No matter which medical school you choose to go to, it is a costly investment for your future. However, scholarships are a great way to cut down on the expenses needed to pay off once you graduate.
The average medical school graduate owes roughly $240,000, and the debt average seems to rise every year as the cost of medical school increases. Though there is a possibility of getting out of medical school with zero debt, it is usually loans that make up for such a large investment.
Scholarships are great because you won’t have to worry about paying it back in the future. There are thousands of scholarships available, but we at Savvy Pre-Med have compiled a list of scholarships we found promising for prospective and current medical school students:
Scholarships for Pursuing Healthcare
- Amount varies
- They range from offering assistance for travel abroad to awards for poster presentations
- Tuition and fees coverage for up to four years
- Students must be training in preparation to enter primary care health professions and be willing to work in underserved areas after graduation
- Students must be U.S. citizens or nationals and eligible for federal employment
- $10,000 to 10 students and $5,000 to 25 students.
- Students with at least one year of school remaining, who are U.S. residents and who are or will be enrolled in a graduate program in medical school, nursing, and/or pharmacy
- Up to $11,000
- Women of any nationality who have graduated from any American college or university are eligible to apply
- Applicants must be interested in general medical practice, not psychiatry
- Up to $70,000, split equally among ten students
- Students cannot come from an online school background and must be enrolled full-time in a medical school or other professional program (law, dentistry, pharmacy, and others)
- Schools must be located in the U.S., but students of any citizenship are eligible
- $10,000
- Your school dean must nominate you for one of these awards; if you’re interested in being nominated, take it up with your school’s financial aid office
- Each award has its own eligibility requirements
- $1,500
- To be eligible you must be studying: Medicine, Therapy, Emergency Medical Services, Laboratory Science, Medical Technology, Nursing, Health Care, Pathology, Radiology, Diagnostic Imaging, Pharmacy, Psychiatry, Psychology, Social Sciences, or other health-related disciplines
Scholarships for Minority Groups
- Amount varies
- Must be an undergraduate or graduate student attending a U.S. four-year college or university pursuing a degree in healthcare (medical, nursing, allied health, etc.)
- Must be Black/African American, Native American/American Indian, Hispanic/Latin American, or Asian/Pacific Islander
- U.S. citizenship is required
- Applicant must have a cumulative equivalent GPA of 2.5 or higher
- Amount varies
- Students must be an underrepresented minority in medicine (see the NMF website for full list)
- Students also must be U.S. citizens or have DACA documentation, and must be enrolled in a graduate-level U.S. healthcare program
- $5,000
- For first-, second-, and third-year medical or dental students
- Applicants must be current or pending CAMS Student members
- Requires email application, including a letter from your school’s dean verifying your good academic standing
- Amount varies
- Applicants are not required to be Hispanic, but an “affinity for the health of Hispanic communities and an interest in participating in NHHF Scholars Alumni activities is required”
- In addition, applicants must be premier members of the National Hispanic Medical Association and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher
- U.S. permanent residents, citizens, and DACA recipients are eligible
- $10,000 and $2,000
- International students who are legally permitted to study in the U.S. or Canada are eligible (includes DACA recipients and Green Card holders)
- Not specific to medicine; applicants will be in a pool with students in many different fields
- $90,000 over two years
- Students must be under 30 years old and be the child of parents born outside of the U.S as non-U.S. citizens
- Not specific to medicine; applicants will be in a pool with students in many different graduate fields
- Amount varies
- Students must be “‘out’ as a person who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community” and enrolled as a full-time student in the U.S.
- Citizens of any country are eligible
- $7,000
- As the program’s name implies, you must identify as one of the following groups to be eligible: African American, Latino or Latina, Native American, Asian American (Vietnamese and Cambodian only)
Other Types of Scholarships
- Up to $9,000
- The scholarship website notes that the Foundation grants fewer applications to students in professional school than they do to other graduate students
- Applicants must be younger than 40, have “a minimum 3.3 GPA on a 4.0 scale,” and be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S.
- $1,000 scholarship every month to medical students
- Students must submit a 700-1,500 word essay that answers pertinent questions related to cancer
Though there are plenty more scholarships, we hope that this is a great start to your search to cover a portion of the cost of medical school. The last thing you need to be worried about in one of the most rigorous educations possible is finance.
It is smart to talk to your school, as well as current and former medical students, about how they paid for medical school, and to implement a plan on how to afford your education.
Be sure to check out any future resources from Savvy Pre-Med, as we are always updating our site with new information on getting you into medical school.
About the Author:
Atalia Cohen is a non-traditional pre-med student who graduated with her Bachelor's of Science from Humboldt State University in General Biology and Zoology. She has spent countless hours in the veterinary field, but has changed her career route to become a Pain Specialist after her own personal experience of the field. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her three dogs and is in the process of applying to medical school.
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