Questions about financial aid

[medschoolplease123]

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Hi everyone,

So I'm a bit new in regards to financial aid (in undergrad my parents paid for my tuition so I didn't have a loan)... But obviously with med school that's a different story - who has 200K for school right? So basically my question is would anyone who is a current med student or who knows about loans be able to shed some light into this new topic? So I know you have to file your FAFSA and then the school will give you an award letter for your grants and eligible financial aid (sub/unsub loans), but what other methods of loans do you guys know of? From your personal banks? Credit unions? And what the interest rate might be from different places? Or do you know of any scholarship websites...? every little bit helps.

Thank You!!!

 

[Marrowist]

GradPLUS Loan

 

[medschoolplease123]

GradPLUS Loan

Care to elaborate?

 

[Wjldenver]

Care to elaborate?

Come on.... We're here to help not spoon feed. Do a google search on grad plus loans. First fill out your FAFSA, apply for a Stafford Loan, and then complete the student loan tutorial on that site. And then after that, on the Federal Loan web site, fill out an application for a Plus loan which covers your cost of living.

Note, Med students do not need to provide their parents income or asset holdings on the FAFSA, so you can complete this process without their help.


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[NecrotizingFasciitis]

Come on.... We're here to help not spoon feed. Do a google search on grad plus loans. First fill out your FAFSA, apply for a Stafford Loan, and then complete the student loan tutorial on that site. And then after that, on the Federal Loan web site, fill out an application for a Plus loan which covers your cost of living.

Note, Med students do not need to provide their parents income or asset holdings on the FAFSA, so you can complete this process without their help.


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I'm glad you mentioned that last part; I may not have known. I've been intimidated of applying for FASFA (never personally done it before) and haven't started yet.


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[Wjldenver]

The FAFSA form is incredibly simple. It will only take you five or ten minutes to complete. But they also make you take a personal finance/student loan tutorial which is more painful. It might take you an hour to complete that. Overall it is pretty easy to get $, it is just more painful to pay it back with accrued interest (unsubsidized federal loan).


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[JB50]

When is it supposed to be filled out? Feel a bit left out of the loop here.

 

[Wjldenver]

Complete it now. (You can designate multiple schools on it if you have not selected your final one yet.)


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[JB50]

Complete it now. (You can designate multiple schools on it if you have not selected your final one yet.)


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Thanks boss

 

[Atom612]

First you'll fill out your FAFSA for the federal direct unsubsidized loan, which for medical students caps at like $47k (too lazy to look up exact number). Then most people will apply for a graduate PLUS loan which will cover the rest of tuition/cost of attendance (COA). This requires a credit check, but generally only checks to see if you have anything outrageous on your credit report. If you still need more, some schools offer private loans, otherwise you have to take out a private loan through a third-party lender.

 

[dr_of_rock]

Is there a deadline for federal aid? Like what if I get off a waitlist in June? Will I still be able to get it? I heard somebody say you need to have it done by march?

 

[Espressso]

The FAFSA form is incredibly simple. It will only take you five or ten minutes to complete. But they also make you take a personal finance/student loan tutorial which is more painful. It might take you an hour to complete that. Overall it is pretty easy to get $, it is just more painful to pay it back with accrued interest (unsubsidized federal loan).


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How long after you complete the FAFSA do they get back to you?

 

[Wjldenver]

You will get an e-mail notification within just a couple of days after your submission that your FAFSA has been approved and sent to your selected schools. Note: Most school's financial aid offices may have another form for you to complete as well, so be sure to check. So to recap the financial aid sequence, it is: Complete the FAFSA Form, Apply for the Federal Stafford Loan ($40,500 Max), Apply for the Federal Plus Loan (Covers Your Cost of Living), Complete any Required On-Line Loan Tutorials on the Federal Loan Web Site, Complete Any School Related Financial Aid Forms. ...Then relax, and get ready to start med school in the Fall.

 

[Wjldenver]

Is there a deadline for federal aid? Like what if I get off a waitlist in June? Will I still be able to get it? I heard somebody say you need to have it done by march?

You should send a FAFSA to any school you are wait-listed at. If you ultimately get rejected, they will discard the file. But if you get accepted late, you want them to have your FAFSA in hand, so the loan disbursement process is not delayed.

 

[CCmetal94]

Possible dumb question here. I already did my FAFSA so was I automatically considered for GradPlus? Or do I have to fill out something else for that?

 

[medschoolplease123]

So when you fill out fafsa you're an "independent" for grad/med school. So for income expenses and stuff do you put yours or do you still use your parents?

 

[Wjldenver]

So when you fill out fafsa you're an "independent" for grad/med school. So for income expenses and stuff do you put yours or do you still use your parents?

Yes, as a med student you are independent. You put your income and financial stuff on it, not your parents.

 

[Wjldenver]

Possible dumb question here. I already did my FAFSA so was I automatically considered for GradPlus? Or do I have to fill out something else for that?

The Grad Plus Loan and Stafford Loans are separate applications. The FAFSA information is applied to both for qualification purposes. Current interest rate on a Stafford Loan is 5.31% and for the Grad Plus Loan is 6.31%. You are not automatically considered for a Grad Plus or Stafford loan after you complete a FAFSA. You need to apply for them in two separate applications.

 

[CCmetal94]

The Grad Plus Loan and Stafford Loans are separate applications. The FAFSA information is applied to both for qualification purposes. Current interest rate on a Stafford Loan is 5.31% and for the Grad Plus Loan is 6.31%. You are not automatically considered for a Grad Plus or Stafford loan after you complete a FAFSA. You need to apply for them in two separate applications.

Where do I go to apply for the Stafford and GradPlus online?

 

[Wjldenver]

Student loans.gov


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[BoroPreMed92]

So when you fill out fafsa you're an "independent" for grad/med school. So for income expenses and stuff do you put yours or do you still use your parents?

Specific schools offer scholarships you can apply for based on need. Since most of us students are broke, they use your parents income to see if you have any extensive need as compared to others who may come from wealthy families. Put your parents info in FAFSA too if you want to be considered for more scholarships at your respective school!

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[GBCrzzyy]

I was about to fill out my gradPLUS application but when it said to select the award year I didn't see 2017-2018 available... is it just me or am I doing something wrong? 2016-2017 and 2015-2016 are the only two options that I can select from in the drop-down.

 

[getfat]

I was about to fill out my gradPLUS application but when it said to select the award year I didn't see 2017-2018 available... is it just me or am I doing something wrong? 2016-2017 and 2015-2016 are the only two options that I can select from in the drop-down.

The federal Graduate PLUS loan application for 2017-2018 will be made available on studentloans.gov on May 1, 2017.

 

[Scrubs101]

My school's step by step sheet told me i was required to fill in my parents info(probs to check for scholarship maybe? Edit: yup that was why), so i did and that was a hassle. I didnt know grad plus was separate though, the info i was looking at said all was through FAFSA. Glad i checked here otherwise i woulda been SOL, i know since i start in june i had to do 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 for FAFSA/Stafford any idea if i should do the same for Grad Plus?


Edit: this is what i was looking at https://finaid.msu.edu/med/medchart.pdf

 

[JB50]

My school's step by step sheet told me i was required to fill in my parents info(probs to check for scholarship maybe? Edit: yup that was why), so i did and that was a hassle. I didnt know grad plus was separate though, the info i was looking at said all was through FAFSA. Glad i checked here otherwise i woulda been SOL, i know since i start in june i had to do 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 for FAFSA/Stafford any idea if i should do the same for Grad Plus?


Edit: this is what i was looking at https://finaid.msu.edu/med/medchart.pdf

I'm getting an error when trying to do Grad Plus for MSU

 

[luckyely91]

The federal Graduate PLUS loan application for 2017-2018 will be made available on studentloans.gov on May 1, 2017.

So should we wait until May 1, 2017 to apply for them?

 

[Scrubs101]

I'm getting an error when trying to do Grad Plus for MSU

I got the same thing, said our school opted out of the grad plus application service or something. Maybe all we need to do really is just file fafsa, won't know till we're registered in mid-march i guess.

 

[White Coat Hopefuls]

Every school has a financial aid office. Trust me, you will pay enough to these schools, so make it worth your money to use them. In my experience they weren't the hugest help, but this kind of question is their bread and butter. One thing I am sure of--stay far away from personal loans from banks/credit unions, etc... These forms of loans are going to have a much higher interest rates and have much different terms. Another tip: don't put lots of money on credit cards, hoping that you can make it to your next loan disbursement. Learn some basic financial aid, choose an inexpensive part of the country to live and go to school in, choose a cheap state school, and just try to get out with as little debt as possible. Trust me, I just checked my loan total and it's already gone up $6k since I looked at it last, just from the interest it's accruing.

 

[dr_of_rock]

Is there a deadline to apply for Stafford or grad plus?