<p>I check these boards occassionally and have run into a question that I cannot seem to find the answer to. I am a pre-med senior and I anticipate beginning med school after taking a gap year in 2009-2010. My application profile almost finished and is very good as of now. My questions concern medical school costs and financial aid. I am aware that it is much more likely and in fact, almost expected that med students incur large loans. However, I was wondering what the general guidelines are for need-based aid and non-need based aid. I come from a rather low-income family and I am hoping that will go a long way in financing med school. Additionally, I feel like i might qualify for non-need based scholarships and was looking for input as to any rough guidelines and requirements for this type of aid.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>The simple answer is that there are no guidelines. Some (most) med schools have very little grant money. They can’t give you scholarships. Regardless of how low your EFC ends up being, expect $160,000 or more in loans. Many med schools will expect you to max out your Federal Stafford subsidized, unsubsidized, and Perkins loans before you see a penny of grant money. A few of the ultra-small med schools (Cleveland Clinic, Mayo, UCF) will give a ton of grants but most med schools (including most of the big names like Harvard and Hopkins) will give little to no grant money. There are merit scholarships at some schools but they are hard to attain. Schools like Michigan and Pittsburgh are known to give merit scholarships to attract students who would otherwise go to Penn or Harvard. The only school that has an actual system I know of is WashU Med. They basically give you half loans and half grants which is pretty good.</p>