Scholarship Advice

[zizebrazi]

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I am going to be an entering medical student this year. I recently got two scholarships that would cover my med school tuition fully. However, one of the scholarships is a state health professional scholarship program (15k per year) which requires serving as a primary care physician in a rural or underserved area for a minimum of 3 years. The other scholarship has no type of service obligation or primary care commitment. I would appreciate any advice on the advantages and disadvantages of this type of program and being in primary care. Thanks.

 

[Dedikated2liftn]

Well you're pretty much the state's bitch now, and you'll most likely make less than the rest of us. However, you'll be getting rid of 60K worth of debt (not counting interest). Furthermore, I'm assuming you really do want to go into primary care and aren't doing it soley for the scholarship. If this isn't the case, I think you're ultimately better off entering school and finding your niche (during 3rd and 4th year), rather than committing to something you're unsure of. I know 60K sounds like a lot; however, if you focus on the larger picture, you're going to be screwing yourself if rural, primary care turns out to be something you don't really enjoy.

 

[zizebrazi]

Well, I did not sign the form yet to accept the scholarship offer for state scholarship (15k per year). I still have time to decide to accept the offer or not. I am still little hesistant of accepting the offer due to the service commitment restriction: being only primary care. However, I accepted the other scholarship since it had no service obligation or restriction to primary care (30k per year).

 

[MrBurns10]

I'm curious why you would consider a scholarship that pigeonholes you into a primary care residency and then a rural practice for 3 years when you also received a scholarship that nets you more money and doesn't have the restrictions. The answer seems really clear to me, which is why I say that.

Also, congratulations on your scholarships 🙂

 

[BillyWitchDoctr]

Congrats on your scholarships. In my opinion, very few entering med students are informed enough about their specialty choices to even make such a decision. I'd take the less restrictive scholarship.

 

[njbmd]

Moved to Financial Aid Forum where scholarship issues are discussed.

 

[diosa428]

Well, I did not sign the form yet to accept the scholarship offer for state scholarship (15k per year). I still have time to decide to accept the offer or not. I am still little hesistant of accepting the offer due to the service commitment restriction: being only primary care. However, I accepted the other scholarship since it had no service obligation or restriction to primary care (30k per year).

What are the repayment requirements on the state scholarship if you do not go into primary care? Some of them allow you to simply repay the scholarship as a loan at the same interest rate that you would any other student loan. Some require you to pay approx 3x what you borrowed. If it's case #1, I would go ahead and accept the scholarship. If it's case #2 and I wasn't 100% sold on primary care I would not accept it (and I will warn you, people in my class who WERE sold on primary care have changed their minds, so I'm still not sure I'd take it).

Also, how does the scholarship define primary care? Some programs define primary care as Family Med, Internal Med, Ob/Gyn, Psychiatry, Pediatrics, etc, which covers a wide range of specialties (albeit leaves quite a few out). Some have a smaller spectrum of specialties that qualify.

A third thing to think about is fellowship. I know that, for example, the National Health Service scholarship requires that you finish your residency and do your service commitment before you can apply for any type of fellowship. So even if you want to do something like Peds, your dream of doing Peds Heme/Onc may be put on hold until after you fulfill your obligations.