<p>What is involved in getting loans for med school, etc. on one's own--without parents' financial involvement? I understand FAFSA forms require parent's financial income info, but what if they aren't going to be paying? Isn't it enough they paid for undergrad? Does a UG degree serve as collateral for such large sums of money ($150-200K)? Med school students have the potential of earning nice salaries, but can they get loans without a parent serving as a co-signer?</p>
<p>My kid who is going to med school next year has absolutely no credit so I will be cosigning the loans.</p>
<p>There was something D and I learned when she went through this process--some of the schools she applied to REQUIRED parental asset/financial info while some of them looked at the student as "independent" and did not consider parental income/assets.</p>
<p>One example: Duke required parental financial info, Northwestern did not. This was a surprise to us as we were hoping that only her income (which is zero) would be considered.</p>
<p>My D is in med school with all loans and I did not sign for anything. She had a student VISA the last year or two before starting med school but that is the only credit history she had. </p>
<p>I believe the student is considered an independent for grad and professional schools.</p>
<p>There isn't any medical school that I'm aware of where the student is considered independent, some at any age!</p>
<p>What about applying for one of the military scholarships? In my mind the four years of payback time beat 200K debt at age 26.</p>
<p>If you want your kid in the military, this is an option.</p>
<p>They should be able to get Stafford loans and Grad Plus loans without parent assistance up to the COA - EFC.</p>
<p>We are just starting down the Grad School road w/ D. The FAFSA Worksheet, Section 2, says: "If you can check ANY of the following boxes, you will not have to provide parental information." One of the boxes is: "I will be working on a master's or doctorate program (e.g. MA, MBA, MD, JD, PhD, EdD, graduate certificate." Unless I'm missing something, we won't be providing parental info.</p>
<p>The FAFSA form is not the same as completing each institution's financial aid form. Look at each specific school's financial aid website for THAT particular med/dental school. And even THOSE can be different within the same university.</p>
<p>Professional schools differ from grad school programs which offer fellowships (phd programs) from the universities themselves.</p>
<p>Over on the med/pre-med school forums of this site there are very explicit details on which school considers students dependents and which don't.</p>
<p>The many md/dds programs that my son and daughter have researched including the ivies all want parental info regardless of age, previous degrees and/or employment history.</p>
<p>Daughter is pursuing the military option which actually includes more than one option (for payment and costs paid, $$ varies and depends on chosen school) even within the same branch of service. And how it pertains to residency programs as well.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>No co-signors are required on Federal Staffords for med school, even with zero credit. Student credit or co-signor is required on Grad Plus. Parental info is required for almost all institutional funds, although some institutional merit scholarships do NOT require parental info. </p>
<p>Med schools do NOT require parental info IF you are willing to limit yourself to Federal loans and those few merit scholarships not specifically requiring such info. </p>
<p>We are in the midst of this and my D will cobble together FA from Staffords, merit scholarships, and parental support left-over from her UG choice. Parents will NOT be signing any loans and she should have enough even at her OOS schools. </p>
<p>I'll post a UVa link with examples.</p>
<p>Here tis</p>
<p>Packaging</a> Policy</p>
<p>Although the rules presented by UVa are consistent with other schools, many schools are less generous with institutional funds.</p>
<p>Thanks Curm!!! At this point you could probably provide a great tutorial for med school apps and FA!</p>
<p>And Congrats to your daughter....!!</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>
[quote]
At this point you could probably provide a great tutorial for med school apps and FA!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not just yet. But I'm getting there. And thanks for the congrats. I'll pass them along. ;)</p>
<p>My son's medical school loans are all his. He and his classmates are able to borrow enough to cover tuition and all living expenses, within reason. Last year when we told him to put away some money for a new roof on the house that he and my husband bought, taking out a kiddie condo loan, he said he wasn't sure he had enough money left for the semester. Seems he was spending a bit too freely, although he really does have enough to more than get by. His food bill is higher than many as he tends to eat out or pick up often for lack of time to cook. After first semester her learned to buy groceries to at least have lunch at home.</p>
<p>While my son does attend a state school, I believe this was the case for other schools he looked at. He did decide to borrow the max so that we would not have to contribute any more money, although we did pay the initial house expenses. Luckily, he was able to find a roommate willing to pay half the house note which was a godsend! Unless we can not sell or rent the house when he is done, which shouldn't be a problem, we made a good decision to purchase the house.</p>