<p>Help. Ignorant parent here! My daughter will be graduating with a degree in biology next Dec. Due to our financial situation when she started college, she did not qualify for financial aid of any sort, but she did get some scholarship money (half of her tuition) and the rest we paid. Now our financial situation is very different due to her father and I both having lower paying jobs now. When she graduates, she will be moving into her own apartment. She hopes to get accepted into medical school. I was wondering, when a 21 year old moves out on their own, and they are going to college, do they qualify for financial aid then?</p>
<p>DD had a 0 EFC and was awarded subsidized and unsubsidized Grad Plus loans. There are no federal grants for grad students. She did get a full-tuition assistantship with a small stipend, but that didn’t quite cover all living expenses. </p>
<p>Med schools often require parent information so your DDs situation would probably be different in that regard.</p>
<p>Financial aid for graduate and professional schools is VERY different than financial aid for undergrads. First, because they have their bachelor’s degrees…virtually ALL grad students are independent per FAFSA guidelines. However many medical schools and law schools STILL require the information from the parents finances REGARDLESS of the student’s age. This varies by school…so you need to check.</p>
<p>For grad school, there are no Pell grants, schools that meet full need, etc. Grad school federally funded aid is limited to Stafford loans and for SOME schools (not all) work study. There may be some state grants as well, but I don’t think they are particularly plentiful for grad students.</p>
<p>Most grad school financial aid is merit based…based on what the student’s application strength is…and is awarded in the form of fellowships, scholarships, assistantships (teaching, or research) and grants from the schools. Many schools still require the FAFSA…but the aid really is merit based to attract top students to their programs. </p>
<p>As mentioned…there is not a lot of aid for med school and law school…and parent information is required by some schools.</p>