Why is the family contribution on the Student Aid Report (SAR) sometimes different from the family contribution that the School of Medicine expects?
The family contribution calculated for School of Medicine’s funding includes the parent and student contributions combined. The family contribution displayed on the SAR includes only the student contribution and does not include the parent contribution. This is because graduate students are automatically federally independent and, therefore, the family contribution will be calculated only on the student information (not the parent information) provided on the FAFSA. The School of Medicine collects the parent information on the Need Access Application on the Web and calculates a parent contribution using Institutional Methodology. This parent contribution combined with the student contribution (calculated from the student information provided on the FAFSA) makes up the School of Medicine’s expected family contribution. For a more detailed explanation of need analysis, check our publication “Understanding Need Analysis”.
