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How much does chiropractic school
cost? The tuition cost of your 3+ years of education is
between $50,000 and $80,000 depending upon which school you attend.
This amount doesn’t include living expenses or books and supplies.
What financial aid am I eligible
for as a chiropractic student? You are eligible for three
types of aid — loans, grants, and work study — in addition
to any scholarship money you might be eligible for through the school
you attend.
Grants are gifts that do
not have to be repaid. The most common grant is a Federal Pell Grant.
Federal Work-Study money
is earned while you’re attending school. You apply for a work-study
position through the college you’re attending, are hired,
and work up to the amount that you’re eligible to receive.
Some of these work-study positions may be in the community.
Loans are monies that must
be repaid, with interest. Here are the most common kinds of loans
for which you might be eligible:
• Federal Perkins Loans
are owed to the school that paid the loan.
• Direct Unsubsidized Stafford
Loans are loaned directly from the U.S. Department of Education,
and you are responsible for paying the interest during the life
of the loan.
• Direct Subsidized Stafford
Loans are loans for which the U.S. Department of Education
pays the interest while you’re in school or during grace and
deferment periods.
• FFEL (Federal Family
Education Loans) loans are made through banks or private lenders
and are repaid directly to them.
• PLUS Loans are
external loans that you and your parents may be able to take out
and which must be paid separately.
How do I know what financial assistance
I’m eligible to receive? Just as when you were in
undergraduate school, the first step in determining eligibility
is to fill out a FAFSA form. Here is the process:
- Go to the FAFSA web site: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
- Request a PIN, get your school codes, and do the worksheet.
- Fill out and submit the FAFSA form, making sure you include
the school codes for schools you want to receive the FAFSA information.
- You will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) showing the amount
of your Expected Family Contribution and other eligibility information.
- When the school or schools you are considering have received
the SAR, you can make an appointment to talk with them about your
eligibility for financial aid.
The FAFSA Web site has a lot of information
and it’s organized to make it easy to follow and submit applications.
What’s the FAFSA deadline?
The information in the FAFSA is based on tax information submitted
to the IRS for the previous tax year, and the deadline is the end
of June each year. So if you’re applying to start chiropractic
school in the fall, you should have all of your FAFSA information
submitted by that time, but don’t wait — file your FAFSA
as soon as you have submitted your tax return.
How is eligibility calculated?
The key to loan eligibility is the Expected Family Contribution
(EFC). The EFC is based on your assets and income and is used to
determine the amount you will be expected to contribute and the
amounts you will be eligible to receive in the form of loans, grants,
and work-study. As a chiropractic student (a “health professions”
student), you most likely will be classified as an “independent”
student for federal student aid purposes, which also affects the
funding you will be eligible to receive.
I’m confused. What do I do
first?
If you will be applying to schools soon,
(1) complete and submit your FAFSA form and (2) begin the application
process at schools.
See the Resources section for some excellent
Web sites with lots of information.
One final note, from the Department of Education’s
FAFSA Web site:
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Warning!
Be wary of organizations that charge
a fee to submit your application, or to find you money for
school. Some are legitimate and some are scams. Generally,
any help that you pay for can be received free from your school
or the U.S. Department of Education.
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