<p>Hi all. I am going into my senior year in college and soon plan on applying to medical school (i am taking a gap year). I was just a little curious about financing medical school. I know that merit based aid can often be difficult to receive because so many students are highly qualified but i was wondering about need based aid. I come from a relatively low income family and, with a low income myself have never had an EFC, as dictated by the FAFSA form, more than $4000; this year it is roughly $2500. I expect the costs to change from school to school as well as from public to private schools but i would like to get an idea of how much i should be expecting to pay each year.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>How much grant money you will get will differ depending on school. Most medical students depend on loans by and large, which are relatively easy to come by.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response. I do understand that the amount of grant money awarded varies from school to school but i am looking to have a rough idea. Lets say i go to a private medical school that costs 50-55 thousand per year. I am just wondering if i will have to take out loans for 40 of the 50 thousand or maybe 25 of the 50. Just a rough idea like that would be great.
Thanks</p>
<p>As a basic guideline...I'd go with the idea that you're going to take out the maximum amount of allowable federal loans as a minimum - unless you are an incredibly thrifty person. If you go to a private school, or an out-of-state public, you'll likely need to consider additional private loans (which are easy to get). Most schools do not require information about your parents finances (never mind the fact that most people are no longer claimed as dependents) and as such, your financial aid will not be based on what they can provide. So unless you have a gap year in which you make a ton of money, it's pretty much expected that you have next to zero to contribute...</p>
<p>Schools which give out institutional grants will generally require parental information.</p>
<p>I doubt you know the answer to this BDM, but: How do they handle the students who have been out on their own for several years? I certainly have friends who didn't get in immediately and spent several years supporting themselves entirely on their own...do they just not get anything? What about the people who have left other careers at age 30 or older? It seems rather presumptive to think that parental information is relevant to every one...</p>
<p>Some schools have an age cutoff (i've heard 25-28 in some cases) where they will stop asking for your parental information. Others require it no matter what if you want to be eligible for institutional scholarships. Reason being that they need some way to differentiate the mass of EFC=0 people there would be if everyone applied as an independent, even if relatively few people actually get a contribution from their parents.</p>
<p>Well thanks to everyone for replying and these are good points to consider in a more broad and general question but i am asking more for my specific scenario. clearly i will have a 0 or near 0 EFC but even including my parents' income, my EFC has not exceeded 4000 since i entered college and this year it was valued at just over 2500. So i am asking, as someone who has no income along with parents who have very low incomes, what can i expect to have to pay or receive in aid. If this question really isnt answerable then thanks anyway.</p>
<p>you almost always have the option, providing you qualify for federal aid, of not 'paying' anything upfront; you can take stafford/perkins/gradplus/institutional loans to cover the cost of your attendence. How much 'free money' in grants you receive will likey vary widely from school to school, as different schools have different amounts to give out and different policies regarding their loan/grant distribution.</p>
<p>a couple of examples to show you how widely it varies.</p>
<p>I received aid packages from two schools. One offered me nearly 10k a year more in grants, and this was the more prestigious school in a less expensive region.</p>
<p>A friend of mine who applied this cycle also got two aid packages, and his family had an EFC of zero. The first school gave him a package entirely in loans for a 70k/year budget, so he would have been upwards of 280k in debt when he graduated. The second school had a policy where the first 24k a year in financial need was covered with loans, and any need after that was given in grants, so he will only graduate with about 100k in debt.</p>
<p>thanks philly...that is exactly what i was looking for. it does sound like it could vary a lot but i wanted some real examples, which you provided.</p>
<p>thanks</p>