Should I wait for financial aid from waitlist schools

[epluribusunum]

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I was accepted at UCLA and have waitlist offers from Jefferson, Hofstra, Temple, and UVM. I'm wondering if I should just accept the offer at UCLA now and plan on that or wait for the other offers hoping for financial aid. I would go to UCLA over the other schools, but if any of the waitlist schools ended up being cheaper for me, I would have to reconsider. Based on the cost of attendance tables that the schools put out, I think UCLA would be cheaper for me, but I'm wondering if the other schools would give financial aid? I have not heard back about financial aid from UCLA yet. I filed the FAFSA at all of the schools, and though the burden of paying for medical school is on me, my parents have a large income.

 

[Med Ed]

I was accepted at UCLA and have waitlist offers from Jefferson, Hofstra, Temple, and UVM. I'm wondering if I should just accept the offer at UCLA now and plan on that or wait for the other offers hoping for financial aid. I would go to UCLA over the other schools, but if any of the waitlist schools ended up being cheaper for me, I would have to reconsider. Based on the cost of attendance tables that the schools put out, I think UCLA would be cheaper for me, but I'm wondering if the other schools would give financial aid? I have not heard back about financial aid from UCLA yet. I filed the FAFSA at all of the schools, and though the burden of paying for medical school is on me, my parents have a large income.

I'll keep this brief: go to UCLA.

 

[OchemOficionado]

I get the curiousity, but UCLA all the way.

 

[epluribusunum]

Is there no hope for any scholarships?

 

[brownsfan999]

1) There is no requirement for schools to give you financial aid information prior to making a commitment to a school
2) this is particularly true for schools where you are coming off the WL. You may need to make the decision to accept or not with any FA info

This is one of the worse policies med schools use IMO. It's terribly unfair to have students make a decision without knowing the cost of the school, perhaps the most important factor when comparing schools.

I know there is probably a counterpoint to this from the school's perspective, just feels unfair. I think med schools should have WL'ers submit financial aid info while on the WL so the school can provide aid info if they get accepted. ​

 

[theKingLT]

I know there is probably a counterpoint to this from the school's perspective, just feels unfair. I think med schools should have WL'ers submit financial aid info while on the WL so the school can provide aid info if they get accepted. ​

Many schools do this, it's just not a requirement by AAMC

 

[brownsfan999]

Many schools do this, it's just not a requirement by AAMC

I know, one school I interviewed at does. Another school I am interviewing at waits until mid-late May to release financial aid for people interviewing later in the cycle.

 

[theKingLT]

I know, one school I interviewed at does. Another school I am interviewing at waits until mid-late May to release financial aid for people interviewing later in the cycle.

That's frustrating for sure. That's their loss though because they will be losing students to other schools where they already know their package!

 

[OchemOficionado]

I know there is probably a counterpoint to this from the school's perspective, just feels unfair. I think med schools should have WL'ers submit financial aid info while on the WL so the school can provide aid info if they get accepted. ​

It seems unfair, but at the end of the day we get COA and everyone will have loans to cover (except the few that don't qualify). Finanical Aid offices are usually small and can't handle the burden of awarding upward to 100+ people that won't be attending.

 

[Goro]

I was accepted at UCLA and have waitlist offers from Jefferson, Hofstra, Temple, and UVM. I'm wondering if I should just accept the offer at UCLA now and plan on that or wait for the other offers hoping for financial aid. I would go to UCLA over the other schools, but if any of the waitlist schools ended up being cheaper for me, I would have to reconsider. Based on the cost of attendance tables that the schools put out, I think UCLA would be cheaper for me, but I'm wondering if the other schools would give financial aid? I have not heard back about financial aid from UCLA yet. I filed the FAFSA at all of the schools, and though the burden of paying for medical school is on me, my parents have a large income.

Do I have to reach across the electrons and give you a dope slap????

 

[brownsfan999]

You misunderstand me, this policy isnt just for WL people. A large fraction of schools will not process financial aid until after you have committed to enroll. They are not going spending the time and resources to work on these FA unless they know a student is coming. This is perfectly fair as the schools mission is to train physicians and fill all their spots. Oh, you mean fair to applicants. The fairness in the system is you can apply or not. There is nothing that requires to take a WL spot. If you do not want to take a spot without FA info, then turn it down

I understand your point, it just sucks to make a decision without important info.

 

[getdown]

I understand your point, it just sucks to make a decision without important info.

Welcome to medicine. You make the best decisions based on the best information you have at hand. Sometimes you have to assume the worst and take precautions. I'd like all my patients to come to the ORs after full cardiac stress tests, not obese and non-smokers but when it's a trauma in the middle of the night and you have no way to confirm any medical history you just have to bite the bullet.

 

[phillykat96]

Definitely definitely go to UCLA.

 

[LukaDoncicLuk]

I can't provide you any information regarding financial aid as I'm a recently accepted student as well but UCLA is an amazing school and the surrounding area is incredible. I went to undergrad there and hope on going back for residency. If you have any questions about Westwood area hit me up.

 

[Med Ed]

I understand your point, it just sucks to make a decision without important info.

I hear ya, man. Every year we admit all these applicants who have no intention of coming! But of course they won't tell us that when it would be helpful.

 

[Med Ed]

Is there no hope for any scholarships?

No.

Do be sure to check the weather in Philadelphia, Burlington, and Hempstead each winter.

 

[ciestar]

No.

Do be sure to check the weather in Philadelphia, Burlington, and Hempstead each winter.

On the flip side, did get the day off today due to weather...

 

[theKingLT]

On the flip side, did get the day off today due to weather...

To counter: some cali schools got "smoke days" off last year during fires 😉

 

[Toutie]

Complete aside. The western side of Las Vegas got more snow then NYC yesterday and is colder. The ski resort (yes las vegas has one 45 minutes north of the famous strip) got about 2”

Yep! I got 5 inches at my house this morning!

 

[Gilakend]

California is gross, but, despite my biases, definitely go to UCLA. Congrats on a successful cycle!

 

[965978]

California is gross

At least every NFL team here is better than the Lions 🙄

I'd ask if you want some ice for that burn, but you have plenty of snow in Michigan.

Double burn.

 

[Peter Pan.]

Do I have to reach across the electrons and give you a dope slap????

I wanna see this dope slap.

 

[Med Ed]

At least every NFL team here is better than the Lions 🙄

I'd ask if you want some ice for that burn, but you have plenty of snow in Michigan.

Double burn.

Rule #1 of burns: you can't call your own.

 

[theKingLT]

What do you guys mean by "wait for financial aid?" Is this something outside of the typical accepting of loans like in ugrad?

Some schools give significant need based and/or merit based scholarships as well as things like subsidized institutional loans which are better than the government ones, so while everyone is ensured government loans up to the COA, the actual cost of what you'll be paying vary largely between schools based on what scholarships you might be eligible for. It's often hard to impossible to predict what those scholarships will amount to for any given individual, hence why you have to "wait for financial aid" to make school decisions (if the schools are nice enough to release that info before April 30th)

 

[Wahkoon]

California is gross, but, despite my biases, definitely go to UCLA. Congrats on a successful cycle!

California is quite nice, it’s SoCal that’s the problem 😉