Please Help with fee assistance program & FAFSA! Plz

[Shereen1]

Hello All,

Alright Silent member finally breaking silence lol.
This question is for anyone that has experience filling out the application for FAP and FAFSA, I would really appreciate some help. I'm applying for medical school this year for 2015-2016 school year. Well I just started the FAFSA and it only has option for 2014-2015 financial aid and it asks to list up to 10 schools that I may attend. I've listed them so far but I'm still unsure of my final schools that I will apply to. Would this part of the application matter much? ... Also if I qualify, will it help me take care of the MCAT fees as well?

I'm a 29 year old non-trad-been out of the game, so any advice at this point is good advice!

Thank you in advance!

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[Playdoh4lyfe]

Yes it will take care of MCAT fees, I think they're halved with FAP.

You're applying to schools this summer for matriculation in 2015, correct? If so, you'll need to fill out another FAFSA next January (January 2015).

 

[WalSlave]

You cannot fill out the FAFSA yet. You need to wait another year, as the poster above already mentioned. DO NOT fill out the FAFSA unless you are attending school Fall '14 or you're going to cause problems and have some very confused med schools wondering why you are sending them a FAFSA. Lol.

Also, with FAP (the name of the MCAT assistance), they want your tax returns as well as your parent's tax returns, no matter how old you are. They don't care about your FAFSA. They have their own way of determining need. If you're approved, you only have to pay 100 bucks to take the MCAT.

 

[mnsman]

You can add schools later if I recall correctly.

Also, I believe FAP pays for the first MCAT and all the application fees. Additionally, I think they give you a book.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

When I filled last year, I listed my undergrad Community College as a school I was going to attend. I had the intention of taking some courses for fun during my gap year, but ended up no taking any. My point is, you don't need to attend a school that you list on FAFSA. My recommendation is go ahead and list your undergrad school or any other college that you may enroll in if you ever think of taking courses. Like this, you get to complete your fafsa and have a SAR generated. If my memory severs, you will need to print out the SAR and mail it to AAMC to have a reduced MCAT fee.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

You can add schools later if I recall correctly.

Also, I believe FAP pays for the first MCAT and all the application fees. Additionally, I think they give you a book.

This book contains the best mcat prep material, ever.

 

[TXKnight]

Like some posters above have said, FAFSA and FAP are two different things that serve different purposes, administered by different entities. FAFSA is a federal govmnt service and FAP is administered by AAMC. You need to fill out FAFSA the same year you are attending school, and only if you have been accepted to such school. FAP is filled out and needs to be approved I believe early in the year you are applying, before the app season opens. I think they start taking apps in Feb, but go ahead and call them ASAP and ask, because FAP funds exhaust quickly.

 

[WalSlave]

If my memory severs, you will need to print out the SAR and mail it to AAMC to have a reduced MCAT fee.

I'm sorry if this is off-topic, but I've been dying to ask this question to someone who received an AACOMOS application waiver. I know that AACOM forwards your name to schools so that they can waive your app fee as well (at the school's discretion). My question is, did this hold up your secondary apps process at all? I would hate to have something like this delay my application a month or two. Is it worth just submitting secondaries, paying the fee, and forgetting about waiving secondary fees to avoid time delays?

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I'm sorry if this is off-topic, but I've been dying to ask this question to someone who received an AACOMOS application waiver. I know that AACOM forwards your name to schools so that they can waive your app fee as well (at the school's discretion). My question is, did this hold up your secondary apps process at all? I would hate to have something like this delay my application a month or two. Is it worth just submitting secondaries, paying the fee, and forgetting about waiving secondary fees to avoid time delays?

Of the 12 schools I applied to, only 3 didn't acknowledge my fee waiver status (LECOM-E and B and NSU). The other 9 waived my fee. Some were as easy as selecting the "yes" option on the application when asked about the fee waiver. Others (like KCUMB, AZCOM, WesternU) required me to either email or call the admission office. Either way, this never caused any delay in the process. Everyone who can take advantage of it should do it. Between the mcat, the primaries and secondaries I must have saved a thousand bucks. I am grateful for that.

 

[WalSlave]

Of the 12 schools I applied to, only 3 didn't acknowledge my fee waiver status (LECOM-E and B and NSU). The other 9 waived my fee. Some were as easy as selecting the "yes" option on the application when asked about the fee waiver. Others (like KCUMB, AZCOM, WesternU) required me to either email or call the admission office. Either way, this never caused any delay in the process. Everyone who can take advantage of it should do it. Between the mcat, the primaries and secondaries I must have saved a thousand bucks. I am grateful for that.

Thank you SO very much for your reply. This information means a lot to me. I have an EFC of 0, so I'm hoping I would qualify. Can I ask when you applied for your waiver? I'm not sure if I should wait until May when the 2015 app opens or apply now.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Thank you SO very much for your reply. This information means a lot to me. I have an EFC of 0, so I'm hoping I would qualify. Can I ask when you applied for your waiver? I'm not sure if I should wait until May when the 2015 app opens or apply now.

I can't remember precisely, but I applied for the AACOMAS fee waiver at the beginning of May 2013 and was granted on May 8. If you are intending to apply this coming cycle, 2014 application, be prepared to apply by the end of April. Call them and ask if you can mail them your application. Timing is very important since the funds are limited. Also keep in mind that the waiver is valid for 45 days after the beginning of the application cycle. After that, you lose it.

 

[Shereen1]

Wow so many responses. Thank you ALL for this invaluable information! Alright so I just started the FAFSA, and I think it will take me a while to finish since I still have yet to file my taxes. I'm filing the FAFSA for the SAR report- I believe the SAR report is what AACOMAS requires. So SAR/FAFSA is not needed for MCAT-gotcha thanks!

@Ibn Alnafis- If you don't mind me asking & If you remember... when you filed the FAFSA for the gap year what did you classify yourself as? As a graduate/professional or 5th year undergraduate? (does it matter? as you suggested i'll be listing my undergraduate college)

Thank you guys once again!! I've finally embarked on this journey wish me luck!!!

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Wow so many responses. Thank you ALL for this invaluable information! Alright so I just started the FAFSA, and I think it will take me a while to finish since I still have yet to file my taxes. I'm filing the FAFSA for the SAR report- I believe the SAR report is what AACOMAS requires. So SAR/FAFSA is not needed for MCAT-gotcha thanks!

@Ibn Alnafis- If you don't mind me asking & If you remember... when you filed the FAFSA for the gap year what did you classify yourself as? As a graduate/professional or 5th year undergraduate? (does it matter? as you suggested i'll be listing my undergraduate college)

Thank you guys once again!! I've finally embarked on this journey wish me luck!!!

Looking at my SAR, it seems to me that I selected "Graduate/Professional Degree" when I filed FAFSA last year.

It's good that you are being proactive. That's a good sign of success. As everyone says here on SDN, applying early is very important.

Best wishes.

 

[stlrams22]

Of the 12 schools I applied to, only 3 didn't acknowledge my fee waiver status (LECOM-E and B and NSU). The other 9 waived my fee. Some were as easy as selecting the "yes" option on the application when asked about the fee waiver. Others (like KCUMB, AZCOM, WesternU) required me to either email or call the admission office. Either way, this never caused any delay in the process. Everyone who can take advantage of it should do it. Between the mcat, the primaries and secondaries I must have saved a thousand bucks. I am grateful for that.

NOVA told me i had to pay and then would be refunded in a month. It has not and nobody at the school knows who i should talk to. I haven't heard a word from this school about my application either. It sounds like i may have to do a charge reversal. I almost didn't apply there, but i thought no fee and Florida are a good combination. If i had known they wouldn't give me application fee back like they said they would i wouldn't have applied there.

 

[Playdoh4lyfe]

Of the 12 schools I applied to, only 3 didn't acknowledge my fee waiver status (LECOM-E and B and NSU). The other 9 waived my fee. Some were as easy as selecting the "yes" option on the application when asked about the fee waiver. Others (like KCUMB, AZCOM, WesternU) required me to either email or call the admission office. Either way, this never caused any delay in the process. Everyone who can take advantage of it should do it. Between the mcat, the primaries and secondaries I must have saved a thousand bucks. I am grateful for that.

NOVA told me i had to pay and then would be refunded in a month. It has not and nobody at the school knows who i should talk to. I haven't heard a word from this school about my application either. It sounds like i may have to do a charge reversal. I almost didn't apply there, but i thought no fee and Florida are a good combination. If i had known they wouldn't give me application fee back like they said they would i wouldn't have applied there.

Same here. The fee waiver worked for all 12 of mine except Nova...they told me I would be refunded "shortly after my application was complete."