Financial Aid

[Seashelley]

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I have a question. I understand that financial aid in the form of grants or scholarships are anemic in the medical school world. By and large, financial aid means "take everything out in loans". In a way, taking out loans doesn't equate to financial aid because you owe everything back and then some, so it's a big burden in all respects.

But I know *some* schools do award some scholarship money or grants and I was want to know which schools are better at this than others?

How generous are your schools?

I'm asking on this forum because I'm looking for responses from people already in medical schools grappling with the problems of financing this education. I'm especially interested in those who have been independantly financing their medical education!

 

[Domitian]

I have a question. I understand that financial aid in the form of grants or scholarships are anemic in the medical school world. By and large, financial aid means "take everything out in loans". In a way, taking out loans doesn't equate to financial aid because you owe everything back and then some, so it's a big burden in all respects.

But I know *some* schools do award some scholarship money or grants and I was want to know which schools are better at this than others?

How generous are your schools?

I'm asking on this forum because I'm looking for responses from people already in medical schools grappling with the problems of financing this education. I'm especially interested in those who have been independantly financing their medical education!

There are some schools that give generous aid. I go to one... it's called a state school. I'm not kidding; I pay maybe 60% of what neighboring private students pay. Sure, privates sometimes have better scholarship money, but it's no secret that public students graduate with less debt. Also, consider what city you live in carefully... NYC will mean big bucks. These factors can sometimes mean just as much as actual aid from the school.

Other than that, you should call up the schools you've been accepted at. Tell them you're considering them, but you need to know what kind of financial aid they'll offer. I've heard of students getting some discounts this way. (Of course, this assumes you're a competitive student.)

Hope this helps.

 

[SarahGM]

How generous are your schools?

I'm asking on this forum because I'm looking for responses from people already in medical schools grappling with the problems of financing this education. I'm especially interested in those who have been independantly financing their medical education!

I'm at Columbia. Our financial aid is hugely generous. I think it's because we're an old institution with loyal alumni, and thus have a large endowment. I ultimately chose here over UNC, my state school, because it was CHEAPER.

Still... I got packages from other places (Downstate and Wake, for instance).... and I got NO aid. Depends on the school, really.

 

[Vgirl]

I get a scholarship from my school based on my financial need. It doesn't quite cover everything, but it covers more than half of my tuition at Downstate. I hope this helps.

 

[Seashelley]

Thanks for sharing, guys.

Anyone else have generous schools? Anyone else have gone through med school without any contribution from family? How did you minimize debt? What scholarships are out there?

 

[erin682]

I'm doin the state school thing too. All lot of people look down on state schools but a number of them a right up there in the rankings with private school. I pay $11000 a year plus I'm in a city that has a pretty low cost of living. Aside from tuition minizing your debt just comes from being frugal and intelligent with the things you buy. Set up a budget and know excatly how much money you have so you know when you can buy things and when you need to pass. Also start saving money (if you can) while you are still in college. I had time to have a part time job in undergrad plus I had some help from parents (aaah the good old days) and was able to save a good bit. Now I have that money budgeted out over 4 years per month and use it to get stuff that I want, clothes, trips etc.

Don't worry to much about having debt. Don't go overboard but know that you will be able to pay it back. They want you to pay it back so they are gonna help you to do that. All the med schools I interviewed at also had a really good financial aid department that would sit down with you and help you understand exactly how your debt is going to play out down the road. Lots of luck!

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

This gets explored a lot in the financial aid forum. I'll move this over there.

 

[mpp]

Mayo Medical School offers everyone at minimum a half tuition scholarship (bring out of state tuition to about $11,000 per year and residents of Minnesota, Florida, and Arizona pay less than $6,000 per year). Most students get additional scholarships ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per year. Several students in each class get full tuition scholarships based on need and/or merit.