Financial Aid Calculation and Previous Year's Income Forum

Discuss various money matters here. Loans (federal and private), scholarships, lottery winnings, or other school finance related information and queries.
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coasttocoast1316

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Financial Aid Calculation and Previous Year's Income

Post by coasttocoast1316 » Wed Oct 29, 2014 5:54 pm

Hello all! New to the forums (although I have been lurking on and off for a while). I apologize if this or a similar question has been asked-I poked around a bit and didn't see anything that quite addressed this in recent history. It also may seem a bit premature but I'm trying to determine whether or not law school is even financially feasible for me if I don't get scholarships, think about savings and contingency plans, etc.

So, here goes:

I know that the FAFSA asks for your income and your assets. However, from my reading of various school financial aid website sections, I haven't found a clear answer as to how they count income vs assets in determining financial need. Is there a general formula? Do schools weigh them differently? This has never really been a problem for me before as my earnings going into undergrad were negligible and I pretty much had a full ride, and I did AmeriCorps for a year before I got my masters, so needless to say both my earnings and my bank account balance were pretty paltry come FAFSA time.

Here's my specific concern.....I would apply to law school in fall of 2015 and matriculate in 2016 if accepted. I am currently in a post-masters fellowship that renews this year in November and lasts until November 2016 (each year, we receive a "stipend" and a 1099 for whatever that's worth-so it's definitely taxed, and I'm guessing it is considered income for the FAFSA?) each year. I will be working in South America for an extremely small stipend (basically just enough to cover housing) and using a little bit of savings for about 6 months before law school (and will have a month or so on each end of that in which I earn almost nothing). So, if I am reporting my 2015 income on the FAFSA, I will report my full stipend-but much of that gets spent on taxes, rent, food, small grad loan payments, and a tiny bit into savings, so I will definitely not have enough left in my bank account to cover law school tuition, living expenses etc. In the 8ish months leading up to law school I will be earning very little, but that's 2016 and it's my understanding that I would report 2015 earnings on my FAFSA. I will be filing as an independent (I know some law schools have an older age cutoff than regular grad programs but I will have been financially independent for more than 5 years at the time I apply and can easily submit proof of this).

Thanks so much for your insights and your patience with my long first post! Hope those of you applying or waiting to hear from schools have a great cycle!

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DrSpaceman

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Re: Financial Aid Calculation and Previous Year's Income

Post by DrSpaceman » Mon Dec 29, 2014 6:51 pm

Loans. You're going to take out enormous student loans like everyone else.

You can get scholarships if you have great numbers, but even if you get a full ride, with no savings you're still financing your life during school, at the very least for your 1L year.

rlrsb03

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Post by rlrsb03 » Sun Feb 01, 2015 5:08 pm

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