yet another fafsa question

[xylashellx]

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hello fellow stressed out pre-dental students . i was filling out my fafsa today and it came to the message:

Based on answers to specific questions, we have determined you are an "independent" student. Independent students are not required to answer questions about their parents.

You may want to answer the parental questions if:

* Your are a health profession student (such as a medical or nursing student), or
* The school requires parental information from all students.

...the thing is that my dad is a dentist and makes a good amount of money BUT as of next year i am on my own and it doesnt matter how much my dad makes because none of it is going to me. my parents said that if i put down his info then i will get no grants and my loans will be done as if my parents are helping me out WHICH THEY ARENT. anyone have this problem? or does anyone have any suggestions. thanks in advance.

 

[starvinstudent]

hello fellow stressed out pre-dental students . i was filling out my fafsa today and it came to the message:

Based on answers to specific questions, we have determined you are an "independent" student. Independent students are not required to answer questions about their parents.

You may want to answer the parental questions if:

* Your are a health profession student (such as a medical or nursing student), or
* The school requires parental information from all students.

...the thing is that my dad is a dentist and makes a good amount of money BUT as of next year i am on my own and it doesnt matter how much my dad makes because none of it is going to me. my parents said that if i put down his info then i will get no grants and my loans will be done as if my parents are helping me out WHICH THEY ARENT. anyone have this problem? or does anyone have any suggestions. thanks in advance.

Its my understanding that you have to be LOW INCOME to get grants to go to graduate school (dental).

Since you are not from a low income family then you honestly do not deserve any grant money, am I correct?

If you tell me that your on your own and your father is a dentist who is unwilling to help then I would have to question your truthfullness.

 

[mkogz5]

hello fellow stressed out pre-dental students . i was filling out my fafsa today and it came to the message:

Based on answers to specific questions, we have determined you are an "independent" student. Independent students are not required to answer questions about their parents.

You may want to answer the parental questions if:

* Your are a health profession student (such as a medical or nursing student), or
* The school requires parental information from all students.

...the thing is that my dad is a dentist and makes a good amount of money BUT as of next year i am on my own and it doesnt matter how much my dad makes because none of it is going to me. my parents said that if i put down his info then i will get no grants and my loans will be done as if my parents are helping me out WHICH THEY ARENT. anyone have this problem? or does anyone have any suggestions. thanks in advance.

i was wondering the EXACT same thing... my dad is a dentist but i am going to be completely on my known as well. i e-mailed the financial office lady of the school i am attending so hopefully i hear back, but if you find out the answer to this let me know asap. thanks-

 

[Hybridgen3]

yea...me too...wut do u mean we dunt deserve grants...im gonna be on my own too...n the tuitions gonna be really expensive so i think that i do deserve grants...i was wonderin bout this...i mean most likely we wont get a lot but it counts for something...

 

[xylashellx]

starvinstudent: are you kidding? why would I lie to you and tell you that my dad is paying for my stuff when he isnt. my brother went to dental school also and payed the whole thing by himself, on LOANS, at one of the most expensive schools in the nation and his dad is my dad ofcourse. i think my parents have covered enough money for my in my life (i went to a private college). as far as i am concerned as of the day i move out of my house I AM LOW INCOME. $0 a year is pretty low to me. (more like negative $50-90,000 a year)

UMich Pre-Dent: hey if i find out i will let you know and if you find out please let me know. i guess people on here think that although our fathers had to pay for their school that we should get our daddies to pay our way. im glad you know where im coming from. thanks

 

[starvinstudent]

yea...me too...wut do u mean we dunt deserve grants...im gonna be on my own too...n the tuitions gonna be really expensive so i think that i do deserve grants...i was wonderin bout this...i mean most likely we wont get a lot but it counts for something...

I meant government grants, not loans.

 

[starvinstudent]

starvinstudent: are you kidding? why would I lie to you and tell you that my dad is paying for my stuff when he isnt. my brother went to dental school also and payed the whole thing by himself, on LOANS, at one of the most expensive schools in the nation and his dad is my dad ofcourse. i think my parents have covered enough money for my in my life (i went to a private college). as far as i am concerned as of the day i move out of my house I AM LOW INCOME. $0 a year is pretty low to me. (more like negative $50-90,000 a year)

UMich Pre-Dent: hey if i find out i will let you know and if you find out please let me know. i guess people on here think that although our fathers had to pay for their school that we should get our daddies to pay our way. im glad you know where im coming from. thanks

well if you are not lying then why don't you ask your experienced brother who got loans. He would be more qualified to help you than anyone on this website, unless of course he did get help from daddy.

Really, to get most grants you have to fill in your parents information. they do not care if your parents are helping you or not, however, they do assume that it is your parents obligation to help and that is why it is required for most grants. This policy is to keep the kids who do not need it out of the cycle so money can be given to the small percentage of students who go to dental school that don't have mommy and daddy dentists to hold their hands and pass out checks.

out of the 20 students I have met in my dental school so far, all of them have at least one parent who is a doctor. It makes me sick.

 

[netsn06]

i think u have to fill in your parental information if you plan on applying for private school loans as well. or, if you were born after 1983.

u fill out your personal financial information on the fafsa to get the federal aid (grants, loans, work study which doesnt really apply to us, etc). you apply separately to private scholarships for extra money. if you want the additional private school loans like i do, despite the fact that i graduated in 01 and have been supporting myself since, i will still enter my parents' information for that.

that's what i gather from the information i've gathered thus far, but i will read more in depth later after i get my w-2 (u should at least get an estimate of your tax returns for this year before filling out the fafsa).

hope this helps.

 

[xylashellx]

thanks for all your help. i guess us doctor/dentist children DO have to fill out our parent info in order to get some money. the sucky thing about that, like some have already said, is that they do automatically think that since your parents have money then they are obligated to help you. ****!.

thanks for your help.

anyone know when the FAFSA has to be officially in by?

 

[r0entgen]

Its my understanding that you have to be LOW INCOME to get grants to go to graduate school (dental).

Since you are not from a low income family then you honestly do not deserve any grant money, am I correct?

If you tell me that your on your own and your father is a dentist who is unwilling to help then I would have to question your truthfullness.

...sounds like someone is just bitter. who are you to say students who come from a high income family, but are encouraged to be independent, don't DESERVE grants?...that's ridiculous. it's more like these students won't RECEIVE any, but not that they don't DESERVE it.

xylashellx: i doubt you'll be receiving any grants though if your father is rich. the thing is, it is very hard to discern who will receive financial support form their rich fathers, and who won't from the government's perspective. if it was the case that students will get grants if they express that they will be on their own and independent from their fathers, then every father will encourage this so their sons & daughters could receive this grant. and many applicants would select this option, even though they will still be receiving support. now, i'm not saying you're lying..i'm sure you're not (i'm in the same situation as you are...except my father isn't rich....he's about average)...but i'm just saying it's hard to PROVE that you'll be independent..so the only thing they have to go off of is your parents' income...i know it's unfair though 🙁 anyway, good luck!

 

[xylashellx]

r0entgen: yah you are right. it is unfair but i do understand that many people would lie so they could get more money. well it looks like i wont be getting a penny of grant money . thanks for understanding and good luck to everyone on getting in and getting grants!!!

 

[Sprgrover]

...anyone know when the FAFSA has to be officially in by?

The deadline for most schools to ensure that your financial ducks are in a row is Feb. 15th.

 

[starvinstudent]

r0entgen: yah you are right. it is unfair but i do understand that many people would lie so they could get more money. well it looks like i wont be getting a penny of grant money . thanks for understanding and good luck to everyone on getting in and getting grants!!!

as you shouldn't.

sure I am bitter. I haven't met a dental student yet who is not from a rich family or has a doctor as a parent.

I did it on my own. that turns most bitterness into proudness.

My parents are going to help me and they are poor and it will hurt them to do so but they are going to do all they can.

I don't believe for a minute that this kids dad is such an @$$ that he will not help his son who is following in his footsteps.

If you believe that story I fell sorry for you. Now on the other hand if the kid is serious and his daddy dentist won't help him then I say move out now and never talk to him again.

 

[r0entgen]

as you shouldn't.

sure I am bitter. I haven't met a dental student yet who is not from a rich family or has a doctor as a parent.

I did it on my own. that turns most bitterness into proudness.

My parents are going to help me and they are poor and it will hurt them to do so but they are going to do all they can.

I don't believe for a minute that this kids dad is such an @$$ that he will not help his son who is following in his footsteps.

If you believe that story I fell sorry for you. Now on the other hand if the kid is serious and his daddy dentist won't help him then I say move out now and never talk to him again.

um...i don't know where you've been, but i'm VERY sure there are dental students who aren't from a rich family and whose parents aren't doctors/dentists. i am one of them. are you trying to imply that EVERY dental student is either rich, or has parents who work as doctors? that is so dumb a comment that i'm surprised you even made it through dental school on your own.

and why should a rich parent help their children by paying their tuition? they aren't obligated to do so. i know many people who come from rich families who still had to take out the full loan to fund their own education. this is called INDEPENDENCE. sure, maybe later on, if the student is absolutely unable to pay off the debt, the parent will most likely intervene and help...but certainly, they aren't obligated to pay their son's dental school tuition.

 

[xylashellx]

oh starvinstudent. i have a question for you...did your grandfather give your father everything that you have? probably not. same with my father. he had to put himself through school on loans and work hard to be where he is at today. my grandparents were all immigrants from eastern europe and worked in steel mills. why should it be any different for me? i guess i should just be handed $300,000 cause my dad is so "RICH" according to you.

 

[hockeydentist]

for all this bickering back in forth, we have yet to come up with a solid answer of should one fill out the fafsa as a independent and not fill out parents information.

I was born before 1983 and I am considered an independent, becuase I am going to school at the age of 26. I think your automatically considered independent once you hit 25. You can't be on your parents health, car, insurance etc... they can't claim you for tax reasons..

 

[xylashellx]

true. lets get an answer. i will stop bickering. 🙂

 

[jeanniebluebird]

At the schools that i have interviewed, the fin. aid rep said you should put your parents info no matter what the circumstance. They will try to getyou the most money possible by either using only your info for some grants or by using parent info for loans. If you dont put your parents info you might end up having to take more money out in private loans instead of getting low interest federal loans. Best advice for anyone who knows where they will be attending is just call up the fin aid office at your school. Theyll give you the best answer since theyre the ones that look at your fafsa and try to work out your loan and grant package.

 

[starvinstudent]

oh starvinstudent. i have a question for you...did your grandfather give your father everything that you have? probably not. same with my father. he had to put himself through school on loans and work hard to be where he is at today. my grandparents were all immigrants from eastern europe and worked in steel mills. why should it be any different for me? i guess i should just be handed $300,000 cause my dad is so "RICH" according to you.

you tellin me he isnt paying a dime??? can you sleep at night for lying like that?

 

[darius99]

sure I am bitter. I haven't met a dental student yet who is not from a rich family or has a doctor as a parent.

I did it on my own. that turns most bitterness into proudness.

is proudness sorta like pride? 😀

why dont we skip the judgements on others and stick to helping each other and ourselves get into dental school?

 

[xylashellx]

jeanniebluebird: awsome finally a distinct answer. i sure as hell dont want to only get private loans.

starvinstudent: we are done with you. i will sleep great tonight!

 

[r0entgen]

starvinstudent: we are done with you. i will sleep great tonight!

lol. agreed!

 

[Sprgrover]

for all this bickering back in forth, we have yet to come up with a solid answer of should one fill out the fafsa as a independent and not fill out parents information.

I was born before 1983 and I am considered an independent, becuase I am going to school at the age of 26. I think your automatically considered independent once you hit 25. You can't be on your parents health, car, insurance etc... they can't claim you for tax reasons..

Fill it out as a dependant! Regardless of how old you are or how much money you make, you are required to submit your parent's information (unless you are married) - hence the caveat from FAFSA "..(unless) you are a health professions student..." I know it's a pain the rear and I had to go through it last year, despite the fact that I have been on my own for eight years I had to grovel to obtain my parent's tax information. As a health professions student the government requires your parent's information to determine how much they expect your parents to contribute to your budget - REGARDLESS IF THEY WILL OR NOT. It will not affect the amount of your loan, but rather that information determines if you qualify for any need-based aid and subsidized loan amounts. Not submitting your parent's information could seriously delay or inhibit your financial aid process.

 

[xylashellx]

just called USC and got another answer:

wendy said that in order to be eligable for the health professional student loan at USC you MUST fill out your parents information. HOWEVER, if your parents make over $100,000 you will not be eligable for it anyways. Im sure that most of you who are children of doctors know that your parents make over $100,000. This makes us you ineligable anyways so there is no need to fill our your parents info anyways.

she said that once you are at the school you can always reapply for the loan by showing your parents tax info which will show that they arent paying for you.

hope this helps guys i am going to call some other schools.

just talked to UCSF and got yet another answer:

there are two different types of funding, BASIC fudning, and FULL funding. basic funding is for people that dont fill out there parents information and full fudning is for people that do. she said that full funding is based on a NEEDS system so basically us people who have parents with money but we are still broke as a joke are not a NEEDS situation. she said if you do fill out your parents information that it wont hurt your chances of getting the basic funding. this basically means that i am going to fill out my parents info but will probably not get any grants and will get ****ty loans. DAMMIT!! 😀

 

[hockeydentist]

just called USC and got another answer:

wendy said that in order to be eligable for the health professional student loan at USC you MUST fill out your parents information. HOWEVER, if your parents make over $100,000 you will not be eligable for it anyways. Im sure that most of you who are children of doctors know that your parents make over $100,000. This makes us you ineligable anyways so there is no need to fill our your parents info anyways.

she said that once you are at the school you can always reapply for the loan by showing your parents tax info which will show that they arent paying for you.

hope this helps guys i am going to call some other schools.

just talked to UCSF and got yet another answer:

there are two different types of funding, BASIC fudning, and FULL funding. basic funding is for people that dont fill out there parents information and full fudning is for people that do. she said that full funding is based on a NEEDS system so basically us people who have parents with money but we are still broke as a joke are not a NEEDS situation. she said if you do fill out your parents information that it wont hurt your chances of getting the basic funding. this basically means that i am going to fill out my parents info but will probably not get any grants and will get ****ty loans. DAMMIT!! 😀

Yah I got the same answer above from temple as well.

HD

 

[Kniles5]

my dad is a dentist but i am going to be completely on my known as well.

Same here. My Dad feels that part of becoming a dental professional is paying for your education. He isn't giving me a dime, and I respect him completely for it and he respects me for not asking him to foot the bill. He did it alone and is a better dentist for it.

Being married, I think I dodged that bullet. My husband and I are poor academic research techs.

 

[xylashellx]

im glad that many parents have the integrity of making their children work for earnings.

the short answer for this thread i think is to FILL OUT YOUR PARENTS INFO.

 

[starvinstudent]

im glad that many parents have the integrity of making their children work for earnings.

the short answer for this thread i think is to FILL OUT YOUR PARENTS INFO.

theres no way they arent helping. The student loans only cover something like $10,000 a year for living expenses.

thats not possible, you have to have additional funds to live.

 

[xylashellx]

those additional funds are called private loans. learn the basics before you try to prejudge all of us.

 

[starvinstudent]

those additional funds are called private loans. learn the basics before you try to prejudge all of us.

Oh, I was just judging you.

 

[starvinstudent]

those additional funds are called private loans. learn the basics before you try to prejudge all of us.

yea im just aggravated when its obvious how other students who have doctors as parents get everything handed to them while students like myself have to work for everything.

oh well. thats life.

 

[xylashellx]

s$%# im jealous too. i mean it would be amazingly easy if my parents and alot of these other doctor childrens parents would pay for their school. get out of school with no debt sounds pretty darn good to me. i see where you are coming from but dont put us ALL in the "rich family" situation.

 

[mcshow2]

Starvinstudent: Chill out broseph. No one will feel bad for you if you keep putting everyone down.

Everyone else: My parents are both public school teachers, so their combined salary is probably just over 100k. I am going to fill out the fasfa, put down their info... then what? (i am new to this)

Will my school then give me my financial aid package and so on...? or is there more I need to do myself? I told my parents I don't want their help in this (I have other siblings with undergrad bills), so does this mean that i am going to have to use some high interest private loans.

So I guess I have two basic questions... What is the whole timeline and steps to be taken in the process (I haven't started on a thing)?

And do most people have to take out high interest private loans...?

 

[xylashellx]

from what i understand and with my brothers experience most people take out additional loans no matter what, especially in high priced places (new york, san francisco, LA).

so put in your parents info (unfortunately having parents with over $100,000 a year will hurt you in grants and some loans) and see where it takes you. i think you can always reapply for loans once a year has gone by and your parents tax forms show that u arent dependent on them. hope this helps and CONGRATS ON UCLA. i went to undergrad right around ucla and brentwood/west LA is a great place. 👍

 

[berryfremont]

from what i understand and with my brothers experience most people take out additional loans no matter what, especially in high priced places (new york, san francisco, LA).

so put in your parents info (unfortunately having parents with over $100,000 a year will hurt you in grants and some loans) and see where it takes you. i think you can always reapply for loans once a year has gone by and your parents tax forms show that u arent dependent on them. hope this helps and CONGRATS ON UCLA. i went to undergrad right around ucla and brentwood/west LA is a great place. 👍

AIGHT GUYS! If you are a dental student you are AUTOMATICALLY an independent student and they WILL NOT look at your parents income except for the health professions loan (which is only a couple thousand dollars i believe). Tuition and living expense needs are based ONLY on YOUR income. This is what they said at the UMD interview financial aid section. hope that clarifies some things

 

[mcshow2]

AIGHT GUYS! If you are a dental student you are AUTOMATICALLY an independent student and they WILL NOT look at your parents income except for the health professions loan (which is only a couple thousand dollars i believe). Tuition and living expense needs are based ONLY on YOUR income. This is what they said at the UMD interview financial aid section. hope that clarifies some things

I am not sure this statement is accurate... here is what it says on the UCLA website...

"At the UCLA School of Dentistry, as with many other dental schools, students who wish to be considered for most need-based loans and all grants, are considered “dependent” and are required to provide parental information on a separate need analysis application... Parental support is generally expected. In calculating the parent contribution, the parents’ total income and assets are considered. "

I have heard both, so I don't know what to believe. This is all so frustrating.

 

[SuperC]

Here is where I stand on the subject.

According to FAFSA, I am considered an independent. My father is a dentist and just like the others he is NOT giving me one red cent, as a matter of fact I paid for every penny of my college education, rent, food, ect. I am very proud of that.

Because I am considered an independent by the government and myself, I will NOT be including my parent’s information. It’s that simple.

-C

 

[hockeydentist]

Here is where I stand on the subject.

According to FAFSA, I am considered an independent. My father is a dentist and just like the others he is NOT giving me one red cent, as a matter of fact I paid for every penny of my college education, rent, food, ect. I am very proud of that.

Because I am considered an independent by the government and myself, I will NOT be including my parent’s information. It’s that simple.

-C

So does that mean you have a good chance of securing low intrest loans through the government.

 

[SuperC]

So does that mean you have a good chance of securing low intrest loans through the government.

I would think so. It is my understanding (at least in undergrad) that when you are considered an independant your need is based on your income not your parents.

-C

 

[gator1210]

NOVA said that grants are only for undergraduates and that you should file independant no matter what.

Thats interesting bc that means that no dental students get federal grants. However the school may ask later on for your parents Tax Forms and then give you low interest loans.


The whole subject is tricky, I guess this all depends on the school.


Gluck everyone with everything

 

[bwa102]

Because I am considered an independent by the government and myself, I will NOT be including my parent’s information. It’s that simple.
-C

I am staring at 3 pieces of financial aid information from Columbia, Temple, and UNC. They all say the same thing, and it goes something like:

"Students who wish to be considered for special funding from the Department of Health and Human Services and/or school specific grant and scholarship dollars must complete all parental sections of the FAFSA. This does not affect their status as an "independent" student but is required for awarding of these special funds."

I am poor, I want special funds, I will still be considered an independent, I will be putting my parents info on the FAFSA.

 

[starvinstudent]

s$%# im jealous too. i mean it would be amazingly easy if my parents and alot of these other doctor childrens parents would pay for their school. get out of school with no debt sounds pretty darn good to me. i see where you are coming from but dont put us ALL in the "rich family" situation.

ok my bad.

 

[SuperC]

I am staring at 3 pieces of financial aid information from Columbia, Temple, and UNC. They all say the same thing, and it goes something like:

"Students who wish to be considered for special funding from the Department of Health and Human Services and/or school specific grant and scholarship dollars must complete all parental sections of the FAFSA. This does not affect their status as an "independent" student but is required for awarding of these special funds."

I am poor, I want special funds, I will still be considered an independent, I will be putting my parents info on the FAFSA.

That is a good point. For you adding your parents information will be benificial however, in my case.... When I would submit my FAFSA in undergrad my parents estimated "contribution" was like 20,000 a year.... In my situation I am not in "need" of a grant so adding my parents info does not help.

-C