Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is a FAFSA?
    The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  You can complete the FAFSA online at     www.fafsa.ed.gov.  The FAFSA does NOT determine your financial aid eligibility.  Medical schools use the information on the FAFSA to determine your eligibility for federal and school-funded aid.
     
  2. What is the UVA School of Medicine financial aid application?
    The UVA SOM application is a supplemental application that we require for all aid, both federal and school-funded.  This application asks for some information that is not included on the FAFSA, some of which may help us to determine if a student is eligible for restricted scholarship funds.  It also allows the student the opportunity to provide information about projected year income and special circumstances which may affect financial aid eligibility.
     
  3. Why do I have to do both?
    Special circumstances may affect both federal and institutional needs analysis calculations.
     
  4. Whose information do I have to provide?
    Most likely, your information AND your parents' information.  If you are only applying for federal aid (Stafford subsidized and unsubsidized loans), you do not have to provide your parents' information.  If you are married and your spouse is not a student, you will have to provide your parents' information your first year, in addition to your and your spouse's information.  For more information, please see our     Policies page.
     
  5. Why do I have to provide my parents' information?  They're not going to help me with medical school.
    Medical school funds are limited, and although all students are considered "independent," we cannot fully fund all students with scholarship money.  We use the federally calculated parent contribution to "rank" students according to need, to distribute scholarship funds.  Part or all of the calculated parent contribution can be replaced with unsubsidized loans if your parents will not be helping to finance your medical education.
     
  6. It's July and I haven't received a preliminary award letter yet.  Why?
    We may still be waiting on application documents, or your preliminary award letter may have been sent to an out-dated address.  Please     contact us immediately.
  7. How much money should I request?  Should I just request the maximum?
    No, you should request the amount of loan money that you think you will need for the year.  Many students are able to get by borrowing less than the maximum, thanks to family help, personal savings, or careful budgeting.  To help you get an idea of your budget numbers and determine how much you may need to borrow, we have created a budget worksheet that calculates your total expenses and total resources.  If you have any questions about completing this worksheet, please contact your counselor.
     
  8. My official award letter doesn't list my federal or school loans - why not?
    We are probably waiting for you to complete a promissory note or Federal Loan Request form.  It could be a matter of timing, in which case you will soon receive a revised award letter.  If you have completed a Master Promissory Note with your lender and turned in the Federal Loan Request form more than a week prior to receiving your award letter and the loans are not on your award letter, please     contact us.
     
  9. Why does my official award letter list all of these different funds with different amounts of money?
    Your financial aid award consists of a package of aid - seldom is one source sufficient to cover your entire award.  Our school aid (loans and scholarships) comes from many different endowments, donated to the Medical School by individuals and organizations.  These endowments may be donor-restricted by geographic origin, merit, generalist or other specialty interest, or any number of criteria.  For example, if you are from Lynchburg and are receiving a $12,000 need-based scholarship from the UVA School of Medicine, we may award you $10,000 from the John Doe non-restricted Scholarship Fund and $2,000 from the Lynchburg Scholarship fund.
     
  10. Why doesn't my tuition bill show my financial aid?
    If your tuition bill does not show your federal loans, we may not have received your Federal Loan Request form, or you may not have completed the     Master Promissory Note.  If your tuition bill does not show your school loan, we may not have received your school loan promissory note yet.  If your tuition bill does not show your scholarship money, then we have just not entered your financial aid into the system yet (sometimes the deadlines do not correspond).  Even if your financial aid has not yet been credited to your account, you do not need to pay any amount on your tuition bill that will be covered by financial aid, as shown on your official award letter.
     
  11. How do I get my financial aid money?
    All financial aid from all sources is credited towards payment of tuition and fees first.  If your total financial aid package exceeds the amount of tuition and fees, then the overage will be refunded to you for living expenses.  If you are set up for     direct deposit with the University, you will receive the funds approximately 7-10 days after you final register.  If you receive your refund by check, it will be mailed to your local address and  may take up to two weeks.  Make sure your address is updated in ISIS Online.
     
  12. I only requested part of my loan eligibility, but now I'm broke.  Can I request more money?
    Absolutely.  If you did not use all of your school or federal loan eligibility, and decide later that you need more money, just contact your counselor.
     
  13. Are students typically able to stay within the budget for living expenses?
    Our cost of attendance budget for living expenses assumes that you will share a two-bedroom apartment with a roommate.  We strongly recommend that you complete the budget worksheet.  Budget counseling is available if you are having trouble staying within the living expenses guidelines, just contact your counselor.  While you may have to budget carefully, most students find it is entirely possible to live within the cost of attendance budget.
     
  14. How will using the Tuition Management Systems payment plan affect my financial aid?
    If you are going to receive enough financial aid to cover the cost of tuition (or more), we do not recommend using the payment plan.  Using the payment plan will delay the receipt of your refund needed for living expenses.  Please contact your counselor if you have questions.
     
  15. I'm currently an out-of-state student.  How can I become in-state?
    For information on Virginia residency status:     click here.  If you still have questions, contact the Committee on Virginia Status of University Students, P.O. Box 9071, Charlottesville, VA 22906 or call their office at 434-982-3391.

  16. Tuition bills are now online; you will not receive a paper bill.  Students will receive an email about their bill each semester.  For more information, please click here.