Planning
Financial aid is renewable on a yearly basis, provided you are a US citizen, remain in good standing and continue to demonstrate financial need. Application for renewal must be made each year and the amount may vary, depending upon your current financial situation. Awards may also be reviewed during the academic year if your financial circumstances change substantially. If a change in your circumstances warrants it, you might qualify for assistance in future years even if you do not qualify this year.
Financing your medical education over the next four years can be very complex. Listed below are items that should be considered thoughtfully:
- Discuss your situation with parents and other family members
- Make a realistic budget that minimizes the amount of money that needs to be borrowed
- Be sure to think beyond the first year
Establish and/or maintain good credit
By using credit cards with NO annual fees, paying your bills on time and paying them off every month.
Recognize that your financial status is closely tied to that of your parents
In a rapidly changing economy, you must have contingency plans. It is the policy of the Case School of Medicine to expect parents, to the extent of demonstrated ability, to contribute to the medical education of their children. Financial aid guidelines, which are dictated in most instances by external agencies, and that medical schools are obligated to abide by and enforce these guidelines in order to be able to provide, in an equitable manner, all available funds. For the purpose of establishing eligibility for university assistance no medical student is considered to be financially independent of his/her family regardless of age, marital status, or the fact that he/she may have been self-supporting for a number of years.
Acknowledge that the cost of training a competent physician is enormous
Medical training is one of the most expensive forms of postgraduate training available in this country. Your tuition and fees over the next four years cover only over 65% of the total cost of your medical school education. At a state medical school, the taxpayers make up the difference. Private medical schools receive some state and federal assistance, but the majority of the additional funds come from university allocations and contributions and, indirectly, from medical school faculty willing to accept salaries less than what they could expect to earn in private practice.
U.S. Department of Education:
For the purpose of determining eligibility for Federal Stafford subsidized and unsubsidized loan funds, parental financial information will be be utilitzed for those students satisfying one of the following criteria:
- An individual is at least 24 years of age by December 31
- An orphan or ward of the court
- A veteran of the armed forces of the United States
- An individual with legal dependents other than a spouse
- A married person who will not be claimed as an income tax exemption by his/her parents for the first calendar year of the award year
- A graduate or professional student
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