Penn 2011 students - questions

Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
C

cyrille104

Full Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2006
Messages
721
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Hey guys,

Does anyone know what the deal is with financial aid and loans are? Do we apply for them separately? Have we gotten anything about this yet? I haven't gotten anything...and I'm starting to get nervous.
 
they're waiting for me. sorry, cyrille. i'll get on it.
 
Oh thank god, I was starting to think that they had never gotten my application or something! SO glad to know that no one else has heard anything either. Phew.
 
i only sent in some of the forms we got during the interview. other than that, i have heard nothing in reply. on our private boards, the student affairs director said we should be getting our first mailing by the end of this week beginning of next i think.
 
Personally, I just submitted the FAFSA (for Staffords) because they indicated I wouldn't qualify for Perkins/Health prof. loans (husband works and parent has assets).

I haven't heard anything yet either.

Re: scholarships, it looks like that's a separate process that varies by type, with some being awarded with the admission letters, some being applied for at orientation, and some not being available until later years.

On a related note, does anyone know what the amount for the PA-state grant is this year (4,200 last year)?
 
They won't know what the state grant is until the state passes the budget this summer. I think it was in July last year...
 
I haven't heard anything either, but you can check to see if they have everything they need if you log in to PennPortal. There is a Financial Aid tab on the left side somewhere. Mine says my application is "Under Review." I would definately recommend checking your status because it said my file was missing my parents' W-2. Since my parents are self-employeed and don't have a W-2 we had to call the Financial Office and get it straightened out, but if I never checked it could have really delayed getting my package.
 
According to the new student bulletin board thingy, a new mailing went out yesterday (5/21) with more information about financial aid, stethoscopes, etc. so hopefully we will be getting it within the next week or so.
 
I got mine today 🙂

The first page talks about the PA tuition scholarship (is that the same as that state grant?) being $4200 for the 2007-2008 year. State residents need to write a letter to their representative and senator to receive the grant - and we get the money in mid-fall. I had been under the impression that the info wouldn't be released until July for the grants - maybe I imagined that though.

Other stuff about scopes and that orientation is mandatory and basic stuff like that. No financial aid information, I guess that comes next in July. Some computing stuff like telling us to register a PennKey again.

The first page was the most exciting for me, being in-state 🙂 It was nice to finally receive something - I feel like we had to get that $500 in asap and then ... nothing.
 
whoa, whats with their cost of health insurance - $2750.00 for the year? Thats more than I pay now and I pay for my health insurance out of pocket because I dont have a job that covers me. Ick! Anyone know of any other viable options?
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
i recieved that package about our supplies and all that on wed, but yesterday i also recieved something about my loans. it told me what i am eligable for and that i need to send the info back to get my loans. guess they recieved all the info i sent them :] anyone else get theirs yet?

i got my stethoscope as a gift, master classic II. i'm renting a scope, how about you guys?
 
spikey said:
i recieved that package about our supplies and all that on wed, but yesterday i also recieved something about my loans. it told me what i am eligable for and that i need to send the info back to get my loans. guess they recieved all the info i sent them :] anyone else get theirs yet?

i got my stethoscope as a gift, master classic II. i'm renting a scope, how about you guys?
Click to expand...

I received my financial aid package the other day too...

Does anyone else have an Expected from Parents amount? Did I fill out the forms incorrectly somewhere??? I didn't think my parents would have to contribute anything?? Does anyone know if I could get loans to cover the parent contribution as well? I need to read through the financial aid information booklet, so I'm sorry if it is directly stated somewhere and I just didn't read it yet! Just wondering if anyone else knew anything or was in the same situation.... 😕

my vet clinic gave me a stethoscope as a gift too... a littmann cardio III!! Any stethoscope preferences anyone? Also, I'm 99% sure I'm going to be renting a microscope... anyone have any opinions on buying versus renting a microscope?
 
I believe that everyone has an expected parental contribution unless you're 30+ or have documentation that you have been independent (financially) from your parents for more than five years... or at least that was my understanding. My understanding, although I am pretty much a financial doofus, is that people that cannot manage the expected parental contribution usually take out private loans from somewhere to make up the difference.

I am kind of excited to get a stethoscope, but haven't worked in a clinic before and am not sure what type to get... I like the idea of the master classic ii with it's one-sidedness-- any opinions from stethoscope veterans? Is it worth the extra cost?
 
When I talked to the financial aid office, they gave me the impression that I could be 70 years old with great-grandchildren, and my parents would STILL be expected to contribute to my tuition. I explained that I'm 28, and have been 100% financially independent for 7 years, and they were like, "Yeah, yeah, whatever, we've heard it all before, we still assume they're paying your way". It really ticked me off! They only require parental information for need-based aid, however. If you're only applying for......I think Stafford loans, you can leave it off, but then you won't be eligible for some of the scholarships that are partially need-based, either.

If anyone has any different, concrete information, I would LOVE to hear it. A lot of other schools offer ways to prove that you're genuinely independent, and I was kind of surprised that Penn didn't seem to.
 
Angie09 said:
I think Stafford loans, you can leave it off, but then you won't be eligible for some of the scholarships that are partially need-based, either.
Click to expand...

I only submitted the FAFSA (without parental info) as I was only applying for Stafford loans, but they told me that this wouldn't limit my scholarship eligibility in any way. It SEEMS like the only benefit of the full aid app was the chance at getting perkins/health prof loans in addition to staffords (that is, beyond the 40,500 stafford limit).
 
It is my understanding that for all schools (and all health professional schools) parental information is required for the health professions loans. It doesn't matter if you're independent or even not in contact with your parents; I believe someone of the pre-med forum wasn't able to apply for these loans as she was not on good terms with her parents and they refused to supply the information. I don't think its a matter of assuming that parents are going to contribute, rather it is a matter of making sure that these loans go to the people most in need. They still assume for professional school that you are independent and calculate your estimated family contribution as such.
 
Just FYI, I'm 30, and I filed the FAFSA without any of my mom's finances (just basics, like name, address, whatever it wanted).

By FAFSA requirements, I'm definitely an independent. I haven't lived at home since nearly 5 years ago (and was supporting myself then, too).

KSU hasn't asked anything about my mom either. I've been awarded my Staffords loans, and a small Perkins loan too.

I guess it depends on how old you are, and possibly the school. Somewhere at the FAFSA official site it has rules of how to be considered independent. I think my age was the first big qualifier (and possibly only, I can't remem).
 
CookieBear said:
I guess it depends on how old you are, and possibly the school. Somewhere at the FAFSA official site it has rules of how to be considered independent. I think my age was the first big qualifier (and possibly only, I can't remem).
Click to expand...

It definitely depends on the school. All vet students are independent for FAFSA, being professional school students, but not independent from Penn's standpoint. But this is only an issue for Perkins/Health Prof loans (which have a combined cap of ~10k annually for penn), and again only an issue if you need to borrow more than the 40,500 stafford limit (which many in-state students may not).
 
tapir said:
It definitely depends on the school. All vet students are independent for FAFSA, being professional school students, but not independent from Penn's standpoint. But this is only an issue for Perkins/Health Prof loans (which have a combined cap of ~10k annually for penn), and again only an issue if you need to borrow more than the 40,500 stafford limit (which many in-state students may not).
Click to expand...



thanks everyone for responding! 🙂
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
texlaevis said:
I am kind of excited to get a stethoscope, but haven't worked in a clinic before and am not sure what type to get... I like the idea of the master classic ii with it's one-sidedness-- any opinions from stethoscope veterans? Is it worth the extra cost?
Click to expand...


my mentor picked mine out for me: the one-sided master classic II. she said that in her experience it was better than the two-sided. i like the way she does everything else, so i assume i'll agree with her on this too. i've been trying it out on my doggie and stuff and so far i love it. :]
 
I received my stafford promissory note to sign and return for my first year loans. Anyone else? It came from a lender called AES (aessuccess.org), which is the lender I consolidated my undergrad loans with (also through Penn). I spoke with Penn's loan office, and they said that you can choose any lender, so I was wondering if anyone is planning on shopping around. Other lenders (such as citibank) offer certain incentives on the initial loan (interest rate reductions of the sort that you usually have to wait for consolidation for), whereas AES doesn't seem to. The wildcard is that I think certain fees are waived through some relationship between AES, Penn, and the State of PA. It's confusing, but I'm just trying to make sure I get a fair deal, as small incentives can mean large dollars on such a debt load.

Any advice from current or new Penn students?
 
I got mine from AES as well last week. I called Penn and spoke with someone in financial aid who said not to file that paper copy. For some reason Penn prefers we do everything online as listed in the letter that gave you your subsidized and unsubsidized loan amounts? I didn't take out loans for undergrad, so this is all entirely new to me.

I know that doesn't help you with the lender question, but I would've just done the paper MPN version before the person in SFS told me not to. I'm interested to see what others have to say about going with other lenders.
 
I got mine last week too. Related question: did that mailing only include Stafford loans, or would it have included any of the other loans (Perkins, etc.) if we got them? In other words, if my packet only mentions Stafford loans, does that mean that's all I'm eligible for? I'm a bit confused, since it didn't mention anything about student or parental contributions as calculated by Penn...
 
JumptheMoon said:
I got mine last week too. Related question: did that mailing only include Stafford loans, or would it have included any of the other loans (Perkins, etc.) if we got them? In other words, if my packet only mentions Stafford loans, does that mean that's all I'm eligible for? I'm a bit confused, since it didn't mention anything about student or parental contributions as calculated by Penn...
Click to expand...

Well, I got two mailings. The first was from Penn's student loan office, and indicated exactly what loans I'd qualified for (staffords). The second was from a lender, AES, with materials for me to sign and return. I expect that the first mailing (from Penn) would have included perkins/health profs if you got them, but I'm not sure - I only applied for staffords, so only submitted the FAFSA rather than the full Penn aid application. Did you submit the full app with parental info and everything? If you're confused, I would contact Ashra Markowitz at Penn. I've found her to be very helpful and responsive.
 
hopefulinPA said:
I got mine from AES as well last week. I called Penn and spoke with someone in financial aid who said not to file that paper copy. For some reason Penn prefers we do everything online as listed in the letter that gave you your subsidized and unsubsidized loan amounts? I didn't take out loans for undergrad, so this is all entirely new to me.

I know that doesn't help you with the lender question, but I would've just done the paper MPN version before the person in SFS told me not to. I'm interested to see what others have to say about going with other lenders.
Click to expand...

That's weird - I didn't even see an online MPN option in the AES package. Do you have a link? Re: other lenders, it looks like the AES option might be a good deal for PA residents if it's under the terms of the KeystoneBEST program (http://www.aessuccess.org/find_aid_for_school/stafford/keystonebest.shtml), which are actually really good terms. I'm trying to confirm this with Penn's loan office before I sign.

EDIT: Was able to verify that it is the KeystoneBEST terms, so I'm just going to go with the default Penn lender. It's a good deal for PA residents.
 
my first mailing included information about perkins/health profs.. i submitted the full app with parental info.
 
hmm... the only mailing i have gotten at all stated my eligibility for stafford loans... no info on how to actually get them or any other type of loan (like the other 20 thousand i will need to cover living expenses). i sent a bunch of clarification questions via email to the sfs office and haven't heard back yet... should i be nervous, do you think? or are they just mailing stuff in the order that they get to it?
 
texlaevis said:
hmm... the only mailing i have gotten at all stated my eligibility for stafford loans... no info on how to actually get them or any other type of loan (like the other 20 thousand i will need to cover living expenses). i sent a bunch of clarification questions via email to the sfs office and haven't heard back yet... should i be nervous, do you think? or are they just mailing stuff in the order that they get to it?
Click to expand...

I would call Penn Vet student affairs if you're concerned - no use waiting!
 
JumptheMoon said:
I got mine last week too. Related question: did that mailing only include Stafford loans, or would it have included any of the other loans (Perkins, etc.) if we got them? In other words, if my packet only mentions Stafford loans, does that mean that's all I'm eligible for? I'm a bit confused, since it didn't mention anything about student or parental contributions as calculated by Penn...
Click to expand...
i was wondering the exact same thing.

are we to sign for the 40,500 or whatever it is for stafford loans and then simply get refunded if we get scholarships/need-based assistance? and i'm in the middle of a move and can't find the first stafford mailing from Penn. what website are we supposed to do this online?
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Emio said:
i was wondering the exact same thing.

are we to sign for the 40,500 or whatever it is for stafford loans and then simply get refunded if we get scholarships/need-based assistance? and i'm in the middle of a move and can't find the first stafford mailing from Penn. what website are we supposed to do this online?
Click to expand...

I would really suggest that you call the vet school before assuming anything. My understanding is that for Penn, 'need based assistance' (i.e. perkins/health prof loans) is only for amounts over and above the 40,500 stafford limit, assuming you'd qualify. Regarding the online form, if you mean the stafford MPN, it's here: http://www.sfs.upenn.edu/loans/loans-MPN-instructions.htm
 
thanks, tapir 🙂
 
texlaevis said:
hmm... the only mailing i have gotten at all stated my eligibility for stafford loans... no info on how to actually get them or any other type of loan (like the other 20 thousand i will need to cover living expenses). i sent a bunch of clarification questions via email to the sfs office and haven't heard back yet... should i be nervous, do you think? or are they just mailing stuff in the order that they get to it?
Click to expand...

:scared: I am in the same boat! I submitted the full application, parental info and all, and have only heard anything about Stafford loans. I'm going to call and see if this means that's all I'm getting...which will be super interesting, seeing as the 40,500 just about covers tuition plus health insurance for out-of-state students, and that's it. Oh wait, let me just reach into my back pocket and pull out the extra $20,000 that I always carry in there, no problem! 🙄
 
tapir said:
That's weird - I didn't even see an online MPN option in the AES package. Do you have a link? Re: other lenders, it looks like the AES option might be a good deal for PA residents if it's under the terms of the KeystoneBEST program (http://www.aessuccess.org/find_aid_for_school/stafford/keystonebest.shtml), which are actually really good terms. I'm trying to confirm this with Penn's loan office before I sign.

EDIT: Was able to verify that it is the KeystoneBEST terms, so I'm just going to go with the default Penn lender. It's a good deal for PA residents.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for letting us know 🙂 The online sites for MPN and shanging loan amounts (haha yeah right) were on the letter that listed the amount of subsidized and unsubsidized loans you were eligible to receive. If you can't find it I'll check and PM it to you. He was pretty adamant about doing everything online.
 
hopefulinPA said:
Thanks so much for letting us know 🙂 The online sites for MPN and shanging loan amounts (haha yeah right) were on the letter that listed the amount of subsidized and unsubsidized loans you were eligible to receive. If you can't find it I'll check and PM it to you. He was pretty adamant about doing everything online.
Click to expand...

Thanks; found it! See above. I did mine online at aessuccess.org since I already had an account there, but the link on the Penn site goes to the same place (same lender code).
 
For those of you who applied for full aid consideration, did you get anything other than loans? I mean..are there grants and school aid that are a possibility (other than any PA resident stuff)? Or will it just enable you to get the other two loans if you need them?
 
sundoggie said:
For those of you who applied for full aid consideration, did you get anything other than loans? I mean..are there grants and school aid that are a possibility (other than any PA resident stuff)? Or will it just enable you to get the other two loans if you need them?
Click to expand...

My understanding from talking with them is that it's just the perkins/health prof loans. Eligibility for subsidized staffords and scholarships is unaffected. I could be wrong, and I agree that the wording on their web site and documentation is confusing on this point.
 
sundoggie said:
For those of you who applied for full aid consideration, did you get anything other than loans? I mean..are there grants and school aid that are a possibility (other than any PA resident stuff)? Or will it just enable you to get the other two loans if you need them?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure either. I applied for full aid consideration too. In the financial aid mailing, I received info about the staffords, perkins, and health prof loans. That's it though -- nothing besides loans...!

Anyone else getting excited and/or a little nervous to start? 🙂
 
I am getting super excited to start! I am just running in circles until August. Oh...and I got the canine anatomy coloring book. It's really cool 🙂

I am a GEEEK!
 
Um, I randomly received a UPenn tie today in the mail, and I have NO idea who bought it. It says it was purchased and sent from NJ, but that a company called IvySports in CA paid for it...is everyone getting these ties? Maybe the school is buying them...?
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I'm not sure about your tie, but IvySports is a website that sells apparel and stuff for Ivy League schools, I ordered a sweatshirt from them when I got in.
 
cyrille104 said:
Um, I randomly received a UPenn tie today in the mail, and I have NO idea who bought it. It says it was purchased and sent from NJ, but that a company called IvySports in CA paid for it...is everyone getting these ties? Maybe the school is buying them...?
Click to expand...

haha, wow that is random.

they could send me a t-shirt if they want to...🙂
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

futuredogtorD
Hawai’i WICHE Students
Replies
3
Views
341
battie
battie
malkat
ROSS 2026 Accepted Students
Replies
21
Views
3K
bigred123
bigred123
W
GroupMe for Black Veterinarians/Veterinary Students
Replies
0
Views
434
wvn1002
W
PartySizedMack
Prospect UIUC Student... Questions!
Replies
2
Views
788
JaynaAli
JaynaAli
supershorty
  • Sticky
VMCAS Questions and Rants c/o 2031
Replies
27
Views
2K
battie
battie
Top Bottom