Michigan Class of 2013 Forum

[1stHorseman]

I'm wondering if my wife's UG debt would count for the Financial Aid Form on the admitted students site. I would think no, but since it asks for her income I'm not sure.... Any ideas?

[JRMjr]

I'm wondering if my wife's UG debt would count for the Financial Aid Form on the admitted students site. I would think no, but since it asks for her income I'm not sure.... Any ideas?

I'm 99.9% sure it doesnt unless you cosigned. You have no legal obligation to repay (which is what matters) so I dont think it counts. If it asked for her disposable income, then it could be factored in.

Where are people in the FAFSA process? submitted?

[bighead715]

I'm wondering if my wife's UG debt would count for the Financial Aid Form on the admitted students site. I would think no, but since it asks for her income I'm not sure.... Any ideas?

I'm 99.9% sure it doesnt unless you cosigned. You have no legal obligation to repay (which is what matters) so I dont think it counts. If it asked for her disposable income, then it could be factored in.

Where are people in the FAFSA process? submitted?

the fafsa annoys my life. that's where i am at in the process.

[mayosmith]

Where are people in the FAFSA process? submitted?

Dreading starting it?

[Wanpsack1]

Waiting for all the tax documents from my bank. That way I can submit my FAFSA and be told officially that I don't get any money.

[thalassocrat]

Waiting for all the tax documents from my bank. That way I can submit my FAFSA and be told officially that I don't get any money.

FAFSA's only for loans. On the admitted students website, in the Mail and Money section, they have a questionnaire to fill out to see if you also need to submit the Need Access form. That's what they use to determine need based grants. Don't need any forms for merit scholarships.

[parker09]

Waiting for all the tax documents from my bank. That way I can submit my FAFSA and be told officially that I don't get any money.

FAFSA's only for loans. On the admitted students website, in the Mail and Money section, they have a questionnaire to fill out to see if you also need to submit the Need Access form. That's what they use to determine need based grants. Don't need any forms for merit scholarships.

I filled that questionnaire out (it's REALLY skimpy) and it told me I was not eligible for grants even though I have a total of like $1k to my name. Then I filled in the box that asked for any additional information and told them I had substantial grants in UG, and someone from financial aid emailed me asking to see documentation... so now my dad has to try to track down all my UG award letters, which I'm 99% sure we didn't keep. Ugh.

Hey, for those of you who have gotten merit scholarships-- does the letter show up under the Mail and Money tab? I'm abroad and my mail tends to get lost, and I don't want to go through the giant hassle of trying to get them to give me money if it turns out they already have. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to call them up and go "OH HAI, just wondering if you've already given me money and the African postal system just sucks"... that'd be awkward if they weren't planning on giving me anything.

[JRMjr]

have people heard about Merit yet? I thought I've seen some notifications but I haven't gotten one and don't know if they come in batch like acceptances

[Amelie]

have people heard about Merit yet? I thought I've seen some notifications but I haven't gotten one and don't know if they come in batch like acceptances

Merit aid has been going out for a while, and it does seem to be coming out in batches. All notifications come by snail mail (I never received a notification under Mail and Money).

[thalassocrat]

Waiting for all the tax documents from my bank. That way I can submit my FAFSA and be told officially that I don't get any money.

FAFSA's only for loans. On the admitted students website, in the Mail and Money section, they have a questionnaire to fill out to see if you also need to submit the Need Access form. That's what they use to determine need based grants. Don't need any forms for merit scholarships.

I filled that questionnaire out (it's REALLY skimpy) and it told me I was not eligible for grants even though I have a total of like $1k to my name. Then I filled in the box that asked for any additional information and told them I had substantial grants in UG, and someone from financial aid emailed me asking to see documentation... so now my dad has to try to track down all my UG award letters, which I'm 99% sure we didn't keep. Ugh.

Hey, for those of you who have gotten merit scholarships-- does the letter show up under the Mail and Money tab? I'm abroad and my mail tends to get lost, and I don't want to go through the giant hassle of trying to get them to give me money if it turns out they already have. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to call them up and go "OH HAI, just wondering if you've already given me money and the African postal system just sucks"... that'd be awkward if they weren't planning on giving me anything.

Any chance your UG would still have the letters, either online or in their records?

Also I'd be surprised if they gave you nothing. They seem to be pretty consistent with the Dean's scholarships, going by previous years and what people have received this year. It might not hurt to call or email and say something like "I've been having mail issues and was wondering if there was anything sent in the past few months that might have been lost?" For the record, my letter wasn't listed under Mail and Money.

[JRMjr]

have people heard about Merit yet? I thought I've seen some notifications but I haven't gotten one and don't know if they come in batch like acceptances

Merit aid has been going out for a while, and it does seem to be coming out in batches. All notifications come by snail mail (I never received a notification under Mail and Money).

thanks, thats what I thought. it will be a huge relief if they send me an envelope with something inside (and by something, I mean a nickle or greater)

[parker09]

Any chance your UG would still have the letters, either online or in their records?

Also I'd be surprised if they gave you nothing. They seem to be pretty consistent with the Dean's scholarships, going by previous years and what people have received this year. It might not hurt to call or email and say something like "I've been having mail issues and was wondering if there was anything sent in the past few months that might have been lost?" For the record, my letter wasn't listed under Mail and Money.

My UG probably would, but I'm trying to avoid the pain of Skype phone calls on iffy internet connections and etc.

I think I will call Mich and ask. Should I call admissions or financial aid?

[toolshed]

IIRC, getting any merit money disqualifies you for need-based aid anyway, correct?

[JRMjr]

IIRC, getting any merit money disqualifies you for need-based aid anyway, correct?

I dont believe so and have never heard that. Seems odd they would say "you're smart, here is $$ but it stinks you cant afford our school"

[toolshed]

IIRC, getting any merit money disqualifies you for need-based aid anyway, correct?

I dont believe so and have never heard that. Seems odd they would say "you're smart, here is $$ but it stinks you cant afford our school"

I can't check now because I am at work, but I am almost certain that my scholarship letter stated something to the effect that getting a Dean's scholarship precluded any need-based aid. I'll have to look again.

[Amelie]

IIRC, getting any merit money disqualifies you for need-based aid anyway, correct?

I dont believe so and have never heard that. Seems odd they would say "you're smart, here is $$ but it stinks you cant afford our school"

I know that if you receive $67k you are disqualified from need-based grants. I don't know about the other amounts though.

[LifeinKodachrome]

IIRC, getting any merit money disqualifies you for need-based aid anyway, correct?

I dont believe so and have never heard that. Seems odd they would say "you're smart, here is $$ but it stinks you cant afford our school"

I know that if you receive $67k you are disqualified from need-based grants. I don't know about the other amounts though.

At that point you've just replaced any need based with merit by effectively lowering the cost of education.

[JRMjr]

IIRC, getting any merit money disqualifies you for need-based aid anyway, correct?

I dont believe so and have never heard that. Seems odd they would say "you're smart, here is $$ but it stinks you cant afford our school"

I know that if you receive $67k you are disqualified from need-based grants. I don't know about the other amounts though.

At that point you've just replaced any need based with merit by effectively lowering the cost of education.

45k per year x 3 - 67k... thats still expensive for people with UG loans of from a low income background. Just my thoughts, UM obviously has this down to a science so they would know alot more than I would about this game.

[summerschooled]

IIRC, getting any merit money disqualifies you for need-based aid anyway, correct?

I dont believe so and have never heard that. Seems odd they would say "you're smart, here is $$ but it stinks you cant afford our school"

I know that if you receive $67k you are disqualified from need-based grants. I don't know about the other amounts though.

Same with the $54K scholarship.

[toolshed]

[

62k per year after COL.

Edit: Total quoting disaster

[parker09]

IIRC, getting any merit money disqualifies you for need-based aid anyway, correct?

I don't know if this was asked toward me, but if it was: Yeah, which is most of why I'm trying to figure out if I got any merit before jumping through hoops trying to convince them to give me need.

Just realized it's a national holiday and they won't be open. Argh.

45k per year x 3 - 67k... thats still expensive for people with UG loans of from a low income background. Just my thoughts, UM obviously has this down to a science so they would know alot more than I would about this game.

Yeah, but law schools expect most people to finance most of school using loans anyway. It's an "investment." (Which was fine... a couple years ago. When there were lots of jobs.)

[JRMjr]

45k per year x 3 - 67k... thats still expensive for people with UG loans of from a low income background. Just my thoughts, UM obviously has this down to a science so they would know alot more than I would about this game.

Yeah, but law schools expect most people to finance most of school using loans anyway. It's an "investment." (Which was fine... a couple years ago. When there were lots of jobs.)[/quote]


oh man, you went with the old investment logic. Shoulda seen that comin'. Triple digit debt here I come! I'm completely fine with it as long as the football team wins

[LifeinKodachrome]

45k per year x 3 - 67k... thats still expensive for people with UG loans of from a low income background. Just my thoughts, UM obviously has this down to a science so they would know alot more than I would about this game.

Right, but at this point students are independents, which makes it more difficult (though I guess not impossible) to differentiate. I'm not saying no one with a big merit scholarship should be eligible for aid, it just makes it significantly harder.

Also, if median private sector salary is $160k and this is factored in (even with a pretty extreme discount factor and/or interest on the loans), $67k looks like a lot less.

[starstruck393]

IIRC, getting any merit money disqualifies you for need-based aid anyway, correct?

I dont believe so and have never heard that. Seems odd they would say "you're smart, here is $$ but it stinks you cant afford our school"

I know that if you receive $67k you are disqualified from need-based grants. I don't know about the other amounts though.

At that point you've just replaced any need based with merit by effectively lowering the cost of education.

45k per year x 3 - 67k... thats still expensive for people with UG loans of from a low income background. Just my thoughts, UM obviously has this down to a science so they would know alot more than I would about this game.[/quote]

It is, but you wouldn't be getting more than $45k or so in grant money anyway, so if you get the scholarship that's your aid.

I do understand the sentiment about coming in with large debt and/or from a low income background, but I understand Michigan's side as well. A JD is a professional degree. It's one thing to talk about Michigan UG, which is a public state school. In-state tuition isn't that much to begin with (and the school receives a good percentage of funding from the state), so it's not really a surprise to offer financial aid to allow those from low income backgrounds to realistically be able to get a high quality college degree. But a T10 JD? A degree where the median starting salary is likely well north of $100k? I do understand how hard taking on so much debt can be, especially if you already have UG loans, but I guess I find it hard to justify giving substantially more aid to help people attain an advanced professional degree with such a high earning potential.

One other thing is that I think, barring extreme circumstances, a majority of the applicants are in the same boat. I can't imagine that there are too many law students whose parents will be footing the bill (or who come in with the savings to avoid loans). In essence, with so many students having to take out $100k+ in loans, and with most of them I'd imagine being financially on there own, it seems like the "poverty" level of the law students would be pretty high, and thus hard to justify giving more aid to some and not to others because of background when most people are in similar financial boats...

[parker09]

45k per year x 3 - 67k... thats still expensive for people with UG loans of from a low income background. Just my thoughts, UM obviously has this down to a science so they would know alot more than I would about this game.

Yeah, but law schools expect most people to finance most of school using loans anyway. It's an "investment." (Which was fine... a couple years ago. When there were lots of jobs.)

oh man, you went with the old investment logic. Shoulda seen that comin'. Triple digit debt here I come! I'm completely fine with it as long as the football team wins

...I put it in quotes for a reason. And then added a parenthetical that shows I'm not the biggest fan of it either.