Medical school is expensive. And it’s getting more expensive every year. At my school, tuition alone costs $38,000 per year for in-state students and $67,000 for out-of-state students. A decade ago, it was half that price. Add in cost of living and you could end up with a $200,000 – $400,000 bill after four years. How on earth are you going to pay this massive bill?

Before getting into the details, I want to dispel a common myth among premeds: that it doesn’t matter how expensive medical school is because you’ll be able to pay it off with an MD degree. This may or may not be true. It all depends on the math of the income-to-debt ratio. What residency are you interested in? Are you going to be a pediatrician or an orthopedic surgeon? How much student loan debt do you have from undergrad? How debt averse are you? A bit of forethought now could save you from financial disaster later on.

Furthermore, doctors are some of the most likely professionals to get burned out. An easy way to get burned out is to not have control over your life. If you can’t decide where and under what circumstances you want to work because you need to make that monthly $6,000 payment to your student loan provider, your life is going to feel exhausting. How can this be avoided? I’m glad you asked.

1. Go to the cheapest medical school you can.

An MD degree is an MD degree. Unless you want to be an academic doctor (and even if you do), it’s far more important where you do your residency than where you go to medical school. So, if you get into USC (tuition:  $64,538) and your state school, please think twice before choosing USC. It makes little financial sense to pay $300,000 or $400,000 for a $200,000 degree. 

2. Remember to factor in cost of living when deciding between schools.

Living near USC is going to be more expensive than living near Ohio State because living in Los Angeles is far more expensive than living in Columbus. While LA is a beautiful city, when you factor the number of days of sunshine into your decision, remember that this choice could extend your working career by an extra 5 or 10 years.

3. Utilize the bank of mom and dad.

If you are fortunate to have parents who are wealthy enough to pay for some or all of your education, you should talk to them about helping finance your medical degree. Every $1000 you borrow for medical school will cost multiples of that when you finally pay off your student loans in 15 or 20 years. Not everyone has this option, but if you do you should consider it! If simply paying for medical school isn’t something your parents are willing to do, see if they will let you take a loan out from the family bank. You will thank them for the lack of interest later on.

4. Apply to schools with substantial Merit Scholarship potential.

The ideal scholarship to get is a full or partial merit-based scholarship. While it’s possible to get one, you’re going to need to have a unique backstory and you’re going to need to score at least in the 96th percentile on the MCAT. You’re also going to want to apply to a certain list of schools that tend to offer merit scholarships.

5. Consider service scholarships:

Military

There are several military programs you can utilize to pay for school. These include the Health Professions Scholarship Program and attending the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS).

The details differ between programs, but in general:

Pros– Medical school will be covered. Typically this includes both tuition and living expenses. Depending on the program, it is possible to get a monthly stipend. After graduating medical school, you may get to travel to interesting places and serve your country. Best of all, you will have no debt!

Cons– You are committed to serve in the military for a certain number of years based on which program you participate in and what residency training you complete. In addition, you have far less control over your post-medical school life choices. Certain service scholarships may require you to participate in the military residency match, which is an alternative residency ranking system with fewer options. Even if programs allow you to do the traditional residency match, you may be required to add additional years of military service. If you have a spouse/children/a desire to live in a particular city, all this moving around may be a dealbreaker.

Overall: this is a better option for students who are very debt averse, interested in lower paying specialities, and — most importantly — those with a genuine desire to serve as a military doctor.

National Health Service Corps Scholarship

Pros – NHSCS will pay for tuition and provide a stipend in exchange for two years of service per year of support. (For instance, 4 years of med school equates to 8 years of service.) You will get the privilege of serving in underserved communities.

Cons – Like the military scholarship, with NHSCS you are committing years of your life in exchange for tuition and a stipend. You will have little control over your actual placement, and will probably end up in cities and towns that other primary care physicians find to be less desirable.

Overall, if you are interested in primary care and excited about serving in underserved communities, this program may be a good option for you.

There are several other programs out there, which you may consider including the Indian Health Service corps

6. Minimize your student loan debt

The bulk of students that go to medical school are going to have to take out loans from the federal government. As a graduate student there are two primary loans you can use: (1) Unsubsidized and (2) Grad PLUS loans.

Unsubsidized loans have a lower interest rate than Grad PLUS and are preferable if you are in the enviable position of only needing either an unsubsidized or a Grad PLUS loan. Unsubsidized loans are capped at $41,000 per year. Grad PLUS loans on the other hand are limitless. Since students can take out an unlimited amount of money and it’s backed by the federal government, schools can increase their prices to whatever price point their administrators desire. The interest rates of both are set by congress. Please note that unlike subsidized loans, which are only available to undergraduates, both the unsubsidized and Grad PLUS loans accrue interest while you’re in school. (Note: during the Pandemic the interest rates have been effectively lowered to 0% so for the time being that isn’t the case.)

As a result, the reasonable decision is to minimize the loans that you take out. If you take out more money than you need to live frugally, contact your financial aid office to learn how to return the excess. In so doing, you not only avoid the interest accrued thus far but you also are refunded the origination fees (1.062% for unsubsidized loans and 4.248% for Grad Plus).

Bottom line: take out as few loans as humanly possible. A penny saved is more than a penny earned because of interest and the fact that you pay off loans with post-tax dollars.

7. Negotiate for cheaper tuition price (if you can)

We have advised applicants who have ended up in this fortuitous position. You must get into multiple schools and then negotiate with them to obtain a scholarship. The technique is simple: if you get into multiple schools, message the one that you are less interested in to let them know that you are interested in attending their school but cost is a salient variable. If they give you a scholarship, then you can go back to the other school(s) and tell them you just got a scholarship. Even if you don’t get a scholarship, it is always OK to ask for money provided you are cordial and professional. Here are some example emails.

8. Apply for scholarships strategically

There are numerous scholarships you can apply for as a medical student. We have advised applicants, including some who have obtained tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships. Our best piece of advice is to apply early and often. But there are certain strategies you can use to maximize your time and effort.

1. Although there are several big scholarships – like those offered by White Coat Investor for tens of thousands of dollars– these scholarships are extremely competitive and thus may be lower yield than smaller, local scholarships.
2. To maximize your scholarship potential, the best place to start is locally. Find out what scholarships your school offers to medical students. Reach out to someone in the financial aid department and speak with them about what your school offers.
3. Next look at the city you live in and the state. Many states and localities have specific programs to encourage individuals to study medicine. Many states have state senators and state congress people who have constituent services programs with small amounts of money — hundreds to low thousands of dollars — to support constituents who are studying for undergraduate or graduate degrees.
4. Check out scholarships for your local high school and your hometown to see if there are scholarships there. Google is your friend.
5. Also, look at your demographics. Scholarships tend to give preference to certain regional or demographic characteristics. So, for instance if you’re an LGBTQ applicant, of Asian American ancestry living in the Chicago area for school, you could look into LGBTQ specific scholarships, Asian American scholarships, and local Chicago scholarships.
6. Finally, because this is ultimately a numbers game, recycle your previous essays into new essays. Do not build your scholarship applications from scratch each time. Better to send out an 80% good essay to 5 places than to spend all your time crafting a perfect (100%) essay to send to one. Focus on quantity, not quality. And don’t get discouraged!

Please let us know if you have any questions! Reach out to us at [email protected]