How much will the government tell me I have to pay towards my bf's med school tuition when we are married?

Question

I make $30K. His med school tuition is almost $50K a year. How much will the government mandate that I can afford to pay when we are married, thus giving him less loan money each year due to my income. Will my income even be taken into account when figuring out how much loan money he is allowed to take out each year?

Answer 1

When a student gets to the graduate school level, there really aren't any federal grants at stake -- just loans. EFCs mostly come into play when determining how much of a student's loan(s) can be subsidized. So, worst case scenario: your husband-to-be might be eligible for fewer subsidized loans and more unsubsidized loans.

The Stafford Loan maximums are they same regardless of a student's need. The annual loan limits are different for different types of health profession student and you don't mention what program he's in, so I can't offer you an exact estimate. You can view the various limits here: http://ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/attachments/0607Vol3Ch4.pdf

But just to give an example of how an increased EFC would a affect a graduate student: Let's say a graduate math major was assessed tuition of $25,000/year. For 06-07, the max Stafford Loan eligibility for that program is $18,500. Of this, $8,500 may be subsidized as long as the student shows financial need. If his EFC is $0, he will receive the full amount of Subsidized Stafford ($8500) and the remaining $10K would be Unsub. If his EFC was $20,000, he would still show SOME need ($5,000) and would be eligible to receive $5,000 in Sub Stafford and the remaining $13,500 in Unsub. If his EFC was HUGE and he showed no need at all, he could still receive the full $18,500 Stafford loan -- it would simply be subsidized.

With an income of $30,000 (and no assets), I would estimate that your EFC would, AT MOST, be $10K. (This is a very rough estimate, as there are many other factors -- such as age -- that determine your EFC.) So, if your husband's school costs $50K and his EFC is $10K, he'll still show $40K in need and be eligible for whatever the government has to give to health professions students.

What the Stafford Loan program doesn't cover, your husband can borrow in PLUS loans or (if absolutely necessary) private loans. These programs are not need-based and students can borrow up to the cost of attendance including the EFC.

Bottom line: don't worry about the effect of your income on his eligibility. It probably won't change anything.

Answer 2

The government will not give him less loans. He will get the max in federal aid loans (either subsidize and unsubsidize or just unsubsidized and he can take out a parent plus loan) and may need to seek additional money from private loans. The household income will determine if he is eligible for need based loans.