I have seen threads on here stating that since we are going to be independent in med school peoples' EFC was zero. I was shocked to see my EF of 1113. Is this because i made around 8000 last year, or did i mess up my FAFSA. Is this what they think i will contribute? Thanks.
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New SDN Article! Health Professions Week
That is what they think you can reasonably afford to contribute towards your expenses. So when you add up all your loans, grants, and all other kinds of financial aid it will equal the total cost of tuition+living at your school minus that 1113. I think. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
I had a similar situation starting med school..go to your financial aid office and talk with an adviser--i was able to change my EFC (called adjusted) by working with them (since i had NO money at the time)..good luck.
Yeah, I made around 8000 between my campus work and my summer job last year and ended with an EFC around there. Since most private schools' financial aid budgets (including housing, food, etc) run in the 50000-70000ish range, I'm not too worried. 
I learned the hard way that entering a big number in the cash, checking and savings section can have bad results. When I filled out the fafsa two years ago, I had just recieved my financial aid and had $3000 in my checkings account, and so I put that number in on fafsa. My efc went from 0 the last year to $900 The next time around, I entered the number that I knew I would have at the end of the semester, not the beginning.
The next time around, I entered the number that I knew I would have at the end of the semester, not the beginning.
I have quite a bit in savings and together with my wife, we made over $65K the year before I started. My EFC was $22,000+ and I still got the maximum $38,500 from Uncle Sam plus qualified for another $7,800 from private lenders. This year, my EFC is still about $17K and I'm not worried about not getting the max. No worries, you'll still get the maximum with a measly grand EFC.Revolution #9 said:I learned the hard way that entering a big number in the cash, checking and savings section can have bad results. When I filled out the fafsa two years ago, I had just recieved my financial aid and had $3000 in my checkings account, and so I put that number in on fafsa. My efc went from 0 the last year to $900
I went to a pre-orientation and they were saying that even though we are independent, we have to put down out parents information. I'm not sure why, but that's what they said. maybe it's cuz of their policies or something.
That would be right. It's because it is their policy that they would state so. But that is a brilliant supposition, Mr. not-so-bright.virilep said:
cet homme n'a aucun cerveau et ne sera jamais réussi
What did you put down as your checking/savings? When you say you got 38,500 + 7,800, these are both loans? at what rates?patzan said:
At my school you have to put your parents information down if you want institutional aid, which includes ALL scholarship money. For some reason, medical students are not really considered independent. But if you just want government or private loans, you don't have to give your parents' info. All depends on the institution.virilep said:
My big problem is when schools don't formally declare their policy on their websites. So, at 11:58pm when you're filling out the FAFSA you have no idea what to do as far as filling out the parental information. I ended up doing it, but that was just because I figured if my schools needed it, they'd use it and if not, they'd just ignore it.
My net income last year was about $6600 and my EFC ended up at 988. You're in the norm so I wouldn't worry.
When you fill out the FAFSA there's a disclaimer after submitting your own info advising health professions students to enter parental info. There's no explanation for it but I ventured to guess that it was in order to qualify for additional scholarships and institutional money, as someone else already stated. I went ahead and included it. It shouldn't impact how much you recieve from the gov't.
When you fill out the FAFSA there's a disclaimer after submitting your own info advising health professions students to enter parental info. There's no explanation for it but I ventured to guess that it was in order to qualify for additional scholarships and institutional money, as someone else already stated. I went ahead and included it. It shouldn't impact how much you recieve from the gov't.
GuyLaroche,
I am relatively new to these boards, but have noticed your distinctive screen name around--- always talking smack. you are a real loser. is making fun of people on this message board your main form of pleasure? because a quick search shows your posts running from 8-9pm one night to 2-3am the next morning/the same night. Such timing indicates that you did nothing except maybe watch some TV (the oscars perhaps), and your main socializing came on the internet with people who you don't know, and who I would guess don't particularly like you.
Good luck in medical school - I'm sure you'll learn all the textbook stuff fine, do well in classes, etc. -- but will you ever learn to treat people 1) with respect or 2) without rubbing them the wrong way? I am skeptical.
I am relatively new to these boards, but have noticed your distinctive screen name around--- always talking smack. you are a real loser. is making fun of people on this message board your main form of pleasure? because a quick search shows your posts running from 8-9pm one night to 2-3am the next morning/the same night. Such timing indicates that you did nothing except maybe watch some TV (the oscars perhaps), and your main socializing came on the internet with people who you don't know, and who I would guess don't particularly like you.
Good luck in medical school - I'm sure you'll learn all the textbook stuff fine, do well in classes, etc. -- but will you ever learn to treat people 1) with respect or 2) without rubbing them the wrong way? I am skeptical.
Net worth. This includes gross income and any money you claim to have in your savings/checking. The gross income takes into account any previous loan payments you may have been making or things of that nature. And the bank accounts are your liquid assessts.drstrangelove said:
Would it make sense then to completely liquidate all your assets and give them to your brother or parents for the time you are in school?cammy1313 said:
It is based on income and assets. Some assets are excluded, like retirement accounts, home equity, etc. I'm not sure if it is gross income, more likely AGI from your tax forms (adjusted gross income).cammy1313 said:
If it were based on net worth, you could make a million, blow it, have zero net worth and no EFC.
Assets that are considered, like cash etc, are factored in to you EFC. It may be spread out over several years. Seems like a certain percentage is applied to assets.
I have astronomical student loans from prior degrees and I didn't see anywhere on the FAFSA where that was taken into account. I'm still stunned by my EFC and wondering if I can even afford my state school at this point.
These are actually three loans. The first two are government, $30K unsubsidized, $8500 subsidized (both very standard). The third is $7800 from a private lender at a slightly higher rate. The unsubsidized loan is 2.77% (set each June - everyone's will be the same) and I think the other is about 4.1%, all payments deferrable until after residency.drstrangelove said:
I'm wondering about my efc too. I'm a non-traditional type and as such have a husband who is very established in his career. So what if he brings home @ 135K. It sounds like we should be able to pay for my education but with 3 kids in daycare (2 are in school but they will be in before/after care which costs just as much), a 2k mortgage and everything else I will need a loan. I know, we should have bought a smaller house if I was planning on spending the next decade in school......
$135K take-home is enough, I believe, to reduce your Stafford loan eligibility. As I recall, you can make up to ~$90K before eating into Stafford. Talk to a financial aid person at the school(s) you're interested in to confirm, naturally. But you can still take out private loans as pretty reasonable rates to complete your education, as long as you and your husband have good credit.RachelD said:
but otherwise, regardless of what they list as your EFC, you can pretty much still get the max staffords (38,500) right? unless you already have taken out a lot of money in federal loans. whatever else you may need beyond that, you can get from a private lender right?
I was wondering this as well ... I will have a chunk of money saved up when I go in and I wanted to transfer to my parents so I didn't have to claim. The rest of my monies will be in a 401K.drstrangelove said:
Additionally my EFC will be astronomical because I will have been working full time ... anyone else in that situation. I suppose I'm with RachelD as I will have to claim a big chunk of income.
I also want to point out, that my EFC was insane for my graduate degree BUT ... I still got full federal aid. I filed independant from my parents etc. So ... not all hope is lost and usually its a ballpark amount. Not sure if it will work out for med school *fingers crossed*
The banks are required to report the withdrawal/deposit/transfer of any amount of cash at or above 10K/day. So keep your daily transfer levels below this...mshheaddoc said:
On the other hand, over the years I have written plenty of checks above that amount and never heard from the IRS or anyone of the sort.
GuyLaroche said:
I hate it when ppl try to show off by acting like they are fluent in French, especially when they are clearly far from that level. And, it's not the first time you do it, so I really gotta comment on it this time... Your sentence, although grammatically correct, makes no sense at all. A French person (or a good speaker) would never say that. And, btw, I'm French. So, don't even try to teach me...
That's how you should have put it: "Cet homme n'a pas de cerveau et ne reussira jamais. "
And, insulting ppl in a language they don't understand is really pathetique, Mr. My-French-Is-Really-Not-That-Great.
just a correction ... its on "CASH" that leaves the bank or is brought in that is traced by a federal agency. Large checks aren't reported as funds are just waited to be cleared by most banks but policies vary on most banks. Bank I worked at would just hold funds or verify them so transfers are not applicable in this scenario.so_nice said:
For all of you trying to smuggle funds... BWUHAHAHHAHA