How easy is it to get scholarships to med school?

[kfsa1]

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Hey guys,

As the title says, I was wondering how easy it is to get scholarships to medical school. I have seen so many people on this forum who talk about getting large amount of financial aid (30k to sometimes even full rides) which I assume is grant money? Or am I mistaken in thinking that these people include loans in their "full ride". I always thought that it was pretty much a given that you get loans to pay off medical school.

If what these people talk about is all grant money, what kind of achievements are needed to get it? I was curious because someone mentioned they have a full ride with a 34 MCAT which is above average but not exactly a head-turner (he/she may have had some other significant qualities that were not mentioned and I do understand this).

 

[NickNaylor]

Most scholarships cover a max of tuition. There are of course exceptions but very seldom will you hear of someone getting a scholarship that covers everything.

As far as what's necessary, it depends. Scholarships are generally given to those that are "desireable." That could mean many different things depending upon the school. It's definitely not limited to just numbers, and you don't necessarily have to have top numbers to receive one.

(sent from my phone - please forgive typos)

 

[drizzt3117]

I would say in general it's tough. < 10% of med students are on scholarship and it's hard enough to be admitted in the first place.

 

[Desp]

You'll see merit scholarships awarded to people with stellar numbers, people from poor backgrounds, or URM.

From my understanding, it is largely dependent on the school as to how many students receive this sort of financial aid. Some schools are known for providing a larger portion of their students with FA. Two schools that come to mind are Mayo and Vandy.

I might have made that all up though.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Hey guys,

As the title says, I was wondering how easy it is to get scholarships to medical school. I have seen so many people on this forum who talk about getting large amount of financial aid (30k to sometimes even full rides) which I assume is grant money? Or am I mistaken in thinking that these people include loans in their "full ride". I always thought that it was pretty much a given that you get loans to pay off medical school.

If what these people talk about is all grant money, what kind of achievements are needed to get it? I was curious because someone mentioned they have a full ride with a 34 MCAT which is above average but not exactly a head-turner (he/she may have had some other significant qualities that were not mentioned and I do understand this).

Really easy actually... You can even get a scholarship that pays you while in school

HSPS.... Only problem is the cost is military service for a long time.

Other opportunity include FAP... which you join the military during residencies and while you are finishing they send you a check for an extra 40K you can use to pay back loans. You still owe them time afterwords and last time I checked if you wanted to do a fellowship you will have to wait until after you serve.

Non- military scholarship
Full rides are very very rare mostly happen when a new school starts but you need to be awesome. 3.8 tons of research and EC 38 MCAT that kind of stuff.

Full Tuition still very rare but many school give them out to top applicants.... Damn FIU was giveing them out like candy last cycle.... Ask ironmandoc about it. He got one, just ignore the sarcasm.

Happy money scholarships are very common... Uselly a few grand here and there. Keep an eye on fast web and you can pick up some extra money.

Most people pay for school via loans. and slowly repay over time. The smart ones repay their loans as quickly as possible.

 

[protonate]

Depends on the school. Some school give need-based aid (depending solely on you and your family's economic situation) and others give merit (based on how you are appreciated as an applicant) and some give a combination of the two. Need based schools include Harvard, Yale, Hopkins. For these schools (and this is purely speculation), everyone who gets admitted already has merit so they wont differentiate between accepted students based on accomplishments. Schools like Penn give merit aid to students that they want to attract from schools like Harvard and Hopkins. From what I've read, this is working as it appears that more students chose Penn over Hopkins and its more or less 50-50 with Harvard.

 

[Pattycake25]

As one example, VTC was very generous this year - 50% tuition scholarship for (I think) everyone. N=1, I know, but for some people, that may still be a highly valuable data point for next cycle. =P

 

[lobo.solo]

Most scholarships cover a max of tuition. There are of course exceptions but very seldom will you hear of someone getting a scholarship that covers everything.

As far as what's necessary, it depends. Scholarships are generally given to those that are "desireable." That could mean many different things depending upon the school. It's definitely not limited to just numbers, and you don't necessarily have to have top numbers to receive one.

(sent from my phone - please forgive typos)

Cool, it would be awesome to get some sort of scholarship!