what if your parents refuse to disclose their tax/financial info???

[Arginine]

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I'm over 30 & haven't lived with my parents for over 18 years--my dad has always been kind of unwilling to disclose his tax/financial info, even when I was an undergrad. Back then, he paid for all my college expenses, but now I intend to pay for all my med school expenses. I don't want to miss out on institutional grants/scholarships/loans just because my dad won't cooperate. Does anyone else have this problem? Suggestions???😕

 

[Saluki]

Check with the school, but if he's not claiming you as a dependent and you're over 23 I don't think you need to put your parent's information down....

 

[maysqrd]

As any professional student, parent financial information is not required. Graduate students are automatically considered independent, regardless of age and the parent info is OPTIONAL. I don't think anyone would want to include this information, if anything, it only puts more money on your expected family contribution and makes you less eligible for grants (for the little that is out there).

 

[tBw]

Originally posted by mashce
Check with the school, but if he's not claiming you as a dependent and you're over 23 I don't think you need to put your parent's information down....

For Stanford it's over 30 and for U of Chicago it's (I think) over 25. However, for all other schools that I am aware of to qualify for institutional aid - as Arginine indicates - you need parental info regardless of age, and the reality of your financial dependence or lack thereof.

Arginine: sorry, don't know what to tell you. I have a similar situation but all my schools insist on receiving my parental info for school aid (eg UCSD - and I think you are in at other UC schools where the rules are prolly the same...). 🙁

 

[Arginine]

While it's true that most people over 24 applying to professional schools are considered independent (i.e. no parental info required), med schools are different. I don't have to include parental info on my FAFSA because federal loans are given out according to my income, not my parents' income. But each individual med school has its own set of institutional grants & scholarships specific to that particular school--in order to be considered for this type of financial aid, parental info is required. U.C. Davis goes so far as to request a xerox of my parents' 1040 and W-2 forms 😱

Overall, it's better to score as many grants & scholarships as you can (rather than taking out the maximum amount in loans) because this is money you do not have to pay back. Loans, on the other hand, must be paid back with interest.

Boy Wonder: I have considered telling them that my father is a pirate in the South Seas with no reliable source of income other than a few occasional swashbuckling raids now & then...how do you declare doubloons on your 1040 anyway???

 

[tBw]

Arginine,

I assume Dubloons must be treated in the same way as british pounds, or interplanetary federation credits - they must be converted first into US dollars and the exchange rate noted on schedule B.

As long as your father has infact filed a 1040 for his swashbuckling activities there should infact be no problem - it's the absence of a 1040 which causes problems due to the inability to verify income. Swashbuckling on the seven seas probably should be entered under 'foreign income sources'

Hope that helps 😉

(and yes, this is just as much of a nightmare for me too - feel free to PM though I'm not sure how much help I could be (as seen in the above!))

 

[paean]

Not true. If you are considered independant on the FAFSA, but choose to include parental info, it isn't used when calculating your EFC. It's just there so that schools can use it to calculate their own formulas for institutional aid. Generally, if you refuse to supply it, your financial aid office will not consider you for any non-federal aid, so all you can get is loans.

Arginine: As an dependant student, I remember that there was a way to the FAFSA so that your father enters his information and blocks you from having access to it. If that is his issue, you might want to look into that.

Originally posted by maysqrd
As any professional student, parent financial information is not required. Graduate students are automatically considered independent, regardless of age and the parent info is OPTIONAL. I don't think anyone would want to include this information, if anything, it only puts more money on your expected family contribution and makes you less eligible for grants (for the little that is out there).

 

[Eraserhead]

What happens if you don't know the whereabouts of your father (and even if you did, what if he would not respond to med school inquiries...)?

 

[mpp]

You can complete the FAFSA without the parental information and then discuss institutional loans/grants with the financial aid office at your school.

 

[Fritz]

I think that you should write a letter to the medical schools explaining the situation. In addition, it is a good idea to be affiliated with a church, or depending of you religion, some sort of a religious institution. Medical schools generally assume that the church people would not lie, so for example, if you are not talking to your mother/father, and you have not had any contact with them for years, the priest from the church, who knows you, can write a short letter to the school stating that you have not had any contact with your family for a number of years. I think it also works if a police officer, or another state person can write such a letter for you. Check out with the financial aid office, and see what the deal is, usually they have a section of things you need to do to prove that you are completely separated from your parents, and have no contact with them for a very long time.
I think they are pretty accomodating, that's why you have to file the application, each of us have unique circumstances.

 

[desertscholar]

I have a similar situation. I am in my late 30, married for 19 years with two children. I have not had contact either of my parents in years--primarily to protect my children. I contacted a med school that I am interested in. Their reply was to contact them when the time came. I would have to write a letter explaining the situation. They said the more specific you were, would be helpful, even though they understood it might possilbly be difficult or seem embarassing. The fin aid office I talked to was quite understanding, empathetic and helpful.
The difficulty is coming up with ways to validate by outside sources. I have other family members that can write supporting letters. I have also considered contacting the police department my mother's home town, to see if they could visit and verify her financial situation--it rather obvious.