- Joined
- Nov 8, 2008
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 0
Last edited:
Financing medical school
- Thread starter MoonLDCG47
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2010
- Messages
- 239
- Reaction score
- 1
Scholarships and grants are extremely difficult to get for med school...and even if you do manage to receive some assistance, you'll still probably be paying for most of it through loans (from the DOE, backed by FedLoan)
https://www.aamc.org/students/46544/financing/
https://www.aamc.org/students/46544/financing/
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2008
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 0
Thank you for link! I appreciate the info!
Congrats on the acceptance Moon!
Here is a link from UIC that details some scholarships/grants/awards.
I would definitely look into the Illinois General Assembly grant. Basically, every state senator/representative/governor etc., has a few scholarships that they can award. These scholarships are FULL-TUITION at Illinois public schools, including UIC COM. Here is the link to the scholarship website
If you are not adverse to joining the military to financially assist you, I would consider looking into joining the Illinois National Guard (the army one has more benefits I believe). If you have serve one year in the Guard, the Illinois National Guard Grant will pay full tuition at a Illinois public school (UIC COM for example) for the rest of the time you are in school. Only Commitment is 6 years of drill (at least 4 weekends giving physicals per year) and two years of reserve status. You cannot be deployed while you are in medical school or in residency/fellowship. There are other benefits as well, but the Illinois guard grant is the biggest. Only a few other states (West Virginia? Pennsylvania?) have this grant. The Army/Navy/Air Force Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) is not as good of a deal in Illinois because you need to serve full time for the military, while in the guard, it is completely part-time and you can be done with your commitment by the time residency is up.
However, most people simply stomach the loans, as they will have a significant income when they are finished training. I think the issue is if you can stomach the feeling of significant debt hanging over your head for several years. Look into smaller scholarships too, a few thousand here and there can really add up.
Here is a link from UIC that details some scholarships/grants/awards.
I would definitely look into the Illinois General Assembly grant. Basically, every state senator/representative/governor etc., has a few scholarships that they can award. These scholarships are FULL-TUITION at Illinois public schools, including UIC COM. Here is the link to the scholarship website
If you are not adverse to joining the military to financially assist you, I would consider looking into joining the Illinois National Guard (the army one has more benefits I believe). If you have serve one year in the Guard, the Illinois National Guard Grant will pay full tuition at a Illinois public school (UIC COM for example) for the rest of the time you are in school. Only Commitment is 6 years of drill (at least 4 weekends giving physicals per year) and two years of reserve status. You cannot be deployed while you are in medical school or in residency/fellowship. There are other benefits as well, but the Illinois guard grant is the biggest. Only a few other states (West Virginia? Pennsylvania?) have this grant. The Army/Navy/Air Force Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) is not as good of a deal in Illinois because you need to serve full time for the military, while in the guard, it is completely part-time and you can be done with your commitment by the time residency is up.
However, most people simply stomach the loans, as they will have a significant income when they are finished training. I think the issue is if you can stomach the feeling of significant debt hanging over your head for several years. Look into smaller scholarships too, a few thousand here and there can really add up.
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2009
- Messages
- 355
- Reaction score
- 595
I'm an M1 at UIC-COM right now. Sadly, there's not many financial aid options aside from loans. The General Assembly scholarship is a great one in theory, but IL is so broke right now that my state rep decided to suspend the scholarship until the state's financial picture gets better - I'd check with your state rep's office to see what s/he decided.
Being Latina should help, I remember coming across several scholarships for underrepresented minorities. I came across them when searching for scholarships on Google and various scholarship sites, so they're not hard to find.
Aside from that, though, you're looking at loans. The Federal Stafford Loan has a limit of $8500/year, I think the Fed Unsubsidized loan is something like $35,000/year, and after that is the GradPLUS loan.
The finances suck, but don't let it obscure the fact that you're one of the select few that made it into med school. You'll be able to pay it back over time.
Being Latina should help, I remember coming across several scholarships for underrepresented minorities. I came across them when searching for scholarships on Google and various scholarship sites, so they're not hard to find.
Aside from that, though, you're looking at loans. The Federal Stafford Loan has a limit of $8500/year, I think the Fed Unsubsidized loan is something like $35,000/year, and after that is the GradPLUS loan.
The finances suck, but don't let it obscure the fact that you're one of the select few that made it into med school. You'll be able to pay it back over time.
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2010
- Messages
- 1,305
- Reaction score
- 2,201
Definitely spend some time looking for any niche scholarships you may qualify for (based on geography, cultural/ethnic background, etc).
That being said, consider spending your time finding ways to save $$$ on your cost of living while in school since that's something you have far more control over. Learn how to cook for yourself, find the cheapest (reasonable) ways to travel around, etc. If you budget wisely you can save HUGE cash over 4 years. For example, I started researching apartments near my school 4 months before classes started in order to get a handle on the market and gain an idea of what how I could the most bang for my buck. The result: I pay about $300 less/mo for my apt than my friends with similar setups (and my place is hardly extravagent). I admit that I got lucky with my place, but that's because I was on the prowl long enough to snatch up a fantastic deal as soon as it popped up on craigslist. I'll save just over 14k on this alone. You get the picture.
Alternatively, you could try playing powerball.
That being said, consider spending your time finding ways to save $$$ on your cost of living while in school since that's something you have far more control over. Learn how to cook for yourself, find the cheapest (reasonable) ways to travel around, etc. If you budget wisely you can save HUGE cash over 4 years. For example, I started researching apartments near my school 4 months before classes started in order to get a handle on the market and gain an idea of what how I could the most bang for my buck. The result: I pay about $300 less/mo for my apt than my friends with similar setups (and my place is hardly extravagent). I admit that I got lucky with my place, but that's because I was on the prowl long enough to snatch up a fantastic deal as soon as it popped up on craigslist. I'll save just over 14k on this alone. You get the picture.
Alternatively, you could try playing powerball.
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2008
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 0
Thank you everyone who has been responding and giving advice. It is truly appreciated and I will take everything into consideration. Best of luck in all of your endeavors!
- Joined
- May 18, 2004
- Messages
- 704
- Reaction score
- 6
I keep a blog about my money management/budgeting/deal finding: http://budgetandbargain.blogspot.com/
As an immigrant you might want to apply for the Soros fellowship: http://www.pdsoros.org/
It would save you a huge chunk of change.
As an immigrant you might want to apply for the Soros fellowship: http://www.pdsoros.org/
It would save you a huge chunk of change.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2008
- Messages
- 516
- Reaction score
- 9
The COA for non residents for your school is 124k one year. Holy...****.
