How to Apply for Financial Aid

Medical students who wish to apply for financial aid should complete the following steps by the appropriate dates. Applications for financial aid must be submitted each year.

The priority dates listed below are a target to assure timely notification of financial aid eligibility; they are not deadlines.

1. Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Students applying for institutional, state or federal loans and scholarships must submit the FAFSA application. Submissions may be made as early as October 1 to begin the financial aid process for the next academic year. The school priority date for this form submission is May 1.

Information Needed to Complete the FAFSA:

Forms

In addition to completing the FASFA, medical students seeking the most financial support for their medical education at IU School of Medicine should submit the Application for Financial Assistance to the Office of Student Financial Services by May 31.

Application

To file the FAFSA, first time applicants need to create a Federal Student Aid (FAS) ID. The FSA ID is a username and password combination used to securely access financial aid information and electronically sign federal student aid documents. Students who previously filed a FAFSA electronically, whether for undergraduate school or a previous year of medical school, should use the same FSA ID when completing a new FAFSA.

The Federal School Code, also known as the Title IV Code, for IU Indianapolis/IU School of Medicine is 001813. It must be included on the FAFSA for the school to receive the applicant’s data.

Students need information about their savings, investments and business assets. They also need information about their spouse and parents’ savings, investments and business assets.

Students must submit parental information to be considered for IU School of Medicine scholarships and fellowships (based partly or solely on financial need), Loans and Scholarships to Disadvantaged Students (LDS and SDS) and Federal Primary Care Loans (preference given to third and fourth year medical students), regardless of the student’s age or independency status. If both parents are deceased, copies of the death certificates must be submitted to the school in order to waive the parental information requirement. If a student is only applying for Direct Loan Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loans and Graduate PLUS Loan, parental information is not required.

Students need their social security number, their spouse’s social security number, and their parents’ social security numbers to complete the FASFA.

Students who are not US citizens need their alien registration number (also known as USCIS#) as well as the alien registration number for their spouse and parents, if applicable.

Tax information from two years before the academic year for which a student is seeking aid is required. For example, to apply for aid for the 2020-2021 academic year, students must complete the 2020-2021 FAFSA and include 2018 tax information. To complete the Tax Information fields, students need their federal tax return and W2 form for the year before (if the FAFSA is filed by December 31) or for two years before (if the FAFSA is filed after January 1) AND parents’ federal tax return and W2 form or, if married, spouse’s federal tax return and W2 form. Students may be able to use the IRS data retrieval tool to import tax information directly into the FAFSA.

2. Submit the IU School of Medicine Application for Financial Assistance

For priority consideration of institutional scholarships, students should submit the Application for Financial Assistance to the Office of Student Financial Services by May 31. Applications received after May 31 are kept on file for consideration if additional funds become available during the academic year.

3. Accept, Reduce or Decline Loans and Awards

Students receive a financial aid notification (FAN) that reviews financial aid for the academic year. The financial aid portal on one.iu.edu allows students to access their financial aid information. In the portal, students can accept financial aid awards and reduce, accept or decline loans as well as view scheduled disbursement dates.

More information about the different types of loans available to medical students can help students decide how to respond to loan offers.

4. Complete Entrance Counseling

Students who have never used Federal loan funding are required to complete entrance counseling. The Federal Government requires new borrowers to complete the entrance counseling to ensure that students understand the responsibilities that come with borrowing Federal student loans. The entrance counseling needs to be completed only once.

5. Complete a Master Promissory Note

Students must complete a Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) to accept their first federal loans. The MPN is a legal document in which the student promises to repay loan(s) and any accrued interest and fees to the US Department of Education. It also explains the terms and conditions of a student’s loan(s). The MPN is completed only once in the four years of medical school. Borrowers are notified by the Office of Student Financial Services when the MPN is ready for completion, typically in June.