Determining Financial Need

Federal, state, private, and institutional aid programs assume that the family (student, spouse, and parents) has primary responsibility for financing your education, and that the family should contribute amounts in accordance with its income and assets before financial aid can be expected. The process of determining the amount of money that can be contributed to your educational support (called the Expected Family Contribution, or EFC) is called "need analysis." Need analysis is accomplished through one or two mechanisms, depending upon the requirements of the specific aid program: those that require the analysis of parental financial data, and those that do not.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) - The FAFSA is a need analysis form provided by the Federal Government to collect financial data and for which students cannot be charged a fee for processing. As a graduate student, you are considered independent by the Federal Government regardless of your age, tax status or living arrangements for most federal programs; financial information on the FAFSA therefore is only required from you and your spouse if you are married. You must complete a FAFSA to be considered for any of the following programs:
- US Department of Education (DoEd)
  - Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan (USFL)
  - Federal Direct Graduate/Professional PLUS Loan (Grad PLUS)
- Outside Agency
  - Alternative Loan Programs
The FAFSA will also collect parental financial data for the purpose of determining a parental contribution. Many financial aid programs require an assessment of both parent's (even if divorced) ability to contribute to your education in order to determine a level of eligibility. If you wish to be considered for any of the following programs, both parents must complete the parent sections on the FAFSA. These programs include:
- USF College of Medicine Institutional Funds (Loans and Scholarships)
- Primary Care Loan (PCL)*

NOTE: If you do not provide parental information on the FAFSA, you will be ineligible to receive any funds from PCL and USF College of Medicine need based loans or scholarships.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

FAFSA does not award financial aid. It analyzes the information provided by the student and his/her family to calculate an EFC and forwards the results to the designated financial aid office(s). The analysis is performed in accordance with the federally established methodology referred to as "Federal Need Analysis Methodology." At the individual schools, the EFC is subtracted from the estimated cost of attendance at that institution, which produces an amount referred to as your "verified financial need." This is the amount of financial aid you are eligible to receive.

In addition to a student having verified financial need, the federal student aid programs require that the student recipient:

Have a high school diploma, or a GED, pass an independently administered examination approved by the Department or meet state standards.
Enroll as a regular student in an eligible degree or certificate program.
Be a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen.
Make satisfactory academic progress.
Be registered with the Selective Service (if applicable).
Attend a participating school.
Be working toward a degree or certificate.
Does not owe a refund on a federal grant or be in default on a federal educational loan.
Has not been convicted of possessing or selling illegal drugs.

Independent or Dependent

As indicated earlier, federal regulations state that a graduate or professional student is considered to be an independent student when determining financial need for the Federal Direct (Subsidized and Unsubsidized) Loans and Federal Direct Graduate/Professional PLUS Loans. If you provided parental information on the FAFSA, your parent's EFC will not be used to determine eligibility for programs that do not require parental information. In other words, if you decide to provide your parent's information, it will only be used to determine eligibility for the programs that require parental information.

Why Do We Require Parent Financial Data?

College of Medicine funds are extremely limited and we therefore must restrict them to those students whose families cannot offer them financial support, based not on their willingness to do so, but on their ability. We are aware that only the very wealthy can afford to finance a professional education without some hardship. However, the need assessments in general reflect not whether the family can conveniently afford to help the student, but rather whether the family is capable, even with hardship, of helping the student. The typical student receiving financial aid from us has a family with little or no additional resources upon which to fall. We feel an ethical and legal obligation to distribute our limited funds as equitably as possible. These funds go to the "neediest of the needy". The same is true for the HHS programs outlined earlier.

Students who wish to be considered for need-based aid and whose parents are foreign nationals residing outside the U.S. are not exempt from the parental information requirement. Parental information can be submitted in the form of a statement of the parent's income and assets and the amount that will be contributed toward the student's support. The statement must be signed by both parents and notarized by an appropriate agency.

In the case of divorced parents, we must receive financial information on both parents. Each parent must complete an individual form. First, submit the FAFSA on-line with student/spouse information and one parent's information. For the second parent, complete a paper FAFSA with their information and mail it directly to the College of Medicine Financial Aid Office.

Demonstrating Need for the Federal Direct Loan, Federal Direct Graduate/Professional Plus Loan and/or ALP

In general, the FAFSA system will assess the student's total financial strength, which is derived from the interaction of income and assets. From this assessment, the Federal Need Analysis Methodology calculates the EFC. The EFC is also referred to as your resources.

Your verified financial need is determined by subtracting your resources, or EFC, from the appropriate cost of attendance (COA).

Cost of Attendance
- student/spouse contribution
- other financial assistance

= verified financial need

Demonstrating Need for College of Medicine Funds and PCL

The FAFSA will be used to assess both the student's and the parent's total financial strength that is derived from the interaction of income and assets. From this assessment the family's ability to contribute toward the education will be used. Your verified financial need is determined by subtracting your resources from the appropriate COA.

Cost of Attendance
- student/spouse contribution
- parents' ability to contribute
- other financial assistance

= verified financial need

*PCL is the Primary Care Loan This program carries the requirement of a commitment to train and practice in a primary care area (Family Medicine, General Internal Medicine, General Pediatrics or Preventive Medicine). If you are applying for this program, you must provide a letter to the Morsani College of Medicine Financial Aid Office Application for M.D. Students that illustrates your commitment to primary care and indicates in which primary care area you intend to practice. If a letter of commitment is not provided, you will NOT be considered for this program.