New FAFSA is bad for non-traditional students

[Kayta]

So FAFSA is now available in October rather than January which is great! Except they want us to submit taxes for 2015 rather than 2016. This might not be a big deal for the students who went straight from undergrad to med school but it means that I'm reporting a full year's worth of income rather than the half year I worked in 2016. It's not the end of the world since I have money in savings to cover my expected contribution but this feels like a decision that really screws over the folks who worked for a while before beginning med school.

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[deleted480308]

Are you worried about med school or undergrad? I never had a problem reporting income and still getting loans

 

[Kayta]

Med school. It's less the issue of getting loans than the expected contribution.

 

[cherubb3]

I know exactly what you mean. I made a decent income the year before I started medical school so I had a fairly high expected contribution amount in my financial aid package compared to some broke kid out of undergrad. Now I will be the same broke kid having been in medical school for a year but I will be reporting my income from the year before... It is pretty dumb.

 

[wysdoc]

So FAFSA is now available in October rather than January which is great! Except they want us to submit taxes for 2015 rather than 2016. This might not be a big deal for the students who went straight from undergrad to med school but it means that I'm reporting a full year's worth of income rather than the half year I worked in 2016. It's not the end of the world since I have money in savings to cover my expected contribution but this feels like a decision that really screws over the folks who worked for a while before beginning med school.

If your income has substantially changed since the 2015 tax year (as in your case, being half of what it was) the way to address this is file the FAFSA as usual, then make an appointment with the financial aid office at the school you are attending and show them your changes (salary up to xx date and end of work date). The financial aid office will often make an adjustment for the new figures. You will need to document the amounts to them. Good luck!

 

[deleted480308]

I get every dollar my classmates do despite having an income of my own and a working spouse

 

[jonpalnile]

Even if you have a "need" according to fafsa, all they give to Med students is just loans right? I had undergrad friends that received a lot of grants and stuff but to my knowledge at the graduate level they give loans to 99% of ppl?

 

[cherubb3]

Even if you have a "need" according to fafsa, all they give to Med students is just loans right? I had undergrad friends that received a lot of grants and stuff but to my knowledge at the graduate level they give loans to 99% of ppl?

It will be very school-dependent. Some schools will have more resources to give need-based scholarships to students, and the criteria that they use to determine who gets these will vary as well. Not all schools rely on the FAFSA alone. Many schools will only provide a handful of academic scholarships and the rest of the students rely on loans/family.

 

[jonpalnile]

It will be very school-dependent. Some schools will have more resources to give need-based scholarships to students, and the criteria that they use to determine who gets these will vary as well. Not all schools rely on the FAFSA alone. Many schools will only provide a handful of academic scholarships and the rest of the students rely on loans/family.

But I though that the school-dependent scholarships were something you applied for independently of FAFSA? Isn't fafsa government money while school scholarships are something else entirely?

 

[Ismet]

But I though that the school-dependent scholarships were something you applied for independently of FAFSA? Isn't fafsa government money while school scholarships are something else entirely?

FAFSA gets sent to your schools. The schools use that to determine need. That's why you're expected to list parent tax information for med school consideration for need-based grants/scholarships even though from the federal/FAFSA standpoint you're considered an independent when you're in graduate school.

 

[Darth Doc]

FAFSA gets sent to your schools. The schools use that to determine need. That's why you're expected to list parent tax information for med school consideration for need-based grants/scholarships even though from the federal/FAFSA standpoint you're considered an independent when you're in graduate school.

There are federal parent-loans (PLUS loan) that can be requested based on FAFSA results, but they required my parents (retired now) to get friends to sign on to FAFSA as references. Which is so silly. I am a non-traditional student. I talked to financial aid and I was able to borrow up to the max of any medical student.

 

[sazerac]

OP, what exactly do you think the consequences are of having a larger EFC vs a smaller EFC when you apply for financial aid through the federal government? When you apply for financial aid through the school?

 

[ortnakas]

Expected contribution doesn't really matter for medical school loans like it did for undergrad. You're eligible for the full amount, regardless. If your school offers additional need-based aid, you can probably plead your case to be eligible (if not for first year, definitely for the following year).

There are federal parent-loans (PLUS loan) that can be requested based on FAFSA results, but they required my parents (retired now) to get friends to sign on to FAFSA as references. Which is so silly. I am a non-traditional student. I talked to financial aid and I was able to borrow up to the max of any medical student.

I have GradPLUS loans and provided zero parent information, so I'm not sure if these are universally "parent" loans? Although I'm >26 and married, so maybe that changed things for me.

 

[wysdoc]

Med school. It's less the issue of getting loans than the expected contribution.

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/graduate-professional-funding-info.pdf

 

[Mr Roboto]

Chill out bruh, EFC doesn't matter for med school fin aid. This isn't undergrad.

 

[wysdoc]

Chill out bruh, EFC doesn't matter for med school fin aid. This isn't undergrad.

Well, if you can demonstrate some need via the FAFSA (and you can be a graduate student) you can be eligible for some loans which will bear a lower interest rate than commercial loans. Depending on your age you might not have to report your parent's assets either. If you think you will need to take out loans it is at least worth filling it out.

 

[Akewataru]

If your income has substantially changed since the 2015 tax year (as in your case, being half of what it was) the way to address this is file the FAFSA as usual, then make an appointment with the financial aid office at the school you are attending and show them your changes (salary up to xx date and end of work date). The financial aid office will often make an adjustment for the new figures. You will need to document the amounts to them. Good luck!

^This^ all the way. Specifically it's called a financial aid "professional judgement" and almost always you will have to submit your request and make your case (along with proof) in writing. So before you make an appointment have everything ready to submit.


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[Ismet]

There are federal parent-loans (PLUS loan) that can be requested based on FAFSA results, but they required my parents (retired now) to get friends to sign on to FAFSA as references. Which is so silly. I am a non-traditional student. I talked to financial aid and I was able to borrow up to the max of any medical student.

Parent PLUS loans are only for parents of dependent undergraduate students (PLUS literally stands for Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students), aka they wouldn't apply to you as a medical student. Every med student can borrow up to the Cost of Attendance, which includes tuition and Cost of Living. At least for me it was Stafford Unsubsidized up to the cap, then GradPLUS for the rest. That's because every med student is an independent borrower, aka not dependent on their parents. The parent information entered on FAFSA is for the school to use to determine need and offer scholarships/grants. Ex - I received a small need-based grant from my school, which took off from my COA.

I highly recommend people do some reading on the federal student aid website (studentaid.ed.gov) before delving into the debt of med school.

 

[Donald Juan]

Well, if you can demonstrate some need via the FAFSA (and you can be a graduate student) you can be eligible for some loans which will bear a lower interest rate than commercial loans. Depending on your age you might not have to report your parent's assets either. If you think you will need to take out loans it is at least worth filling it out.

I don't believe this is true. I don't know of any special "need based lower interest loans." All federal loans for graduate students have set interest rates for that year.

 

[aalamruad]

Parent PLUS loans are only for parents of dependent undergraduate students (PLUS literally stands for Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students), aka they wouldn't apply to you as a medical student. Every med student can borrow up to the Cost of Attendance, which includes tuition and Cost of Living. At least for me it was Stafford Unsubsidized up to the cap, then GradPLUS for the rest. That's because every med student is an independent borrower, aka not dependent on their parents. The parent information entered on FAFSA is for the school to use to determine need and offer scholarships/grants. Ex - I received a small need-based grant from my school, which took off from my COA.

I highly recommend people do some reading on the federal student aid website (studentaid.ed.gov) before delving into the debt of med school.

So just to be clear, will I still be able to take out loans for the whole cost of attendance for med school if I'm not able to get any tax info from my parents? I just won't be eligible for school-based scholarships and grants?

 

[Ismet]

So just to be clear, will I still be able to take out loans for the whole cost of attendance for med school if I'm not able to get any tax info from my parents? I just won't be eligible for school-based scholarships and grants?

Yes.

 

[wysdoc]

I don't believe this is true. I don't know of any special "need based lower interest loans." All federal loans for graduate students have set interest rates for that year.

You may be right about not having to demonstrate financial need, I can't make a definitive statement about that. I do know that interest rates for Graduate Student loans through gov't sources have a fixed interest rate, which is a little higher than undergraduate loan rate and much lower than private bank loan rate. The Gov't sourced loans (their names constantly change, so I won't name them off) are available to you only if you have filed the FAFSA, though. Chart and rates are here:
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/interest-rates

Amounts you can borrow on this page: (scroll down to question "how much can I borrow?")
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans#borrowing-limit

 

[aalamruad]

Parent PLUS loans are only for parents of dependent undergraduate students (PLUS literally stands for Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students), aka they wouldn't apply to you as a medical student. Every med student can borrow up to the Cost of Attendance, which includes tuition and Cost of Living. At least for me it was Stafford Unsubsidized up to the cap, then GradPLUS for the rest. That's because every med student is an independent borrower, aka not dependent on their parents. The parent information entered on FAFSA is for the school to use to determine need and offer scholarships/grants. Ex - I received a small need-based grant from my school, which took off from my COA.

I highly recommend people do some reading on the federal student aid website (studentaid.ed.gov) before delving into the debt of med school.

So just to be clear, will I still be able to take out loans for the whole cost of attendance for med school if I'm not able to get any tax info from my parents? I just won't be eligible for school-based scholarships and grants?

Yes.

So sorry to bump this again, but I'm not so sure that every student can actually cover all costs with Stafford + GradPLUS; correct me if I'm wrong, but credit worthiness is required for GradPLUS, which a lot of matriculants don't have. Is there a way to cover all costs without credit worthiness and without parental support or parental financial documentation?

 

[sazerac]

So sorry to bump this again, but I'm not so sure that every student can actually cover all costs with Stafford + GradPLUS; correct me if I'm wrong, but credit worthiness is required for GradPLUS, which a lot of matriculants don't have. Is there a way to cover all costs without credit worthiness and without parental support or parental financial documentation?

The only creditworthiness you need to demonstrate in order to qualify for GradPLUS loans is you need to not have multiple bankruptcies within the last couple of years.

Think about it- most medical students have no credit history. Most medical students have no income. Most medical students take out Staffirds and then GradPLUS to the full COA of their medical school. No parents necessary.

 

[aalamruad]

The only creditworthiness you need to demonstrate in order to qualify for GradPLUS loans is you need to not have multiple bankruptcies within the last couple of years.

Think about it- most medical students have no credit history. Most medical students have no income. Most medical students take out Staffirds and then GradPLUS to the full COA of their medical school. No parents necessary.

Makes sense, that's great to hear, thanks for calming my nerves!