I never qualified for financial aid as an undergraduate. Almost all undergraduate students are dependent students according to federal guidelines, therefore parents' income and assets are considered.
Medical school is a different story.
Graduate and professional students automatically are considered independent students for 95 percent of the aid available. The Department of Education does not consider parental income in need determination for its aid, which constitutes the bulk of federal aid for medical students. This aid comes in the form of Federal Perkins and Federal Ford Direct Student loans. I understand that the federal need analysis looks at prior-year income to determine need. This is not a simple question to answer, given the complexity of the federal need methodology.