Outside financial support?

[EngineerPreMD]

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Does anyone know approximately how many med students get outside help? This includes help from parents/family, financial aid, merit scholarships, and really any source of financial help that keeps down the total amount borrowed in loans. I'm trying to gauge how much I should really be worried if I have to attend a high ticket price med school (45K+/year). A lot of people seem to say to not worry about it, and that I'll make back the money eventually, however, I get the impression that these are people who didn't have to front the entire cost.

A little background. I am not getting any help from my parents. I am from a state without a significantly cheaper state school option. After going to college my father made some good investments that put his income into a range where I'm definitely not getting financial aid (top schools do give some significant aid). I have an engineering degree and could probably save about 60K in my two years off if I live off less than 15K per year and invest well.

I don't care about making a ton of money. If I wanted to do that I would be going into business or patent law, not medicine. However, I don't want my career options to be limited by debt. For instance, not feeling comfortable taking a fellowship or going into primary care because my debt is too high. Is this a real concern for doctors, or are the sacrifices generally tolerable even with 300K+ in debt?

 

[Patros]

So I don't have the answer to your question (stats and distribution of financial aid), but I have some links on resources that will help you foot the bill. Each one of these loan repayment programs require time commitments to serve whatever purpose they stand for.


Army loan repayment: Join the army as a medical officer, and they will pay off your loans.
Health Professions Scholarship Program: Apply upon entering medical school. The army (linked), navy, or air force will pay your way through medical school.
Note that these military options have a very long list of pros vs cons, and you really have to consider whether the military life style is appropriate for you.

NIH loan repayment: If you are interested in scientific research, then the NIH will repay your loans as long as you work in a scientific capacity.
National Health Service Corps scholarship: If you are interested in primary care, this scholarship will completely reimburse your tuition and give you a stipend in return for ~4 years of primary care work in a location they designate.

There are also various other opportunities depending on if you are an underrepresented minority, or if you come from a disadvantaged background. Make sure to do research on all your options.