Financing Options

Who Should Apply for Financial Aid

Use the information in this booklet to estimate expenses for the academic year. Discuss with your parents, guardians, and other relatives the amount they are able to contribute annually toward the cost of your medical education.

Add to this figure expected contributions from your spouse's earnings (if applicable), from your earnings, summer savings, personal assets, and other income, and from financial aid expected from external sources for which application through the school is not necessary. If your identified financial resources total less than your estimated educational expenses, then you should apply for aid.

Learn more about financing options.

Access a Financial Aid Calculator.

How Is Need for Financial Aid Determined

The College of Medicine's Financial Aid Office determines a student's need for financial aid by subtracting the student's total expected family contribution, as determined by Federal Methodology need analysis, from the expense budget as established by the University for the student's year of study.

The Financial Aid Manager may exercise professional judgment to adjust data that determines the student's family contribution and/or the student's expense budget when individual special circumstances (such illness or dependent care) indicate that such adjustments would be appropriate.

Independent Student Status

Under current need analysis methodology, all graduate and professional students are considered to be independent. However, expected parental contribution, as determined by need analysis, must be considered in determining eligibility for certain loans and scholarships, including University Scholarships, Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS), Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS), and Primary Care Loans (PCL).

Before You Sign on the Dotted Line

Before a student signs an application for a loan or a promissory note, he or she should read it carefully, ask questions, and complete the following steps:

  1. Determine the maximum amount that may be borrowed per academic year, as well as the maximum aggregate amount;
  2. Determine the interest rate;
  3. Determine whether the interest is deferred until after graduation, subsidized, or payable while the student is in school;
  4. Determine whether the interest, if not deferred, is payable monthly, quarterly, or annually;
  5. Determine the fees that will be taken out of the loan for origination and insurance;
  6. Determine the policies governing capitalization or compounding of interest;
  7. Determine whether the loan may be repaid at any time without penalty;
  8. Determine if repayment of the principal can be deferred through residency training;
  9. Determine the maturity date, which is the date upon which the promissory note becomes due and payable;
  10. Determine the grace period;
  11. Determine the number of years allowed for repayment of the loan and the repayment options available;
  12. Determine whether the loan can be forgiven for practice in a physician shortage area;
  13. Determine what the minimum monthly payment will be during the repayment of the loan;
  14. Determine the benefits offered during the repayment period, e.g., interest reduction for on time payments and/or automatic payments directly from your bank account; and
  15. Ensure that you are given a Disclosure Statement signed by the appropriate authority at the lending institution. A Disclosure Statement is a legal document and a record of the loan. All contracts between lenders and borrowers for loans are recorded locally or federally as standing legal obligations until terminated through repayment.

Financial Aid for International Students

Financial aid resources available to assist international students are extremely limited. Therefore, it is imperative that international students make definite financial arrangements for the four-year in-school period before arriving. The College of Medicine must be notified of these plans at the time of admission.

Please contact the Office of Admissions to learn how to document resources.  An acceptable financial plan is a condition of matriculation for admitted international students.

Obligations will include tuition and fees, books and supplies, room, board, travel and miscellaneous expenses.  Click here to access information regarding freshman Cost of Attendance.