I have a question pertaining to financial aid packages offered by med schools.
1. Are there such thing as financial aids in the form of grants/scholarships and if so are they merit based or need based?
2. On what “income” do medical students live off of? Do students take out loans for living expenses?! Few of the medical students I know recently bought $300,000+ condos and BMWs!
3. If one’s credit score isn’t stellar due to unwise financial ventures in his younger days, does that greatly affect his chance of obtaining loans for tuition even WITH a co-signer?
Thanks in advance.
hi dandoe, do a search for “financial aid” and you’ll find that these questions and others have been addressed on several occasions. Hopefully you’ll get your answers by checking these past threads. Good luck!
Mary
Quote:
I have a question pertaining to financial aid packages offered by med schools.
1. Are there such thing as financial aids in the form of grants/scholarships and if so are they merit based or need based?
2. On what “income” do medical students live off of? Do students take out loans for living expenses?! Few of the medical students I know recently bought $300,000+ condos and BMWs!
3. If one’s credit score isn’t stellar due to unwise financial ventures in his younger days, does that greatly affect his chance of obtaining loans for tuition even WITH a co-signer?
Thanks in advance.
Hi there,
There are merit based scholarships available from some medical schools. When you submit your FAFSA and financial aid applications, your financial aid office will match you with scholarships that you are qualified for. I received a full-ride tuition at my medical school (Howard) based on my incoming GPA and MCAT scores which were the highest in my class. I ended up borrowing about $40,000 for living expenses which was well under what most people owe.
If you do not qualify for scholarships, you can borrow from Federal sources (if you are a US citizen or permanent resident). The total amount that you can borrow is pre-determined by your schools budget for 9 months for first and second years and 12 months for years three and four. You are budgeted enough to generally get you a moderately-priced apartment. It is very difficult to support a mortgage and family on student loans which only cover 9 months for years one and two. In addition, you have to pay expenses for books, tests (USMLE/COMLEX) and travel expenses for interviews for residency.
If you have poor credit, you are limited to loans from Federal sources unless you have defaulted on a previous student loan. If your credit is good, you can borrow from a private sourse (Bank of America/ Citibank) with a co-signer but beware that some of these private loans must be paid back during residency.
Many medical students do buy $300K condos and BMWs but generally not with Federal loan money. There are more than a few medical students who are wealthy enough to make expensive purchases and have parents or trust funds that pay for medical school but most students have Stafford loans both subsidized and unsubsidized.
The other thing to do is provide your parent’s income information on your FAFSA and financial aid application. This makes you potentially eligible for more scholarships.Again, your medical school financial aid office has info on these scholarships. At my school, the alumni association HUMA provided very generous scholarships that offset a good deal of the tuition cost. These were based on incoming grades and performance in medical school.
Also, be aware that by entering some in-demand specialties like Family Medicine and General Surgery, you may be able to join a practice that will pay a portion of your student loans if you sign a contract for a set number of years.
I hope that this is a start.
Natalie
