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Financial Aid|
Applying for Financial Aid | Forms | Tuition and Fees
Rights and Responsiblities Tax Credits and Tax Information | Loans Scholarships/Grants | Money Management FAQs — College of MedicinePaying for school might be something you plan to worry about later, after you've been admitted. However, even though the SUNY Upstate Medical University and relatively low cost, your education will still cost quite a bit. If you will need help paying for your education, financial aid is available. But now, not later, is the time to be thinking about it. Here's some information to help you plan . . .How much will medical school cost? There are several factors you will want to take into consideration when you think about the cost of attending Upstate. Most students will consider tuition, fees, and book/supply costs. But don't forget living expenses, health insurance, and travel to clinical training sites.Costs will vary from one year to another, depending on how long you are in school. To see a detailed chart of the costs, click here. How much will I have to borrow from student loans?Most medical students have to rely very heavily on student loans. At the SUNY Upstate Medical University, almost 90% of the aid received by medical students is loan assistance. The average student loan debt of those who graduated in 2004 was $109,000. Do I have to have good credit to get student loans? For most federal loans, no. For private loans, you don't need good credit, but you can't have a bad credit history. If you've had problems with credit, or have a history of late payments, etc., you may encounter problems qualifying for these loans. We recommend students review their credit history BEFORE they need to use private loan programs.What about scholarship aid? Unfortunately, the popular belief that millions of dollars of private scholarship aid goes unused every year is not true. Especially for medical school. Most private scholarships have very restrictive eligibility criteria, and are for relatively small amounts of money. How about service related scholarships? Available from the Armed Forces, the National Health Service Corps, Public Health Service, and the New York State Education Department, these offer significant amounts of money in exchange for an obligation to practice in a specific agency, geographic locale, or medical specialty. These programs are worth considering, if they meet with your career goals and personal plans. Some programs pay tuition and fees; others also pay a stipend. Generally, programs that pay more place more restrictions on you in terms of your ability to choose where you will practice.Another option that has appeared recently are loan repayment programs. Again, in exchange for a specific type or location of medical practice, a portion of your student loan indebtedness is repaid. Since you apply to these programs during residency training, you know your career goals and whether they fit in with this type of an obligation. What about part time employment? As a first year medical student, you'll be carrying 48 credits of required courses. With that type of an academic load, part time work during the academic year isn't a good idea. Unless you have very specific skills that command good wages, your study time (or leisure time) are worth more that the amount you'll earn.Employment during the summer before medical school begins, and between the first and second years, is possible, and is strongly recommended as a way to limit the amount you will have to borrow.Can I get as much money as I want from financial aid? There are limits to how much students can receive from financial aid. The limits are set by the amount of the estimated student expense budget developed by the Financial Aid Office. The budget includes tuition, fees, books and supplies, and reasonable estimates of living expenses.There are also limits to eligibility for individual programs. For instance, students can borrow only $8,500 from the subsidized Federal Stafford loan for one academic year. How do I Apply?
DON'T WAIT TO BE ADMITTED BEFORE APPLYING FOR FINANCIAL AID.
Will my parents have to complete the financial aid applications?That depends on the type of financial aid you want to be considered for. Programs from the U.S. Department of Education, which include the Federal Stafford loans, Perkins loans, and Federal Work Study programs, don't request this information from students in graduate level programs. On the other hand, programs from Public Health Service and private loans and scholarships through the Upstate Medical University do need this information.We recommend that students include parents' financial information on the FAFSA, in order to be considered for all of the aid programs that are available. |
