NU Dependency Status for Feinberg School of Medicine Students
Note: This information does not determine federal dependency status for SCS undergraduates.
If you would like to be considered for institutional need-based grant funds (e.g., need-based grants and need-based institutional loans), your Financial Aid application process will vary, depending on whether you are considered NU Dependent or NU Independent. Please note that NU Dependency Status is separate from federal dependency status, and will not effect your eligibility for federal financial aid.
Criterion for NU Independent status
NU Independent:
- You must have been entirely self-supporting by employment for at least 30 months prior to matriculation. The 30 months do not need to be the 2 1/2 years immediately prior to matriculation.
- Self-support typically requires gross employment earnings of at least $2,200 per month if you are single or $3,500 per month if you are married.
- Self-support cannot include support from educational loans you may have borrowed to cover your living expenses, earnings from investments, trust funds, or other assets. In addition, it cannot be claimed during periods when you were a student.
If you do not satisfy the above requirement, you are NU Dependent for the purposes of institutional need-based grants and loans.
Note: Your dependency status does not change once you matriculate at the Feinberg School of Medicine, nor does it change if you get married or because your parents are unable or unwilling to provide the contribution we calculate.
Contact a financial aid advisor if you have questions about your dependency status.
Application procedures
Click on the procedure for the type of student that you are and the year for which you are applying for financial aid.
2012-13 Academic Year:
Entering NU Dependent Students in 2012-13
When completing your financial aid application materials, you must:
- Complete the parent section on the 2012-13 Need Access Form.
- Submit a 2012-13 Verification of Parents' Income form (pdf) with an attached copy of your parents' 2011 Federal Income Tax return and W-2 form(s).
If you are classified as NU Dependent and your parents refuse to provide their financial information, you will not be eligible for institutional need-based grants or loans.
Entering NU Independent students in 2012-13
To apply for independent status, you must:
- Download and complete the 2012-13 Dependency Status Worksheet (pdf).
- Submit a complete work history/resume documenting the 30 months in which you were self-supporting from work.
- Submit copies of the federal income tax returns for each year in which you are claiming self-support.
The Committee on Financial Aid to Students will review this information and notify you of your status.
