Med school and merit based scholarships?

[bluemamba7]

Unfortunately I would not be applicable to any financial-need based scholarships based on my parents income, so I am wondering:
1) How frequently do medical schools give out merit based scholarships?
2) How much of a rock-star does one have to be for these awards (the schools that I have received an II for I place above 75% for GPA/MCAT and fit their mission very well)?
3) Are merit based scholarships rare, or relatively common (above 15% for example)?
4) I know it differs between each school, but if a student does get a merit based award, is it usually a small chunk, or full ride?

I ask because my state school is significantly cheaper than other schools (40K vs 60K per year), but as a whole I like a few other schools that I have received interviews for a lot more than my state school. In any medical school I can see myself thriving (I don't see myself getting depressed or burnt out due to being in an environment that I don't like), so to me, spending an extra 80K total going to a school that I "like" better than my state school is not worth it, which is why I'm hoping for merit-based scholarships.

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[StarSpangled]

Your parent’s income will not be taken into account for professional (i.e. medical) school. You are considered independent of them.

 

[LizzyM]

Your parent’s income will not be taken into account for professional (i.e. medical) school. You are considered independent of them.

True in terms of being able to borrow money for medical school. Not true for private schools offering need-based scholarships. They aren't begging for money from alumni and others to provide scholarships to people whose parents are billionaires.

There are a few private schools in less desirable locations that will offer merit scholarships to applicants but generally when MCAT >522.

 

[kingdomheart]

You have to be a SAVAGE

 

[RBaderG]

Some state schools where you are OOS will give scholarships if they really want you. I've seen in state tuition or slightly more given to OOS applicants.

 

[Gilakend]

Some schools are known for giving out more than others (I think there is a thread on it somewhere here) and then you have to fit their mission really well or impress them. The only scholarship I got was from the highest ranked school I got into where my stats were below average.

Edit: another point, from what I've heard higher-ranked schools tend to give out more scholarships than lower schools. I personally know a classmate who got a full-ride (T20 med school) and got nothing from many low-tier and state schools.

 

[perfect weather]

Some schools are known for giving out more than others (I think there is a thread on it somewhere here) and then you have to fit their mission really well or impress them.

Would you happen to know where I can find the thread that you're referring to?

 

[clinicallabguy]

Of course, I'm sure everyone is aware of the few schools that have generous scholarships or are waiving tuition entirely. Kaiser did for their first class. Those of you applying right now know better than me whether they are going to continue that for matriculants next year. I believe Mayo MN gives their entire class a generous scholarship, but the class when I was applying was 40 students, and is probably similar now. NYU has a generous scholarship.

Partial scholarships seem more common than full tuition scholarships. The full tuition scholarships in most schools seem to be reserved for research track medical students such as MD/PhD, or occasionally physician scientist programs with 1 year of research. There were some fortunate students at my medical school that received a quarter tuition scholarship. I don't know how common that is, or how to go about finding that out. The recipients of the scholarship were notified after the final decision of where to attend was made and shortly before classes began.