and my loan checks kept me above that number until the end of each academic term.

You would probably have the same problem in med school, even if you otherwise met the requirements (eg. were working 20+ hrs weekly).
 
I think since you can't have any more than $2000 in resources, it pretty much rules you out, except for maybe close to the next disbursement.

I tried to get WIC for my kiddo, but "made too much money", since I had a piece of paper saying I made 38.5K that year. Nevermind the fact that more than half goes to tuition and school expense...
 
Foodstamps are for crackheads and welfare cases, not potential doctors. Have a little personal responsibility. If you are that bad off because of medical school, change professions. The world needs ditch diggers too.
 
the key to eating frugally one $6 chinese buffet/day. mmmm getting hungry already.
 
Mr. Freeze said:
I think since you can't have any more than $2000 in resources, it pretty much rules you out, except for maybe close to the next disbursement.

I tried to get WIC for my kiddo, but "made too much money", since I had a piece of paper saying I made 38.5K that year. Nevermind the fact that more than half goes to tuition and school expense...
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I have 2 kids and my wife is a part time teacher, but we still get WIC. Loan money is not considered income. All they asked about is income and my wife's doesn't go over the limit.

It's a double edged sword though. When we were applying for a mortgage, the bank wouldn't count 15k that was in our savings since it was from loan money. We still had enough savings for a nice down payment, but that 15k would have been helpful in getting us over 20% down.

I honestly don't feel a bit guilty about taking WIC. I'm at a stage in my life where $100 per month for formula is an expense that could add up. This is exactly what the government has these programs for- people who can't afford to provide some basics for young children, but should be doing their damn best in the meantime to be able to afford it down the road.
 
gstrub said:
Foodstamps are for crackheads and welfare cases, not potential doctors. Have a little personal responsibility. If you are that bad off because of medical school, change professions. The world needs ditch diggers too.
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Glad you think so highly of the poor:thumbdown:thumbdown
 
My personal responsibility is to my wife and 2 boys. If it means that I am on food stamps for a couple of years to better provide for my family with the hope of someday paying 500x whatever the government gave me in taxes over a 30 year career in medicine, then I am fine with that. Ideally Government aid programs should be temporary aid until one is able to provide sufficiently. That is exactly how I am using it. Gstrub, I doubt you know the first thing about responsibility. Use a little tact and sensitivity before you pass judgment, everyone has a unique situation.
 
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ironmaidenrules said:
My personal responsibility is to my wife and 2 boys. If it means that I am on food stamps for a couple of years to better provide for my family with the hope of someday paying 500x whatever the government gave me in taxes over a 30 year career in medicine, then I am fine with that. Ideally Government aid programs should be temporary aid until one is able to provide sufficiently. That is exactly how I am using it. Gstrub, I doubt you know the first thing about responsibility. Use a little tact and sensitivity before you pass judgment, everyone has a unique situation.
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I have nothing substantial to add to this conversation except to say I love your screen name.
 
I actually have 2 friends going to school in Michigan (they are Ugrad) who actually receive a "Food Card". Similar concept to food stamps, except that they are given a card that works similar to a debit card. There is X amount of dollars on it, and it works for anything except alcoholic beverages. I am unsure how they were approved for them, but I think pretty low of them for doing it because one of them was actually working and the other comes from a pretty well-off to do family.
 
Wow it looks like I could have qualified for that in undergrad...
 
I have classmates that live in federally subsidized housing because they have no income (loans don't count as income). If you qualify as a student for food stamps and WIC, there is no shame in participating. If anything this is a government investment in the well-being of you and your family that will pay for it self many times over.
 
I didn't read other responses, but a bunch of my classmates are on medicaid, so if you have to pay for your own health insurance that is one way to save a few thousand bucks. Eligibility varies by location.

It can't hurt to investigate this further....seriously.
 
gstrub said:
Foodstamps are for crackheads and welfare cases, not potential doctors. Have a little personal responsibility. If you are that bad off because of medical school, change professions. The world needs ditch diggers too.
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I have a wife and three young children and while I don't qualify for food stamps my wife does, we are completely honest on the app. I don't like the idea of a welfare state but since I live in one I'd be stupid not to use it. Besides I'll pay it back in taxes post residency. I deserve it more than someone with no ambition right?
 
EMH said:
I have a wife and three young children and while I don't qualify for food stamps my wife does, we are completely honest on the app. I don't like the idea of a welfare state but since I live in one I'd be stupid not to use it. Besides I'll pay it back in taxes post residency. I deserve it more than someone with no ambition right?
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how do you know if you live in a welfare state?
 
Sorry I was using state to mean the government, A welfare country. I believe that the federal government sets aside the money and state governments through their Dept of health and human services determine how it's distributed.
 
ironmaidenrules said:
My personal responsibility is to my wife and 2 boys. If it means that I am on food stamps for a couple of years to better provide for my family with the hope of someday paying 500x whatever the government gave me in taxes over a 30 year career in medicine, then I am fine with that. Ideally Government aid programs should be temporary aid until one is able to provide sufficiently. That is exactly how I am using it. Gstrub, I doubt you know the first thing about responsibility. Use a little tact and sensitivity before you pass judgment, everyone has a unique situation.
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Absolutely. We've been on food stamps, WIC, and Medicaid ever since I started med school. Federal loans are OK for a single person, but for a family of 4 where both parents don't work it's a different story. My wife could've worked but all the money she made would've gone to day care, so what's the point? Stay home and take care of the little ones better than anyone else.

As far as being on Medicaid, my school only offers accident and sickness insurance, and if I were to include my family it would cost me about $3000/month to insure everyone (and that wouldn't cover routine health care like pap smears, etc.).

We applied to all those programs and made it very clear that I was a full-time student on federal student loans, and nobody questioned it. We qualified without any issues.

An interesting side-effect of being in assistance programs is that we've experienced how the "poor" people are viewed and treated. My wife, who's the one that usually has to go renew the food card, etc., is always treated like crap because people assume she's a no-good, lazy bum. But that's the topic for another discussion.
 
While I was not at the meeting (I'm on rotations), one of my buddies back at school told me the Dean of Medicine at KCOM suggested that all students go on stamps...I don't know his reasoning, but, that is what I heard. There are many people at KCOM already on stamps.
 
gstrub said:
Foodstamps are for crackheads and welfare cases, not potential doctors. Have a little personal responsibility. If you are that bad off because of medical school, change professions. The world needs ditch diggers too.
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I hope to God you are not going to be a physician. It has nothing to do with personal responsibility. For those of us who have kids, we need all the help we can get. The system is there to help people out. Not all of us can have Mommy and Daddy pay for med school.

For all of you who have a family and pay utilities (not included in rent), there are programs out there to help pay gas and electric in the heating season. LIHEAP is one. Peco has the CAP program as well. You can qualify for both. Check it out.
 
7theNatural said:
My roommate has this scam he cooked up..

Since you have 40K in expenses per year and no income I guess that would make you eligible for food stamps or a bridge card or whatever.

I've never felt poor and think our loans cover just about everything and don't really know if my morals are flexible enough to jump on board. I'd kinda feel like I'm leeching off the system, even though the gov't would probably make that $ back and more on my loan interest.

What do you guy's think, free food?
Click to expand...

This is not a scam. It is a legitimate use of the system. We are trying to better ourselves now and will pay back into the system when we are finished with training.
 
1viking said:
the Dean of Medicine at KCOM suggested that all students go on stamps...
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Again, based on the link I posted, the vast majority of students simply don't qualify for food stamps. Those who have dependents might. In those cases it is worth looking into.
 
gstrub said:
Foodstamps are for crackheads and welfare cases, not potential doctors. Have a little personal responsibility. If you are that bad off because of medical school, change professions. The world needs ditch diggers too.
Click to expand...
Is it comfortable up there on your high horse?

I was on food stamps for about four months while I was in AmeriCorps, tutoring at-risk kindergarten and ESOL students about 80 hours a week. For all this I received a stipend that covered little more than rent. When I started coming up short at the end of the month, I reluctantly applied for aid. I used only what I needed each month, and withdrew from the program as soon as I could. It was a tough time for me financially and I could have been making much more in almost any other job, but to me it was worth it for what I was able to do for my students.

It was all so terribly irresponsible of me. :rolleyes:
 
I have medicaid, my schools insurance is 4000+ a yr, I can't afford that...I C no problem with getting food stamps while your in school, some people take out 20,000+ to live a year, either way ur still getting assistance.
 
Johnny_D said:
I hope to God you are not going to be a physician. It has nothing to do with personal responsibility. For those of us who have kids, we need all the help we can get. The system is there to help people out. Not all of us can have Mommy and Daddy pay for med school.
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I also didn't have mommy and daddy to pay for school. Here's what I did:

- committed to serve in the U.S. Navy following graduation (tuition)
- took moderate-sized loans to pay for living expenses
- drove a crappy car I bought off a friend for $500
- lived in a crappy neighborhood where rent was cheap and meth-heads were plentiful
- learned how to correctly use a condom

I don't really want to hear your sob-story about how you have kids and need to take government money. I am a huge supporter of social programs including welfare and Medicaid. But those programs exist to help out people with actual challenges, not people like you who just want a free ride to a graduate degree.

People like you are the real leeches on the underbelly of society; you have multiple options to get to your goals, but choose the easy road of a government handout instead. Your little "mommy and daddy" reference is a poor attempt to divert attention from your own laziness.

I have more respect for someone who takes money from their family, than someone who expects money from strangers.
 
Tired said:
I also didn't have mommy and daddy to pay for school. Here's what I did:

- committed to serve in the U.S. Navy following graduation (tuition)
- took moderate-sized loans to pay for living expenses
- drove a crappy car I bought off a friend for $500
- lived in a crappy neighborhood where rent was cheap and meth-heads were plentiful
- learned how to correctly use a condom
Click to expand...

Well, considering that you obviously did not have children in medical school, your advice isn't that applicable to the the person whose post you quoted above. As for using a condom, it's a little too late once the kiddos are here. And once kids are here, our society would probably deem you irresponsible for living in an neighborhood full of methheads. Also, schools won't budget you extra money to support your family and getting loans above the COA at your school has become almost an impossibility. So it seems like students with dependent children don't have many choices beyond foodstamps.
 
Toohotinvegas33 said:
We had a series of post similar to this on the D.O. side.....Got pretty heated. Starts at post 20
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=460266
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Yikes. I'll not bother to mention any ethnic/religious details, but I did think at the time that if I had the option of having children now and going on food stamps, or waiting to have children later and paying for them at the time, I would definitely wait. IN MY OPINION, it's irresponsible to have children that you cannot pay for, barring unforeseen circumstances.

With that said, I don't really find it too disturbing if people use free government money now as medical students, because I have faith that they will go on to become well-paid individuals later in life, and they will pay more than the average person's share of tax dollars. I just find it frustrating when some people are on Medicaid, WIC, and other government programs, but they still buy Coach purses (yes, I do know someone who did just that).
 
I've considered food stamps...but then I just asked my parents for a loan.

Their rich and I'm an only child.
 
Doctor Bagel said:
So it seems like students with dependent children don't have many choices beyond foodstamps.
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Maybe if you say it enough times you'll start believing yourself.
 
Tired said:
People like you are the real leeches on the underbelly of society; you have multiple options to get to your goals, but choose the easy road of a government handout instead.
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Don't you think this is a little extreme? A medical student with very limited income who takes foodstamps to feed his children? Man, I'm outraged.

And, again, what are these "multiple options." You gave suggestions that work for single students without families. If you have other suggestions for people who are supporting others, please share.
 
Doctor Bagel said:
Don't you think this is a little extreme? A medical student with very limited income who takes foodstamps to feed his children? Man, I'm outraged.

And, again, what are these "multiple options." You gave suggestions that work for single students without families. If you have other suggestions for people who are supporting others, please share.
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Private loans? Aren't programs like GRAD PLUS designed for the costs above and beyond the school's designated budget?
 
TheProwler said:
Private loans? Aren't programs like GRAD PLUS designed for the costs above and beyond the school's designated budget?
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Private loans, perhaps. I thought the Grad PLUS loans only let you borrow over the Staffords, but up to the cost of attendance (including tuition, room, board etc).
 
Dakota said:
Private loans, perhaps. I thought the Grad PLUS loans only let you borrow over the Staffords, but up to the cost of attendance (including tuition, room, board etc).
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Exactly. You can't get GradPlus loans beyond your school's approved budget. And these days, it's very hard to even get private loans that will go beyond the approved budget. Hello credit crunch.
 
Dakota said:
Private loans, perhaps. I thought the Grad PLUS loans only let you borrow over the Staffords, but up to the cost of attendance (including tuition, room, board etc).
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Hmmm, I don't know if that has anything to do with how close your school is to the Stafford maximum, but I believe that my school will be able to reach your annual budget (tuition + living expenses) just with Stafford loans.
 
TheProwler said:
I believe that my school will be able to reach your annual budget (tuition + living expenses) just with Stafford loans.
Click to expand...

Many schools do not fall in this category. Tuition and fees at schools like NYU, USC, (heck even UVa if you are out of state) are over $40,000/yr. Room/board then needs to be borrowed for on top of that. So yes, some students have to take out GradPLUS loans just to cover the cost of attendance.
 
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