grants and scholarships?

[deluca07]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I was wondering if any schools do not consider parents info for institutional grants or scholarships if students are truly indep...married with kids for example...I haven't had any luck....I'm broke, but schools keep telling me that I would not qualify for any grants or scholarships because of my parents (who have $, but are not giving any to me). Is this policy the same at every school...any info would be great!! for example, if parents info is not needed at what age, how many kids? thanks

 

[QofQuimica]

I was wondering if any schools do not consider parents info for institutional grants or scholarships if students are truly indep...married with kids for example...I haven't had any luck....I'm broke, but schools keep telling me that I would not qualify for any grants or scholarships because of my parents (who have $, but are not giving any to me). Is this policy the same at every school...any info would be great!! for example, if parents info is not needed at what age, how many kids? thanks

How old are you? Some schools will consider you to be independent if you're over 30. But I don't know of any schools that will do it if you're still in your twenties, even if you're married.

 

[Pemberley]

I was wondering if any schools do not consider parents info for institutional grants or scholarships if students are truly indep...married with kids for example...I haven't had any luck....I'm broke, but schools keep telling me that I would not qualify for any grants or scholarships because of my parents (who have $, but are not giving any to me). Is this policy the same at every school...any info would be great!! for example, if parents info is not needed at what age, how many kids? thanks

Everywhere I've interviewed, they've said they consider parents' finances regardless of age. 🙁

 

[QofQuimica]

Everywhere I've interviewed, they've said they consider parents' finances regardless of age. 🙁

Didn't you interview at Baylor? They consider people over 30 to be independent. Unless they've changed things for this year. Sorry for you if they did. 🙁

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

.

 

[Pemberley]

Didn't you interview at Baylor? They consider people over 30 to be independent. Unless they've changed things for this year. Sorry for you if they did. 🙁

Maybe I wasn't listening carefully at Baylor... 🙄
Which actually wasn't THAT stupid of me, because I'm not really worried about it at the TX schools, which are dirt cheap for residents.

 

[deluca07]

does anyone know specifically what the california school's policies are?

 

[LifetimeDoc]

Everywhere I've interviewed, they've said they consider parents' finances regardless of age. 🙁

So if I'm 35 and my mother is retired and 65+ years old, they consider her retirement income?

 

[QofQuimica]

So if I'm 35 and my mother is retired and 65+ years old, they consider her retirement income?

At many schools, yes. Sorry. 🙁 Last year I posted a list of some schools that will consider you independent if you're over 30. If I recall correctly, they included Yale, UAB, AECOM, Baylor, U Chicago (Pritzker), U Pittsburgh, and U Miami. There might be some others that I've forgotten. The FL state schools (UF, USF) do NOT consider you independent regardless of age. Neither do Case Western, U Mich, Penn, Harvard, Vanderbilt, Wash U, or Duke. You should double check me on all of these in case I remembered wrong or the schools have changed their policies since last year.

In answer to the previous poster, I don't know about most CA schools, but I seem to remember that Stanford considers you independent if you're over 30. You should double-check me on that though, because I didn't wind up deciding to apply there and again, I could be remembering wrong.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

So if I'm 35 and my mother is retired and 65+ years old, they consider her retirement income?

What if you honestly don't know (assume it's a school that requires parents' information)? I don't have a great relationship with my parents and have no idea how much they receive in Social Security? I doubt they will tell me, either.

 

[njbmd]

What if you honestly don't know (assume it's a school that requires parents' information)? I don't have a great relationship with my parents and have no idea how much they receive in Social Security? I doubt they will tell me, either.

This will be a huge problem for you in terms of obtaining need-based grants or scholarships that are partially based on need. At my school, merit scholarships were not dependent on parental income. If you had the grades, you go the scholarship.

 

[efex101]

Mayo does not require parental information for scholarships/grants.

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

there is a closely related question to this in pre-allo, and i and the op of the thread would appreciate visits for advice:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=347697

it concerns the next step: how does one fill out and submit federal aid forms in a way that satisfies schools that require parents' information, but takes advantage of "independent" status at other schools?

also, i haven't seen information to confirm that pitt considers students independent this year. aecom also doesn't, but stanford does.

 

[pirata]

alright, so what if you're 28 AND married and independent since age 21? So does this mean we get penalized if married because they take into account our spouse's income in addition to our parental income? It just doesn't seem logical!

 

[Pemberley]

alright, so what if you're 28 AND married and independent since age 21? So does this mean we get penalized if married because they take into account our spouse's income in addition to our parental income? It just doesn't seem logical!

We get the worst of both worlds. Parental income factored in like we're 20, but spouse's income and previous-job savings factored in as well. Whoever designed this system ought to be shot. 😡

Texas residency is a blessing. 😍

 

[pirata]

wonderful...and i'm down with a shooting conspiracy if you are. 😉

now, to figure out how to approach my parents to ask for this info in the first place...gawd, this is incredibly awkward.

 

[S-Mart]

What if your parents live out of the country?

 

[pirata]

From what I've seen on FAFSA, it looks like you can check a "foreign tax return" under financials and enter their info that way, but I'd call the fin aid offices of the schools you are interested in to verify that.

 

[p9142]

How old are you? Some schools will consider you to be independent if you're over 30. But I don't know of any schools that will do it if you're still in your twenties, even if you're married.

Feinberg says you are independent if you have been on your own for 30+ months making at least $24K a year.

 

[scpod]

...now, to figure out how to approach my parents to ask for this info in the first place...gawd, this is incredibly awkward.

I understand the reasoning if they are giving out need-based aid. They want to make sure that only the neediest of students will receive aid. While your parents don't support you, they might by you a plane ticket home one year for Christmas, or send you $100 for your birthday, or maybe buy you a new pair of shoes. They'd rather give the aid to someone who's parents can't afford to do even that. The problem is that it's not always a question of "can't", rather it's a question of "won't". I'm 42, but if my mom was still alive she'd be sending me stuff every week. My dad, OTOH...I think he's still waiting for me to repay him from that time he gave me lunch money in the sixth grade.

 

[southpawcannon]

anyone who has recieved financial aid knows that you are considered a dependent until the age of 24. exceptions would be marriage, ward of the court, military, etc. thats ridiculous that someone would say your 65 y/o mother's income would be included in determining your financial aid eligibility if you are over 24.

 

[FieldDoc]

Just keep your credit score as good as you can make it, take a deep breath, and sign those loan forms. Medical school is expensive, prepare to have lots of loans. I had grants and scholarships throughout undergrad, but was surprised to find that medical school is pretty much a sign on the dotted line deal.
The biggest mistakes that I have heard of people making with regards to financing medical school is having bad credit and not getting thier loans approved (my one classmate had to do quite the last minute scramble because someone stole her identity over the summer and all her loans were denied). Order a credit history and make sure to check it prior to your matriculation.