<p>From the University of Missouri SOM website
</p>
<p>Curm, thanks for the heads-up. Info received at my interview from the director of finaid conflicts with what’s on the website though (in that Missouri SOM requires parental info on their institutional scholarship app [just fill in a few blanks], not the FAFSA), so I’ll put in a question to the director and get back to ya.</p>
<p>Luckily for me, with siblings that go to Missouri also, it’s a piece of cake to get parent info over to the SOM.</p>
<p>Thought you might have missed that. Almost every traditional med student’s EFC comes in at 0. Sorry, but that ain’t where the discussion ends. They will take parents income and assets into consideration for need-based aid.</p>
<p>Right. But as it was recently explained to me, the “parent info” part is just submitted by the student on the scholarship application form–not on anything federal, which is (according to finaid director) a new and atypical policy. I wonder what they’ll end up really requiring (because perhaps she was glossing over stuff during the short presentation on interview day?).</p>
<p>It’s a little irritating that each school has its own policies etc for all of this “applying to medical school” stuff. So much information to keep up with! I have a feeling I can do it though…</p>
<p>^ it all changed this past year, thanks to the new direct lending thing for student loans. I’m sure every school is updating their policies and figuring out what works in the new system.</p>
<p>Kristin,
D. has found that parents’ FASFA is also required. So, we file FASFA for all three of us. I do not know who is correct, we just follow instructions of all 3 schools under D’s consideration (4th one is dropped). She is definitely not independent although is working part time (will loose her campus job in May after graduating). Nobody can work thru Med. School as far as I understand, everybody is financially supported by somebody, parents or spouse.</p>
<p>Yeah Miami, I definitely will NOT be working during medical school!</p>
<p>Got a reply from finaid director this morning. For Missouri, no need to include parent info on FAFSA. She said, “You do NOT need to list parent information on the FAFSA. It is optional and OK to leave blank. Thanks for checking!” (The required “parent info” required on the scholarship app includes educational background, occupation, and income bracket.)</p>
<p>Looks like all the schools just do it a little differently. I know Duke requires parent information whereas Mayo does not. Luckily for me, I have 2 siblings in college too, so my parents are filling out FAFSA anyway–won’t be a problem to send it wherever it needs to go :)</p>
<p>^We are NOT looking good on FASFA at all. No other dependents, no debt (no mortgage, no other loans), two incomes (thank goodness, both work). However, lots of Merit Scholarships require FASFA (which was the case with D’s UG anyway, so we are used to file it every year). It has worked extremely well in UG, we do not expect the same in Med. School, but will be very happy with anything.
Kristin,
As your parents decided to file FASFA, keep in mind that most deadlines are Feb. 15, some are March 1.</p>
<p>:( bummer for the FAFSA situation, Miami. I have no idea what my parents’ EFC is, but I suspect it’s considerable since both work. However, next year there will be 2 kids who are full-time undergraduates and me, full-time med student–perhaps that’ll work in my family’s financial favor. Except that if I file independently, then they can’t list me on their FAFSA. However, me filing independently will likely mean I’ll get some grants because of my EFC=0, so it’s likely that the overall effect will be positive.</p>
<p>Ohhh the joys of spending lots and lots of money. We’ll just say it’s an investment in my future and totally worth it, right? Right.</p>
<p>Kristin- declaring some one or not on your taxes does not necessarily mean you can or cannot put them on FAFSA, you might check into that</p>
<p>One more consideration, Kristin.
If you are not parents’ dependent, how about your Medical insurance? Are you going to buy it? It is expensive.
My D. will continue to be covered by both of ours, hopefully until at least 23 (if new bill is repealed, if not until 26). D. is 21. So, she should have coverage for at least 2 more years, or maybe or maybe all thru Med. School.</p>
<p>I don’t think your siblings can list you on their FAFSAs as being “in college”… I think they can only list siblings who are undergrads on FAFSA. </p>
<p>Your siblings will have a split EFC. As long as they (the students) don’t have much in assets/income, the family’s EFC will split 50/50. </p>
<p>However, as you said, the family income is strong from having 2 working parents, so even splitting an EFC may not result in much aid from a state school…perhaps only a small loan.</p>
<p>For instance, if the EFC for one child would have been $20k, then it will be $10k each per child. That is usually too high for any “free aid” from a public state school. </p>
<p>Did you ever do a FAFSA before? What was your EFC?</p>
<p>Does Mizzou med school give out grants? Do you know what its criteria is?</p>
<p>Somemom, I was under the impression from the fin aid director that if I file FAFSA as an independent student, then my parents could not also list me as a 3rd kid in college…so I can either be the 3rd kid on their FAFSA (splitting a high EFC with my 2 siblings) or file my own as an independent graduate/professional student. I believe I will qualify for more aid if I file as an independent, which is what I did.</p>
<p>Miami, according to my parents I’m covered under their insurance until I’m 24 (or 26 depending in the Affordable Care Act) as long as I’m a full time student, even as a medical student. If I didn’t want to stay with them, I could enter into the university’s plan for a special rate. I will stick with my parents’ plan though.</p>
<p>Mom2, yes I believe that’s correct–I will not count toward my siblings’ FAFSA if file my own. I’ve done the FAFSA in the past and my family’s EFC is through the roof, in my opinion. Mizzou has many small institutional merit based scholarships, so hopefully I will win some from them. In terms of need based institutional grant money, I do not believe I will be considered needy (which is where my parents’ financial info comes into play). The average non loan aid for Missouri residents going to Mizzou SOM is about $7000, and tuition is just shy of $25k (obviously, cost of living will remain the same as it is for me now).</p>
<p>Kristin–</p>
<p>You can be a dependent on your parent’s tax return AND be independent for FAFSA. (I know we filed D1 this way last year when she turned 24. We’ve never had an issue with either FAFSA or the IRS.) But you cannot be counted for your sibling’s FAFSA even if you are a dependent for tax purposes if you are in professional/grad school. </p>
<p>You will definitely qualify for more aid if you file as an independent.</p>
<p>And I don’t want to even THINK about D1’s FAFSA. Moderate income, but high assets (most of which are not ‘tappable’ as they are locked in a generation skipping trust). Med schools are going to want every last penny.</p>
<p>And I really, really don’t want to even think about next year. ('12-'13 when–cross fingers–I will have 2 in med school at the same time.)</p>
<p>Okay, head and facts spinning again. I didn’t think Kristen was 24 (not sure why I’m thinking that) so how can she file independent?</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>If you are an UNDERGRAD and under 24, then you are a dependent for FAFSA.</p>
<p>My older son is 21 and graduating in May. If he submits a FAFSA for grad school, he’ll be independent since he won’t be an undergrad in the fall.</p>
<p>*and tuition is just shy of $25k (obviously, cost of living will remain the same as it is for me now). *</p>
<p>Ok…question. Is the COL higher for a med/grad student? I guess I was always thinking that it would be unless you get a roommate and find cheap housing, right? </p>
<p>I would think that undergrad housing is much cheaper than grad/med school housing…unless a med school offers housing that is similar in price.</p>
<p>I mean…an inexpensive college dorm can be like $4-5k per year…but an apt would cost more…especially if you have to also pay utilities/cable/internet/etc…and pay for “year round”…all 12 months for 4 years. </p>
<p>Do many med students have roommates?</p>
<p>Jeez, I just got one set of rules down and now I have to learn more!</p>
<p>Once she has completed her first bachelor’s degree, she can files as an independent.</p>
<p>And I don’t think Kristin is 24 yet.</p>
<p>And lots of med students have roommates. D1 currently has one housemate who is a med student from OOS. (Her other housemates are grad students, one in astrophysics and one in multiple foreign languages.)</p>
<p>I think the cost of housing varies alot by location. Here in town, it’s cheaper to rent an inexpensive apt or share a house than to live in the dorms. Even for undergrads. Moreso if you’re willing to commute 30 mins or so.</p>
<p>*Jeez, I just got one set of rules down and now I have to learn more! *</p>
<p>LOL…yes…the fed gov’t has a “parental expectation” for undergrad, but not past that. </p>
<p>And it seems that while a med student may apply as an independent for FAFSA (which is a federal app to determine fed aid), a school may ask for parent info to determine whether to give the student its own “institutional aid” (kind of like CSS Profile, but not).</p>
<p>I guess that is so that a school with limited institutional aid can decide which students really don’t have any other means for financial help. Like Curmy said, nearly all med students have a 0 EFC, but many do have families that can afford to help out…so the colleges with their own money to give away will want to look at that as well.</p>