need-based aid

[aggiecrew]

can you get need-based federal aid as a med student if you are an independent?

It would seem to me that there would be quite a few people who would qualify if this were true, like everyone who was an older applicant.

let's say you take some time off of school after undergrad. then, you go to apply for med school. your income will be 0 for FAFSA purposes because you will have to quit your job to go to med school, right? (assume no spouse)

if you are an independent and your income is 0, then surely you would qualify for need-based aid as long as you didn't have huge cash bank accounts or other big sources that would up your net worth, right?

seems like many med students would qualify, am I wrong? what's up with this?

any insight would be GREATLY appreciated!

thanks!

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[hakksar]

Yes, pretty much every medical student qualifies for need based aid due to being independant. However, the federal govt has a limit of $8,500 on Subsidized Staffords and $6000 for subsidized Perkins Loans (the Perkins Loans depends on the school's funds because it is funded in large part by the school). This means that with living expenses that even if you receive the maximum federal subsidized loans (unlikely since Perkins Loans require the school to have funds for it) that you will likely still need to take out unsubsidized loans as well to cover the cost of attendance. There are no Pell Grants for graduate study so the only other need based aid would come from your state or a private organization.

 

[aggiecrew]

whoa wait a minute. I'm not talking about loans. I'm talking strictly about aid that you don't have to pay back.

hopefully that clarifies my inquiry a bit better.

now, does anyone have any insight on this subject?

 

[hakksar]

There are only grants and scholarships funded by the school, state, or private organization (hence no Pell Grants or other federal grants/ scholarships) available to people in graduate study. Since most schools do not provide a large amount of scholarships and most states do not have a lot of money to give out it would be up to you to find private scholarships. My FA package includes $1800 in state grant money for my first year which is only a drop in the bucket compared to the $32,000 cost of attendance. That is with an EFC of $0. There just isn't much free money out there for graduate studies. The best you can hope for is subsidized loans and a small amount of grant money.

 

[Petitpois]

I've also never heard of need-based federal aid you don't have to pay back, just the loans. Like Hakksar, mentioned, there are other sources of "free money."

Unfortunately, even if you are "independent," you will most likely have to provide parental info to get free institutional money (federal grants and loans don't require parental info). A lot schools will only allow an possible exception for certain cases, like if you've been estranged from your parents (and they need a proof of this, e.g. a letter from a doctor, priest, etc) or you're over a certain age and married with kids. However, don't be discouraged! Unless your parents make a lot of money and/or have a lot of assets, a good number of private institutions will be able to offer you some scholarship money (I'm not so sure about public schools).