Medical school is incredibly expensive, even in comparison to the quickly expanding cost of undergraduate education. Doctors regularly graduate deeply in debt, and while the medical field is well compensated, this is a major stressor and burden for large parts of their careers.
This is compounded by the fact that there are far fewer scholarships available for students in medical school. There are some however, and in this article, we’re going to look at medical schools which buck this trend, and which offer significant or notable scholarships to students. We’ll also cover any strings attached to these scholarships, or other concerns that accompany them. Let’s get started!
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Due to a large gift, all tuition and fees at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine are covered for all students. They do realize that some students have differing needs in terms of supplemental expenses, so the exact aid budget for each student will be slightly different.
You must complete the FAFSA and the CSS Profile to receive this tuition funding. Most students are still expected to cover their own living and other expenses, but there are some additional sources of funding available.
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Cleveland Clinic, in association with Case Western, offers a full tuition scholarship to all of its students for their full tenure of attendance at the school. This covers tuition and fees, plus an associated fee when completing your thesis. Other living expenses are left up to the student.
You must complete the FAFSA to receive this aid. In addition, you must complete the Case Western Reserve University financial aid application; this may be completed through the financial aid portal. International students receive this award as well, but must have proof of sufficient financial resources to cover cost of living and associated expenses while attending medical school in the US.
Columbia Vagelos College
After a $150 million dollar grant, Columbia was able to set up a need-based scholarship program for their medical college in 2017. Currently, they provide full need-based aid to all students who qualify. This aid covers tuition and fees for the program.
Need is the only factor considered in this program. Parental income below $125,000 will not be assessed for contributions, though parental assets may be. You must complete both the FAFSA and the CSS Profile to apply for this aid. These will determine your expected contribution; any gap between this and the cost of tuition will be covered by a full aid award.
Emory University School of Medicine
Emory does not have a single scholarship program, but instead an assortment of scholarship and grant funding that incoming students can qualify for. These provide a range of funding levels, up to covering the full cost of tuition, though students are generally still responsible for cost of living and associated expenses.
All students are eligible for the merit based scholarships, regardless of citizenship status. You must fill out the FAFSA and CSS Profile to be considered, but there is no application requirement besides this. There are 70 different scholarships available through Emory.
F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine
This medical college is run by the US government in order to commission medical personnel for military service. There is no tuition cost for this school; in addition, all accepted students are commissioned as officers in a branch of the armed services, and are paid during their tenure at the school.
In return for this, students must serve for at least seven years in their commissioned branch of the armed forces upon graduation from the school. While this is a very good deal financially, we recommend only pursuing this if you are comfortable serving in the military, as there is no way around this requirement.
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Johns Hopkins recently received a massive, 1 billion dollar donation from Bloomberg Philanthropies, which will enable them to offer full scholarships to a vast majority of students entering their medical college.
Beginning in 2024, the school will offer full financial aid packages (including tuition, cost of living, and fees) to almost all incoming students. They have the following eligibility requirements:
- Students with families earning under $175,000 will receive full financial aid, families earning under $300,000 will receive tuition expenses.
- You must submit the CSS Profile to apply for this aid, they consider both income and assets when making this decision.
This aid is for US Citizens, permanent residents, and DACA recipients. International students may avail themselves of other sources of aid. Students currently attending Johns Hopkins may see their aid award increased because of this new funding.
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
NYU Grossman offers a full tuition scholarship to all students with financial need, and has since 2021. This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition and fees, and recently offers to pay for health insurance for students as well, though students must still pay for supplies and other living expenses associated with their time at medical school.
This scholarship is available to all students; US citizens, permanent residents, DACA recipients, and international students. You should fill out the FAFSA and CSS profile in all cases in order to qualify for your full potential aid award. 100% of students receive some form of aid under this plan.
UCLA Geffen School of Medicine
UCLA has a large assortment of different scholarships available to students; around 89% of all medical students at UCLA receive some form of institutional aid from the school. These range in amount, but many of these are full tuition scholarships.
You are considered for some of these scholarships automatically when applying, but for others you must complete the separate financial aid application. The criteria varies by award, some are purely need based, some merit based, and some use a combination of the two factors. You must be a citizen, eligible non-citizen, or DACA recipient to qualify for these awards. You will need to complete the FAFSA to apply for any of these awards.
Weill Cornell Medicine
Weill Cornell has a significant number of different funding sources, and is able to offer need based financial aid to all students who need it. Their admissions are need-blind, and they are committed to helping students graduate debt free when they have significant financial need.
This is available to citizens, permanent residents, and eligible non-residents (including DACA recipients). There is no merit based aid available through this program. Approximately half of all students at Cornell’s Medical College receive aid through their program.
Final Thoughts
In comparison to undergraduate colleges, medical colleges are far more parsimonious with their financial aid. While many schools have a few small scholarships available, the ones with universal or full financial aid are far rarer. This selection of schools are the exceptions, and are all the more impressive for it.
The reasons for this are varied, but the impact on you the student is the same. You will probably have to take out significant loans to pay for medical school, though we hope that this article has shown you there are options out there beyond that. While we hope that more schools follow this model we do not know if that will happen.
These schools are all quite competitive for admissions, even in the broader context of how competitive medical schools are already. If you want help applying to medical schools, or finding the ones which will best serve your needs, schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can help you. We have a long experience assisting aspiring doctors, and are always happy to hear from you.
