Med Merit Scholarships

[Piglet2020]

Do merit scholarship decisions come out around the same time as financial aid packages (~Spring)? Can it be combined with need-based grants/FAFSA?

How likely do med schools give merit scholarships anyways? Is it just for top percentile students? I don't think I would get a full scholarship for my in-state school (ORM with school's matriculant median stats), but even a partial scholarship would be nice.

Also, what's with all the posts about bargaining with med schools about scholarships? Is that a common thing for post-med school acceptance? I think it's odd to email a school and say "oh school x offered me $x... will you match it?"

Thanks.

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[efle]

Do merit scholarship decisions come out around the same time as financial aid packages (~Spring)?

Yes

Can it be combined with need-based grants/FAFSA?

Yes

How likely do med schools give merit scholarships anyways?

Some schools don't give any. Most that give them, give only a handful.

Is it just for top percentile students?

It's often used for recruiting people that will otherwise matriculate elsewhere, but that might not necessarily mean the highest scores/grades. As an ORM with median stats, it's unlikely you're a recruitment target unless something else in your ECs is extraordinary.

Also, what's with all the posts about bargaining with med schools about scholarships? Is that a common thing for post-med school acceptance?

It's much more common on SDN than among premeds overall.

 

[Piglet2020]

Very helpful, thanks efle!