I'm neither poor nor underrepresented, what are my options?

[ishr]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I am neither poor not represented, but I still want to seek out scholarships that might be awarded based on merit. I am not referring to school-specific scholarships, but scholarships that are awarded on perhaps a national level. Does anyone have any tips or advice with respect to this? My situation is that my family contribution is estimated to be much higher than my family is really willing to contribute. As such I will be incurring a great deal of debt and want to lighten the load however possible. That's what I mean by "not poor". Thanks!

 

[TMP-SMX]

Is this for undergrad or for medical school? Merit scholarships are usually based on states in terms of standardized testing/recruitment tools. As for medical school, it is mainly for recruitment.

National level scholarships tend to require essays and are usually small amounts. The larger amounts are for extremely competitive programs that are going to take a significant amount of time to collect letters of recommendation and essays for.

Keep in mind that your EFC has nothing to do with how much you have to pay. It is just used to determine eligibility for subsidized loans and other aid.

 

[dragonfly99]

Most people pay for med school with pretty much 100% loans...unless you are lucky and a school gave you a scholarship b/c they really wanted you...

Sometimes state medical societies give scholarships, particularly if you hail from a certain state + are going to med school there. You can also apply for some scholarships, like from AMWA (if you are female) or other organizations once you are a student.

 

[link138]

Most people pay for med school with pretty much 100% loans...unless you are lucky and a school gave you a scholarship b/c they really wanted you...

Sometimes state medical societies give scholarships, particularly if you hail from a certain state + are going to med school there. You can also apply for some scholarships, like from AMWA (if you are female) or other organizations once you are a student.

Loans and medical school are a guarantee for 90% of students, it is a rite of passage.

 

[ishr]

well i'm not female either lol...

 

[dragonfly99]

that's OK...most people never get any scholarships from anybody, AMWA, AMA, etc. During 2nd year, my state medical society gave a scholarship to a student in my class - there were only 4 of us so I figured I had a decent shot. Nope. They gave it to a guy who was also from my state who didn't do any extracurricular/service activities, and didn't participate in the state medical society meetings at all, and they never gave me jack even though I did a lot of volunteer stuff, served as delegate to the state medical society meetings, etc. I wasn't rich either The scholarship was supposed to be for someone who had showed commitment to the state and its people, devotion to the medical society, etc. Go figure. Med school isn't like undergrad, and unless you are lucky enough to go to one of the schools that has actual financial aid, other than loans, you just have to suck it up and take out the loans.

 

[ishr]

that's OK...most people never get any scholarships from anybody, AMWA, AMA, etc. During 2nd year, my state medical society gave a scholarship to a student in my class - there were only 4 of us so I figured I had a decent shot. Nope. They gave it to a guy who was also from my state who didn't do any extracurricular/service activities, and didn't participate in the state medical society meetings at all, and they never gave me jack even though I did a lot of volunteer stuff, served as delegate to the state medical society meetings, etc. I wasn't rich either The scholarship was supposed to be for someone who had showed commitment to the state and its people, devotion to the medical society, etc. Go figure. Med school isn't like undergrad, and unless you are lucky enough to go to one of the schools that has actual financial aid, other than loans, you just have to suck it up and take out the loans.

dang that sounds rough. well my guess is that the guy they gave the scholarship too probably lied on his application or something to exaggerate his involvement and commitment to state activities =/. well thanks for the advice though!