who still hasn't filed their fafsa yet?

[TeinVI]

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damn they ask you too many questions on that form. i still haven't filed my income tax return b/c i haven't gotten my w2 forms yet. should i just estimate?

 

[tBw]

some schools accept estimates, some don't.

I still haven't even looked at it because I haven't done my taxes because I haven't got my W2

 

[fullofhope]

I started filling it out, but i thought that it could not be complete without your W2 forms. I didnt know it could be estimated. Also, do you need your parents W2/tax forms for some of the questions, or is that only for undergrad?

I, also, have not received any of my W2 forms. And, oh yes, I'm lazy.

 

[Tweetie_bird]

When is their deadline? Sometime in Feb, right? Whenzit? When? When?

I had completely forgotten to put it on my TO DO list. 😱 😱

 

[agent]

Has anyone gotten their w2's yet?

I havent.

 

[Moskeeto]

I haven't touched the beast yet either. I'm still confused about what school to put down. Do I just put all the ones that I hope to go to? Also, if we're getting our B.S. this year, do we have to have parental info on it? I always get independent status so I don't have to get their info anyways, but it'd be nice not to have to go through the hassle of another review this year.

 

[indiangirl]

I haven't filed either b/c my W-2 has not arrived.

 

[applejuice1979]

Originally posted by TeinVI
damn they ask you too many questions on that form. i still haven't filed my income tax return b/c i haven't gotten my w2 forms yet. should i just estimate?

Are you using the paper one? Most info is filled out if you go online to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov You have to have a FAFSA PIN which they sent to anyone who has filed a FAFSA in the past few years. If you don't know it, follow the instructions for retrieving it.

You should wait until your W2s come (the latest is Jan. 31st) so you can do your taxes and have accurate info for your FAFSA. I don't think any school requires you to file the FAFSA before mid-February so you should be safe

 

[TeinVI]

Originally posted by Tweetie_bird
When is their deadline? Sometime in Feb, right? Whenzit? When? When?

I had completely forgotten to put it on my TO DO list. 😱 😱

depends on the school. i was looking through the upstate financial handbook today and it said the deadline for fafsa AND the TAP was march 1, which is not too far off if you think abou it.

damn my parents and i went through hell completing all that financial **** for undergrad, and now it begins all over again....

 

[DW]

the fafsa deadline technically is sometime in june. HOWEVER, it greatly behooves you to finish it as early as possible, say mid of february at the latest.

also, some of the med schools i interviewed at specifically wanted non estimate figures on the FAFSA from both students and parents. so, I'm holding off until my rents get their stuff filed. btw, do remember its federal law that your employer have your W2 in hand by jan 31st. most jobs i've worked i've gotten them around the 20th or so, i just got mine a few days ago.

remember, even if you are independent, many schools want parental info for instituional aid. check with each school you've applied/accepted to to see what you have to do to file, if you need to do a profile (emory for ex), a needacess (mount sinai, only to be done after being accepted), or if they have their own institutional application, etc.

 

[applejuice1979]

Originally posted by Moskeeto
I haven't touched the beast yet either. I'm still confused about what school to put down. Do I just put all the ones that I hope to go to? Also, if we're getting our B.S. this year, do we have to have parental info on it? I always get independent status so I don't have to get their info anyways, but it'd be nice not to have to go through the hassle of another review this year.

I got my first W2 yesterday... Most medical schools require both parents' info for financial aid purposes so you should get on their backs now to have their taxes prepared ASAP.

You can only put a few schools down, so you should include any schools you've been accepted at. You should also include schools that you may be accepted at & would seriously consider attending. I haven't gotten to the point of needing to send the FAFSA to more schools....

 

[calidoctor]

do you know if people who are fellows at government institutions such as NIH file taxes.

 

[DW]

Originally posted by calidoctor
do you know if people who are fellows at government institutions such as NIH file taxes.

i dunno about nih specifically, but i was a cdc fellow last year, and i in fact had to file. govt fellowships as far as I see it qualifies as taxable income

 

[tBw]

yes, they do (nih fellows file taxes)

 

[calidoctor]

do you know if people who are fellows at government institutions such as NIH file taxes.

 

[manicmaven]

ACK! my parents don't even have an appointment to start working on their taxes until february and it takes a number of weeks. I am so burnt out on jumping through the fifteen thousand hoops that this process takes. It's unbelievable. Sorry, just feeling waitlisted, unloved and pissy that this application process is so damn involved and overwhelming.
😡 😡 😡 😡 😡

 

[lola]

my tax stuff won't be all ready until april 🙄

 

[Moskeeto]

Originally posted by applejuice1979
... Most medical schools require both parents' info for financial aid purposes so you should get on their backs now to have their taxes prepared ASAP.

see here's my problem, I independent from parents mostly because of some history and I have no contact with them what-so-ever. It'll be impossilbe for me to get their tax info, unless I could somehow break into each of their homes and blah, blah, blah.
Damn, I hope I don't have to go through some huge ordeal about it like I did with the AMCAS fee waiver which I never got due to not having said tax info.

 

[tBw]

Originally posted by Moskeeto
see here's my problem, I independent from parents mostly because of some history and I have no contact with them what-so-ever. It'll be impossilbe for me to get their tax info, unless I could somehow break into each of their homes and blah, blah, blah.
Damn, I hope I don't have to go through some huge ordeal about it like I did with the AMCAS fee waiver which I never got due to not having said tax info.

🙁 sorry, but basically - you will

 

[Mutterkuchen]

It is my understanding that parental tax information is not required. It will be used to calculate financial need for institutional grants. For other loans, such as Stafford, this information is not required.

If you go to a school where you are unlikely to get any fin aid, then it is ok not to have parent's info. If the school gives lots of aid, you will get screwed without your parents information.

I agree it is BS that this is required. Why stop at parents? How about grandparents? They have money too. I am married and nearly 30. I don't see how you can get more independent than that.

 

[tBw]

Originally posted by JBJ
It is my understanding that parental tax information is not required. It will be used to calculate financial need for institutional grants. For other loans, such as Stafford, this information is not required.

If you go to a school where you are unlikely to get any fin aid, then it is ok not to have parent's info. If the school gives lots of aid, you will get screwed without your parents information.

I agree it is BS that this is required. Why stop at parents? How about grandparents? They have money too. I am married and nearly 30. I don't see how you can get more independent than that.

yes, if you intend going all loans from the government then it's not needed - but for free institutional money and low interest instiutional loans, you are going to need it - or you can kiss such opportunities good bye. The only schools that I know that are different are Stanford (if you are over 30 they don't require parental info) and Pritzker (also have an age cut-off on it but can't remember what - I think over 25yo).

Originally posted by JBJ

I am married and nearly 30. I don't see how you can get more independent than that.

I think 50 and married with 17 children would be even more independent! (sorry, couldn't resist...) 😉

 

[tms]

You should contact the schools fin. aid. office. You do not have to file your parents' info if you only want fed. loans. some schools do not require for their institutional aid (e.g. U of MD). However, if you are poor like me (and you and your parents make less than $50K combined), you may be eligible for extra federal aid.

 

[Caffeinated]

When I was applying for loans for optometry school back in 1996, my mom absolutely refused to give me her financial info. She is a widow, and remarried when I was in undergrad. She said it was unfair to share her husband's financial info when he didn't contribute to my upbringing or education. They were also a little paranoid about who would have access to that info, but that's another story. We got into a few nasty fights, and I tried to have the school financial aid counselor talk to her. But she fought back, and still refused. In the end, I was eligible for subsidized and unsubsidized stafford loans (sub = interest deferred when in school, unsub = accrues interest in school). I was going to a state school where tuition was amenable to this; however,if I would have been at a private school, I would have had a lot more trouble with this.

 

[klp14]

Why is it that schools require parental info for otherwise independent students? Are they afraid we're hiding the family trust money just to get financial aid? If that's true, I'd definitely be smarter about squirreling away the money - that's what Swiss bank accounts are for. It's not like my parents are going to help me pay for school anyway. Grrr.

 

[mvervaine]

klp, you sound like you have some trust money. if you need help squirreling it away you're welcome to use my account. i might have to nibble now and then but i promise to pay it back! 😛

i got my W2s like two weeks ago (dunno why so early, prob cuz i made so little money?), but still have not filed because, yes, i'm lazy. and po' (therefore keeping dire financial reality at bay).

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by klp14
Why is it that schools require parental info for otherwise independent students? Are they afraid we're hiding the family trust money just to get financial aid? If that's true, I'd definitely be smarter about squirreling away the money - that's what Swiss bank accounts are for. It's not like my parents are going to help me pay for school anyway. Grrr.

The reason they ask for parental info is because for the most part, they know everyone will be claiming themselves as independent. However, they know that practically everyone hasn't had jobs where they have saved up 200k to pay for school. So most med students will have essentially the same financial status(not all...most). They use the parent info with the idea that perhaps a more wealthy family MAY contribute something to their child's education(obviously this is not necessarily true) whereas a poorer family absolutely CANNOT contribute anything to their child's medical school education. This helps the schools differentiate what types of financial aid to award students. Its their way of trying to figure out how needy you are. If they based it on the fact that everyone was independent, then like i said earlier the majority of entering med students are on the same financial field(ie just out of college and haven't really worked a full time job so EVERYONE would be needy). This is according to the Dartmouth director of admissions. In my case I'm pretty sure my parents will kick down a few hundred every now and then just because. I have a car that I will be using next year(that was paid for by mom and dad). So in some cases it makes sense. But in cases where you are independednt and your parents aren't willing to kick down a cent for you this may not be the fairest system. If your parents are fortunate enough to have saved up some assets then I'd say you are probably going to be heavy into loans. But most people already expect to be neck deep in loans anyways. Well...I do at least. 🙄 😀

 

[klp14]

Originally posted by mvervaine
klp, you sound like you have some trust money. if you need help squirreling it away you're welcome to use my account. i might have to nibble now and then but i promise to pay it back! 😛

Sorry verv, but I'm among the po' and bitter too. Believe me, if I had it I'd share it. Anybody out there want to contribute their trust money to the KLPpoormedstudent fund? It's tax deductible!

UCLA, that makes sense. Too bad they don't take into account the fact that even us working folks spent all our money (and then some) on applying to med school.😛

 

[DW]

Originally posted by klp14
UCLA, that makes sense. Too bad they don't take into account the fact that even us working folks spent all our money (and then some) on applying to med school.😛

seriously. there should be a box on these institutional applications for "how much of your salary was earmarked for going through this godawful med school admissions process". I'd say almost a quarter of my net income went to applying to med school in some form🙄