Medical school is stressful enough without the added worry of how you’re going to pay for it. Luckily, there are tons of resources out there designed to help you manage the cost of medical school without going broke – including FAFSA for medical school!
In this guide, I’ll take you through everything you need to know about the FAFSA, including the main requirements, the benefits, and how you can apply.
This post is all about FAFSA for Medical Student.
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Learn about FAFSA for Medical School
What Is FAFSA?
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is a resource for students seeking financial assistance in their pursuit of secondary education. It is a gateway to federal grants, loans, and work-study programs that can help you offset the costs of attending school, including tuition, fees, room and board, and other expenses.
Main FAFSA Requirements
In order to be eligible for federal student aid, you have to meet certain requirements. The basic FAFSA requirements include:
- Being a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
- Having a valid Social Security number
- Being enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an eligible degree or certificate program
- Maintaining satisfactory academic progress throughout school
- Showing you’re qualified to obtain a secondary education
- Demonstrating financial need
It’s important to note that the amount of assistance you receive through FAFSA also depends on the medical school you choose to attend. When you complete your application, you will include a list of schools to which you want your FAFSA information sent. Each school will then use that information to determine the type of aid you qualify to receive.
Does FAFSA Pay for Medical School?
You may think that FAFSA only applies to your undergraduate education, but that’s not true! You can use federal aid to help you front the cost of medical school as well.
Medical students are eligible to receive Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Direct PLUS Loans through FAFSA. In fact, nearly all medical students will qualify for federal student loans to some extent, with 69% of medical students relying on loans to help them pay for schooling.
How to Apply for FAFSA
Applying for FAFSA is easier than you think! You can do the whole thing online. Chances are, you already have a Studentaid.gov account from your undergraduate days, so you can hop right into filling out the form.
You will need the following documents and information to apply for FAFSA:
- Tax returns
- Child support records
- Current balances, including cash, savings, and checking accounts
- Net worth of investments, businesses, etc.
To make the process even easier, you can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to quickly transfer information from your corresponding tax return directly into your FAFSA form. The tool also helps you avoid making any accidental mistakes while transferring your information.
The nice thing about being a medical student applying for FAFSA is that you don’t need to include all the information from your family members that you put on your undergraduate application. You are now considered an independent student, so parental information is no longer required.
However, keep in mind that some medical schools may request that you submit parental information anyway when seeking financial aid. In the event that one of your schools has this requirement, make sure to ask how they would like the information to be submitted.
Remember to list the federal school codes for each of the medical schools you are applying to on your application as well.
When Should You Fill Out FAFSA?
The timeline for FAFSA can get a little confusing. If you’re wondering when to fill out FAFSA for medical school, the answer is: as soon as you can! It’s best to submit your FAFSA and any other aid applications as early as possible just in case you run into any hiccups with your application. You don’t want to miss out on aid opportunities because you waited until the last minute.
You can find the federal deadline for the FAFSA as well as financial aid deadlines for the individual medical schools you’re applying to listed online. Keep in mind that tou must apply for FAFSA every year that you attend medical school.
Other Ways to Finance Medical School
FAFSA is not the only way to fund your medical school education! It also may not be the best first choice for many students.
While FAFSA is a great resource for funding the cost of attendance, federal aid will not cover any fees for the medical school application process. This includes MCAT costs, primary and secondary application fees, interview and visitation expenses, and CASPER test fees. Luckily, there are resources that can help you cover these and other costs that come with attending medical school.
AAMC Fee Assistance Program
The AAMC Fee Assistance Program allows those who meet certain eligibility requirements to receive financial assistance and other benefits during the medical school application process. Some of the benefits include:
- Package of official MCAT prep materials
- Reduced MCAT registration fee
- 2 year subscription to the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) online database
- Waiver of all AMCAS fees for up to 20 medical school submissions
- Waiver for AAMC PREview professional readiness exam registration fees for first exam and 50% discount for subsequent exams
- 60% fee discount on up to 50 ERAS applications
You can apply to the AAMC Fee Assistance Program once per calendar year and receive the benefits up to 5 times throughout your lifetime.
Another cost-saving tip for your application is casting a wide but well-researched net. I once applied to a school in Alabama which had a GPA 3.6 cut-off for out-of-state students (which did NOT include my own low GPA) – which gave me 0% of acceptance. Back then I had no clue on residency bias and ended up wasting hundreds of dollars on such mistakes.
To learn more about this and how you can avoid those common pitfalls and don’t waste a single penny of the wrong schools – join my Free Premed Workshop.
Here I go into detail on how to identify residency bias, apply early, write unique and compelling essays and all the other key strategies that helped me earn 10 acceptance.
Private Scholarships
You can find additional scholarship opportunities offered by professional associations, nonprofit organizations, and private foundations. Unlike federal loans, you will not have to pay these funds back once you graduate, so it’s best to apply for as many scholarships as you possibly can. The more scholarships you win, the less money you will have to take out in loans!
There are private scholarships available for basically every student. They are based on a variety of criteria, including academic merit, financial need, demographic factors, and specific career interests. If you already have a clear idea of the path you want to pursue in the medical field, you should be able to find scholarships that have been specifically set up to assist you.
Find a comprehensive list in my blog post 50+ Places to Apply for Medical School Scholarships.
Though you usually won’t be asked to pay a fee to apply for a scholarship, you will have to invest your time in the form of writing an essay or gathering and submitting certain information. Since applying for scholarships can take up a significant amount of time, you should try to apply for the ones that you have a good chance of winning and avoid wasting too much valuable time on the long-shots.
Don’t limit yourself to only applying for scholarships at the start of medical school either. Some scholarships are made specifically for students who are farther along in their journey. The Herbert W. Nickens Medical Student Scholarship, for example, awards $5,000 scholarships to students entering their third year of medical school. It’s never too late to get some extra help!
You can also use AAMC’s searchable database to find federal and state scholarships available to you.
Work-Study
Check to see if your medical school offers work-study positions. Work-study jobs are usually flexible and don’t require you to work a ton of hours. These positions can be especially helpful in your first two years of school when you’re still getting used to the amount of coursework and studying you need to do. Work-study jobs let you earn extra income as you gradually learn how to balance your schedule with healthy amounts of work, study, and social activities.
You may receive an email about open work-study positions at the start of the year, but you can also find jobs posted around campus. Check bulletin boards and don’t be afraid to ask professors if they have or know of any open positions you could fill.
The Armed Forces
If you are currently in the armed forces or you have ever considered joining, you may be interested to hear that different branches of the armed forces offer scholarships to help you cover tuition and other expenses associated with medical school. They may not cover every expense, but they will usually supply at least a stipend while you complete your studies.
The Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) offers several military scholarships that can help cover civilian medical school tuition, pay for fees, and provide a monthly living stipend. The Army, Navy and Air Force each offer a version of the HPSP, and students can apply to any or all of the branches, depending on which ones they are interested in joining.
Flexible Side Hustles
If you don’t have time for a job with fixed hours while you’re in medical school, but you still want to earn a little extra money, you can create your own side hustle. Use your talents to your advantage!
Here are some side hustle ideas you can try:
- Do freelance work. Put your extra skills in writing, editing, graphic design, or teaching to work with remote freelance jobs.
- Become a tutor. If you have a knack for teaching, as a medical student you can easily teach science classes on the side and earn some extra money while brushing up on your social skills.
- Open an online store. Whether you choose to flip products and sell them or channel your creativity into making art or crafts, you can make a decent amount of money pretty quickly by selling items online through Etsy, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and more.
More tips on this in my blog post How Much Does It Cost to Take the MCAT? + Premed Side-Hustle Tips.
Make Your First Application Count
One of the biggest cost-saving tips, at least for your medical school application, is to learn all the strategies you need in order to get accepted right in the first application cycle.
What does that mean for you?
The first time I applied, I had no idea what I was doing and just tried to wing it. You can guess the result – I didn’t get accepted to any school. So the second time I applied, I decided to take full control of my path and left no stone unturned to maximize my chances.
- Working as an EMT, I gained additional clinical experience
- To continue the upward trend in my grades, I did two semesters of a post-bacc
- I made sure to apply early to boost my chances
- I greatly expanded my school list and made sure to research each and every school properly
- No more generic essays, I learn the step-by-step strategies to write compelling, meaningful essays that helped me to stand out
- I thoroughly prepared for my interviews so I got to step into the room with confidence and excitement (instead of anxiety)
- …and more!
If you don’t want to leave anything to chance and be successful right in the first round, you’ll learn all the tips, strategies and frameworks I used in my course Road to Acceptance. Here you’ll get step-by-step guidance through video lessons, worksheets, ready-made templates, successful essay examples and much more.
No more reddit clutter and clueless trials, with RTA you can wake up every morning knowing exactly what your next step looks like.
Final Thoughts on FAFSA for Medical School
Don’t let the cost of attending medical school stand between you and your dream!
I personally got a full ride by negotiating financial aid with my medical school and used my own side hustle to pay off all my credit card debt. By doing your research and making creative use of your time and skills, you can finance your way to the future you want.
Related Posts
How Much It Costs To Apply To Medical School in 2024
How to Negotiate Financial Aid for Medical School (read the email that got me a full ride)
