The process for apply for financial aid involves completing the FAFSA found at StudentAid.gov and listing WVSOM of your choice school code (011245) and completing a short WVSOM financial aid application. Instructions on completing the WVSOM financial aid application are sent to students’ WVSOM email address when the online form becomes available for the coming school year. This usually occurs in January-March of each year for aid the next fall.
WVSOM offers scholarships to students in each year of medical school. Additional scholarship information may be found on the scholarship page and the WVSOM Foundation site. In addition, WVSOM will inform students of outside scholarships as we are notified. However, at the medical school level, nearly all large scholarships are service contracts, such as the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program and the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program.
No, graduate students are not eligible to participate in the Pell Grant Program.
The average D.O. program student loans borrowed for class of 2023-24 was $231,046. WVSOM prides itself on being one of the most affordable stand-alone medical schools of osteopathic medicine.
As a graduate student, the only information required on the FAFSA is your own at WVSOM. If you see prompts as you complete the FAFSA indicating that “for some medical students, parents’ information is required or recommended,” you can disregard those prompts and not list your parents’ information. WVSOM does not participate in financial aid programs that would require parental information be listed on the FAFSA.
011245
The best month to file your FAFSA is before May 1st of each year.
WVSOM does not routinely require you file a copy of your federal income tax return with the financial aid office. You will link your taxes with FAFSA when completing the application on at StudentAid.gov
The maximum amount you can borrow while attending WVSOM is the Cost of Attendance for each year you are enrolled as established by WVSOM’s Financial Aid Committee and updated each year. Typically this amount is from a combination of the Federal Direct Unsubsidized loan and the Graduate Plus loan programs.
For the Unsubsidized loan, there is one federal aggregate limit of $224,000 that includes loan amounts you borrowed from that program as an undergraduate or prior-to-WVSOM-graduate student. If you need money over and above that, (and this includes the situation where you need to borrow money to help with living expenses in addition to WVSOM tuition each year), you’ll also have to borrow the Graduate PLUS loan programs.
Graduate program students are eligible for $20,500 unsubsidized loans plus graduate plus loan to cover up to the cost of attendance.
Unfortunately, Congress discontinued eligibility for subsidized loans for graduate students in 2011-2012.
Financial aid awards are available for WVSOM students to view beginning in April of each year.
No. Notification of financial aid awards is electronically accomplished through links provided to your WVSOM email account. WVSOM uses Banner Self-Service interface where students can view and accept awards made.
Details on the process for getting a student loan are provided via email each year. In general terms there are 4 steps:
Any required reduction will not be automatic. Students are required to notify the financial aid office of any scholarship they expect to receive. Adjustments of financial aid may be needed, based on federal rules and will be determined on a case by case basis.
You will be able to borrow up to the full budget amount if necessary to cover living expenses as long has you have good credit and no adverse credit.
For you first year, you can borrow the total cost of attendance (COA). For more information, please refer to Cost of Attendance page located on WVSOM website.
Federal regulations require that a schools financial aid COA include only tuition, modest and reasonable living expenses for the student only.
No, it does not come to you directly. The funds come directly to WVSOM from the lender in your name. Your account is then credited and any tuition or charges due are paid. If there is a remainder, or if you have borrowed living expense money, those funds are forwarded to an account you have specified – such as direct deposit (E-Refund). If you did not sign up for direct deposit, then a check will be made out to you, which you can pick up in the business office at WVSOM.
In July and January, assuming you continue making satisfactory academic progress and remain in good academic standing.
The disbursement schedule is emailed to you each semester and posted on the WVSOM website. An email will be sent to you each time a disbursement is applied to your account.
Your loan servicer should have an in school deferment form on line that you can print and fill out. Once you have filled out the form, you can bring the form to the Registrar’s office for them to complete and send it to your servicer.
You can find out who your servicer is by logging in to the National Student Loan Data System here: StudentAid.gov
Use your FSA ID and password to log in and view your loan or grant records.