Way to fill out FAFSA without parent tax/income info?

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emgirl

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Hey all,

I am filling out a FAFSA to try and get a Stafford loan for my post-bac year this year and wondering why I have to get my parents to fill out this big section on their income taxes- I am independant and not being supported by them so why does their tax information matter? Is there any way to fill out a FAFSA without their info? A separate FAFSA for independants? It seems that FAFSA was created with only the dependent undergrad student in mind (?) I know I won't be eligible for scholarships, just want to get my loan without making my parents, who are totally computer illiterate, sit down and fill out all their financial info. Any one know if parent info is required?
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emgirl said:
Hey all,

I am filling out a FAFSA to try and get a Stafford loan for my post-bac year this year and wondering why I have to get my parents to fill out this big section on their income taxes- I am independant and not being supported by them so why does their tax information matter? Is there any way to fill out a FAFSA without their info? A separate FAFSA for independants? It seems that FAFSA was created with only the dependent undergrad student in mind (?) I know I won't be eligible for scholarships, just want to get my loan without making my parents, who are totally computer illiterate, sit down and fill out all their financial info. Any one know if parent info is required?
Click to expand...

Hi there,
You do not need to have your parental income info on FAFSA if you are an independent applicant by their definition. See the info on their website. Do beware that some medical schools will require your parental income info (above and beyond FAFSA) even if you are independent so check this out too especially if you think you might be eligible for need-based financial aid.

njbmd 🙂
 
What if you no longer talk to your parents? I seriously think the folks would refuse to disclose that kind of information. Are you talking about private grants from the schools?
 
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chicagomel said:
What if you no longer talk to your parents? I seriously think the folks would refuse to disclose that kind of information. Are you talking about private grants from the schools?
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What I remember from law school, is that some schools have their own financial aid forms that you fill out on top of the fafsa. I never included my parental income on the fafsa but did have to include it on some of those separate school forms. If you fill out the fafsa electronically, they'll automatically bypass parental information anyway because they'll note that your prior answers make you qualify as an independent.

If you no longer talk to your parents, you probably could explain that in the separate school forms.
 
I am pretty sure that some schools (cannot think off the top of my head) DO require parental information on the FAFSA (I think Vandy is one but not 100% sure) regardless of your "independant" status.
 
I was talking about for a post-bac year (undergrad). I talk to my parents, it just seems ridiculous to have them fill out this long section on their tax info when I just want to get a loan as an independant....
 
Great. I'm 30 (-something), have a husband, two kids, a mortgage, two dogs, and have been independent for over 15 years. I'm gonna have to get my parents' financials? They're retired and on a fixed income. Great. "Hey, mom & dad! I know I just got my **** together to actually go back to school, and now they want you to pay for it!" That's gonna go over like a lead balloon. 🙁
 
ShyRem said:
Great. I'm 30 (-something), have a husband, two kids, a mortgage, two dogs, and have been independent for over 15 years. I'm gonna have to get my parents' financials? They're retired and on a fixed income. Great. "Hey, mom & dad! I know I just got my **** together to actually go back to school, and now they want you to pay for it!" That's gonna go over like a lead balloon. 🙁
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Don't worry about it until it happens. My parents just retired, too, and I know they are absolutely not going to be footing any part of the bill for my education. My hunch is that you won't have to provide that information for most schools, and this is based on my law school experience. You certainly don't need to provide it to qualify for federal-based aid, and I don't think you need it for private loans, either, unless you need a co-signer.
 
I know that some of you guys need proof of statements so here is what Vandy has to say..btw "most" schools DO require parental information so you can apply for the school $$$ so if you are looking to be considered for any type of scholarship or grant they DO require parental info on FAFSA. This may be different from law school but this is medical school and things are done differently. This is just one school that I have looked up but from my interview trail I remember that most of them stated the same rules and Mayo was the exception. BTW federal funds do not COVER ALL expenses so most of us have to also apply for other private loans just fyi. here is the link as well http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/medschool/finaid/finaid3.php

"The FAFSA school code number for the School of Medicine is E00459. Paper FAFSA forms are available from Student Financial Services. Students applying for Vanderbilt funds must include parental information on the FAFSA. Students who are only applying for federal funds do not have to include parental information. The priority deadline is March 1."
 
I could go on and on through every medical school in the country and come up with this statement...again BE informed. All this is available at each medical school website which can be found from the AAMC website. This is from U of Michigan here is the link http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool/financialaid/index.html



In order to be considered for federal and institutional funds, applicants must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the University of Michigan Medical School Financial Aid Application, both of which are available at Financial Aid Application and Instructions. Institutional funding consists of university grants and loans. In order to be considered for ALL types of aid available, federal as well as institutional, students must provide parental information on the FAFSA form. If no parental data is provided, students will be considered for federal loans only.
 
emgirl said:
Hey all,

I am filling out a FAFSA to try and get a Stafford loan for my post-bac year this year and wondering why I have to get my parents to fill out this big section on their income taxes- I am independant and not being supported by them so why does their tax information matter? Is there any way to fill out a FAFSA without their info? A separate FAFSA for independants? It seems that FAFSA was created with only the dependent undergrad student in mind (?) I know I won't be eligible for scholarships, just want to get my loan without making my parents, who are totally computer illiterate, sit down and fill out all their financial info. Any one know if parent info is required?
Click to expand...
Your parents could die, that's what mine did. Then you don't have to worry about it.
 
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indryd, i'm sorry. you're right -- having alive parents who have to fill out the fafsa beats the other alternative. 🙁

efex, thanks for the lecture. gee, silly me, i thought law school and medical school were identical. 🙄
 
hey i am not trying to lecture anyone but just trying to back up what i say with facts...although i have been through the process and know what i am talking about...it seems that some folks still don't get it (not you per se)..also you did compare the fafsa process from law school and hence thought it would be the same with medical school..nothing is the same (yes, I know you know this).
 
Anyone have experience with filling out the FAFSA for POST-BACC?? Though the info for med school is helpful, I'm not in med school (unfortunately) yet so I'm wondering if anyone else filled out a FAFSA when they went back to finish pre-reqs. I'm not seeing a way to mark that you are an independent on the FAFSA- the parental info looks mandatory (even if they won't be paying for anything- maybe it's just for finding out who qualifies for different types of federal loans?). In any case- what a pain! There should be a way to bypass this parent section for people that are older and independent!! *sigh* 🙄
 
You need to call the financial aid office at the school that you will be doing post-bacc they should know the answer to your question. That is the best bet for anyone regarding medical school or post-bacc, for medical school the fafsa info about parental info *can* be found on each medical school website..so maybe for post-bacc it can also be found under your financial aid dpt? good luck! yeah we totally hijacked your thread sorry.
 
in order to be considered independent, you must be over the age of 23, a parent, married, orphaned, or one of the other options that the fafsa gives in this category. when you fill it out online, you come to a section that asks you these questions. if you answer yes to any of them (for instance, i am over 23 so i am independent) you do not have to fill out the parent's info section. i can't remember, it might still take you to the parent info screens, but if you qualify as independent, you do not have to fill them out. the only reason it gives you the option is for school such as some med schools that require parent info no matter if you are independent or not.
 
Post-bac should be like undergrad or graduate school. I can't see why it would be different. You can claim independence through some long and arduous process at your school. I've been filing FAFSA as an independent since I was 18. I had to show proof of home ownership, and my prior 3 years of tax returns and fill out some forms.

I understand this will change for med school, though.
 
ShyRem said:
Great. I'm 30 (-something), have a husband, two kids, a mortgage, two dogs, and have been independent for over 15 years. I'm gonna have to get my parents' financials? They're retired and on a fixed income. Great. "Hey, mom & dad! I know I just got my **** together to actually go back to school, and now they want you to pay for it!" That's gonna go over like a lead balloon. 🙁
Click to expand...

Hi there,
I was 46 with two retired parents and I had to get their financial information for my medical school financial aid office. Obviously by FAFSA standards, I was and had been independent. You will qualify for independent status for FAFSA but your medical school may not offer you any additional aid without you completing their financial aid info.

I took the time to do this and walked off with a merit full-ride tuition from my medical school. Right now, I owe about $40,000 which is a lot better than owing about $150,000 because I filled out their forms and included my retired parent's financial info. It was a hassle but I did it.

njbmd 🙂
 
emgirl said:
Hey all,

I am filling out a FAFSA to try and get a Stafford loan for my post-bac year this year and wondering why I have to get my parents to fill out this big section on their income taxes- I am independant and not being supported by them so why does their tax information matter? Is there any way to fill out a FAFSA without their info? A separate FAFSA for independants? It seems that FAFSA was created with only the dependent undergrad student in mind (?) I know I won't be eligible for scholarships, just want to get my loan without making my parents, who are totally computer illiterate, sit down and fill out all their financial info. Any one know if parent info is required?
Click to expand...

YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY CONSIDERED INDEPENDENT IF YOU ARE APPLYING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL No matter what.
 
This is totally incorrect because again look at the various websites and financial aid. It may be true for YOUR school but not for all. Sure if ALL you want is FEDERAL AID then you are fine w/o parental info. If OTOH you would like to see if you qualify for grants you MUST fill out parental INFO period.
 
efex101 said:
This is totally incorrect because again look at the various websites and financial aid. It may be true for YOUR school but not for all. Sure if ALL you want is FEDERAL AID then you are fine w/o parental info. If OTOH you would like to see if you qualify for grants you MUST fill out parental INFO period.
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Federal grants are not available for medical students.

Institutions may require parental information, but federally, it cannot be required.

By definition, a graduate school is independent.

Federally, medical students may only qualify for Stafford and Perkins loans.

This parental information can be provided to the institution without including it on the FAFSA.
 
That is NOT what the websites state and what I was told by the majority of the medical schools. I am talking about grants from the school have no clue where they come from...there are two links above where it states word for word that you MUST supply parental info. So be it wrong or not *that* IS what schools are requiring and if you want to attend such school then you have to do what they state.
 
In order to be considered for federal and institutional funds, applicants must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the University of Michigan Medical School Financial Aid Application, both of which are available at Financial Aid Application and Instructions. Institutional funding consists of university grants and loans. In order to be considered for ALL types of aid available, federal as well as institutional, students must provide parental information on the FAFSA form. If no parental data is provided, students will be considered for federal loans only.


This is from the U of Michigan
 
"The FAFSA school code number for the School of Medicine is E00459. Paper FAFSA forms are available from Student Financial Services. Students applying for Vanderbilt funds must include parental information on the FAFSA. Students who are only applying for federal funds do not have to include parental information. The priority deadline is March 1."


Vanderbilt
 
efex101 said:
"The FAFSA school code number for the School of Medicine is E00459. Paper FAFSA forms are available from Student Financial Services. Students applying for Vanderbilt funds must include parental information on the FAFSA. Students who are only applying for federal funds do not have to include parental information. The priority deadline is March 1."


Vanderbilt
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Exactly my point.

I'm not sure who you are arguing with.
 
That is what I said too...but most folks would also like to see grants which most of qualified for....see njbmd post. So it behooves you to try to provide parental info. Sure if ALL you want is federal stuff then no, you do not have to provide parental info. But most students would also like to see if they can get school financial aid and/or grants.
 
efex101 said:
That is what I said too...but most folks would also like to see grants which most of qualified for....see njbmd post. So it behooves you to try to provide parental info. Sure if ALL you want is federal stuff then no, you do not have to provide parental info. But most students would also like to see if they can get school financial aid and/or grants.
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Only about 1/3 of the schools have grants. Unless you are attending such school, it is irrelevant.
 
Huh? there are always scholarships around may not be much but it counts every school I applied to had scholarships/grants either academic, need based, etc..Some of us received full rides like njbmd or partial rides or whatever. Hey, whatever I am not going to get more into this..if you dont want grants/aids/scholarships then don't worry about parental info and get loans for everything this will leave the money for those that need it more or can provide the info.
 
efex101 said:
Huh? there are always scholarships around may not be much but it counts every school I applied to had scholarships/grants either academic, need based, etc..Some of us received full rides like njbmd or partial rides or whatever. Hey, whatever I am not going to get more into this..if you dont want grants/aids/scholarships then don't worry about parental info and get loans for everything this will leave the money for those that need it more or can provide the info.
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Scholarships provided by most medical schools do not require FAFSA information.

In fact, there are specific institutional parental forms for this.

In addition, since all medical students are considered to have a zero income, it is irrelevant. All students are considered of full aid.
 
Yes they do, some schools to give out scholarships still want the parental info on FAFSA as well as filling out the individual school financial aid form, look at the statement above from U of Michigan. Again, maybe YOUR school like MY school does not require FAFSA parental aid for scholarships but that is NOT all schools. The information is available at each school financial aid website....
 
In order to be considered for federal and institutional funds, applicants must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the University of Michigan Medical School Financial Aid Application, both of which are available at Financial Aid Application and Instructions. Institutional funding consists of university grants and loans. In order to be considered for ALL types of aid available, federal as well as institutional, students must provide parental information on the FAFSA form. If no parental data is provided, students will be considered for federal loans only.


This is from the U of Michigan
 
efex101 said:
In order to be considered for federal and institutional funds, applicants must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the University of Michigan Medical School Financial Aid Application, both of which are available at Financial Aid Application and Instructions. Institutional funding consists of university grants and loans. In order to be considered for ALL types of aid available, federal as well as institutional, students must provide parental information on the FAFSA form. If no parental data is provided, students will be considered for federal loans only.


This is from the U of Michigan
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That is good for Michigan, but you can't make a blanket statement about all schools.

This is only true for a few.
 
Not for the 32 I applied to...including Vandy. The exception was Mayo. Like I said don't take my word go look it up for all schools on your list.
 
"The FAFSA school code number for the School of Medicine is E00459. Paper FAFSA forms are available from Student Financial Services. Students applying for Vanderbilt funds must include parental information on the FAFSA. Students who are only applying for federal funds do not have to include parental information. The priority deadline is March 1."


Vanderbilt
 
efex101 said:
Not for the 32 I applied to...including Vandy. The exception was Mayo. Like I said don't take my word go look it up for all schools on your list.
Click to expand...

The 20 I applied to don't offer grants.

Most of these schools are in the Midwest & Southwest.
 
9. Why is parental income and asset information required even if I meet the federal criteria for independence?

As noted in Jefferson's financial aid publications, the first responsibility for financing education must rest with students and their family. This policy, consistent with the majority of private colleges and medical schools nationwide, is based on the limited nature of institutional funding. Parent income and asset information is required in an attempt to distribute the limited pool of institutional funding in the most equitable manner possible. While students may meet the federal criteria for independence, Jefferson requires the inclusion of parental information to ensure that the limited funding that is available is disseminated to the students that have the least amount of potential parental support. Reversal of this policy would mean that students from even the wealthiest families could choose to replace parental support with expected Jefferson support.

Even if parents are not paying the direct cost of an education, they still represent a potential source of support. Often times, this potential support includes assistance with living or transportation costs, monetary gifts, assistance with the interest payments on unsubsidized loans during the in-school period or actual post-graduation repayment.

It is important to emphasize that this policy applies to institutional aid only.
 
Need based SCHOLARSHIPS
These are offered by the medical school and are the most widely awarded departmental scholarship.
Eligibility and the amount of the award are based on two figures calculated by the FAFSA, the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and the Independent Parent Contribution. The EFC is based on the student’s financial resources while the Independent Parent Contribution is based on parental resources.
All medical students are considered independent for federal financial aid purposes. However, the medical school requires that students submit parent information on the FAFSA to be considered for need-based scholarships. If you do not wish to be considered for need-based scholarships, you do not need to record your parent’s informtion on the FAFSA.
 
Again, find out do not trust anyone the info is out there. If you want to be able to qualify and possibly GET institutional funding to include need based scholarships this is the deal. No matter how old you are you CAN still qualify.
 
efex101 said:
Again, find out do not trust anyone the info is out there. If you want to be able to qualify and possibly GET institutional funding to include need based scholarships this is the deal. No matter how old you are you CAN still qualify.
Click to expand...

As long as you go to the schools that offer it, as listed above.
 
efex101 said:
BTW this is for allo schools not sure about osteo.
Click to expand...

Ok. Look up schools in Texas and Oklahoma.

It is not true for osteopathic schools.
 
efex, there is no arguing with OSUdoc. He's pretty sure he's right no matter what. However, I have checked out all 15 schools I'm applying to (both DO and MD) and all state that to be considered for grants/scholarships/etc, which is everything but federal loans, parental information must be included on the FAFSA. I'm with you. No sense in arguing with a brick wall... but thanks to both of you for two completely opposing points of view.

I think the bottom line here is you need to be in close contact with the financial aid office of the schools you are applying to. They are the experts in what information you need to have where. 🙂
 
Scholarship for Disadvantaged Students - Some federal monies are available to students accepted to the College of Medicine who demonstrate a disadvantaged status. An additional application is not required, however the FAFSA must be on file and information on parental income must be provided.
 
Texas is it's own entitity like osteo so no clue or idea how their system works. Again, and yes this is like talking to a brick wall, for ALLO schools you will need parental FAFSA IF you want scholarships or any INSTITUTIONAL AID.
 
efex101 said:
Texas is it's own entitity like osteo so no clue or idea how their system works. Again, and yes this is like talking to a brick wall, for ALLO schools you will need parental FAFSA IF you want scholarships or any INSTITUTIONAL AID.
Click to expand...

Ok. We'll say except for Oklahoma (unless you are disadvantaged), Texas, and Osteopathic Medical Schools.

These encompass the schools I applied to anyway.
 
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