Student-centric advice and objective recommendations
Higher education has never been more confusing or expensive. Our goal is to help you navigate the very big decisions related to higher ed with objective information and expert advice. Each piece of content on the site is original, based on extensive research, and reviewed by multiple editors, including a subject matter expert. This ensures that all of our content is up-to-date, useful, accurate, and thorough.
Our reviews and recommendations are based on extensive research, testing, and feedback. We may receive commission from links on our website, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our marketing partners don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. It’s accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted. You can find a complete list of our partners here.
Top 56 Medical School Scholarships in February 2023
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, doctors are among the highest paid professionals, earning over $200,000 per year on average. However, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the average medical school student will also accumulate roughly $250,000 in student loan debt. So, while doctors can expect to earn a high salary, many prospective medical students must rely heavily on medical school scholarships to finance their education.
Jump ahead to…
- Top medical school scholarships
- How to win medical school scholarships
- Need-based financial aid in med school
- Frequently asked questions
- Explore these additional scholarship categories
Top 56 Medical School Scholarships in February 2023
The Scholarships360 Research Team reviews all scholarships individually and strives to exclude any scholarship where any of the below applies:
- The scholarship requires a fee to apply
- The scholarship provider’s privacy policy allows for the misuse of student data
- The scholarship requires paid membership in an organization (with certain exceptions for reputable trade organizations and others)
- Student are required to sign up for a site or service to apply*
- The scholarship seems primarily used for lead generation** or idea harvesting purposes***
- The scholarship website has many grammatical errors and/or advertisements
- The scholarship or scholarship providing organization seem untrustworthy
- There is no evidence the scholarship was previously awarded
- The scholarship has not been awarded in the past 12 months
- There is no available contact information
If you believe a scholarship has been published in error, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll take a look!
* There are certain exceptions to this, for example if the sponsoring organization is a major corporation or nonprofit with its own scholarship application system.
** Lead generation scholarships will require students to sign up for an app or website and require minimal (if any) application requirements.
***Idea harvesting scholarships will require students to submit blog posts or other materials that companies may use for marketing purposes.
$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship
Scholarships360 Exclusive
Easy scholarship open to all US-based high school, college, community college and graduate students.
$2,000 Nitro College Scholarship – No Essay
Sponsored
Easy scholarship open to all high school, college, community and graduate students.
$25,000 No Essay Scholarship
Sponsored
Open to high school and college students, as well as anyone looking to attend college or graduate school in the next year.
Gateway to Research Awards
Offered by American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education
Open to undergraduate and Pharm.D. students who have been nominated and mentored by a pharmacy faculty member.
Underrepresented Minority Gateway to Research Awards
Offered by American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education
Open to underrepresented minority pharmacy students currently enrolled in an ACPE-accredited school of pharmacy.
Oxbow’s Veterinary Medicine Scholarship
Offered by Oxbow Animal Health
Open to students currently enrolled in veterinary school who demonstrate an interest in small and exotic pet medicine.
Oxbow’s Undergraduate Scholarship
Offered by Oxbow Animal Health
Open to current, U.S.-based undergraduate students who have demonstrated a career interest in companion animals.
Oxbow’s Veterinary Technology Scholarship
Offered by Oxbow Animal Health
Open to current and incoming students who will be enrolled full-time in a veterinary technology program this upcoming Fall.
Oxbow Nebraska High School Senior Scholarship
Offered by Oxbow Animal Health
Open to high school seniors from Nebraska who are interested in pursuing a career in the pet industry.
Lincoln Community Foundation Medical Professional Student Scholarship
Offered by Lincoln Community Foundation
Open to graduate students pursuing a degree in a medical-related field and undergraduate students in nursing studies.
$25k “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship
Sponsored
Easy scholarship open to high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.
NCPA Foundation Presidential Scholarship
Offered by National Community Pharmacists Association
Open to pharmacy school students within 24 months of graduation.
Fontana Transport Inc. Scholars Program
Offered by Fontana Transport, Inc.
Open to underrepresented, high school seniors who will be first-gen college students who want to help their family and community.
Anna N. Dosen Serbian Educational Fund
Offered by The Pittsburgh Foundation
Open to current and incoming undergraduate students of Serbian heritage majoring in engineering or health sciences.
CAMS Scholarship Program
Offered by Chinese American Medical Society
Open to first, second, and third-year medical and dental school students in the U.S.
Health Career Scholarships
Offered by International Order of The King’s Daughters and Sons
Students in their second or third year of any educational healthcare profession preparation program.
Herbert W. Nickens Medical Student Scholarships
Offered by Association of American Medical Colleges
Open to medical school students entering their third year of medical school.
Charles Shelton Veterinary Scholarship
Offered by Charles Shelton Foundation
Open to current and incoming Black students enrolled in veterinary school or college programs.
$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
Sponsored
Annual $10k scholarship from CollegeXpress open to all high school students.
Niche $2,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship
Sponsored
Easy scholarship from Niche open to all high school, college, and graduate students.
- 1
- 2
- 3
-
Next
How to win medical school scholarships
Remember, finding scholarship opportunities is only half of the task involved in earning funds for your education. Once you’ve found some good fits from our list, it’s time to start applying. Before you begin your applications, sit down and do some reflection to decide what approach you’ll take. Ask yourselves some questions and write down the answers with no regard to grammar, word limits, or anything like that; just get them out on the page to pull from as you begin to write. Here are a few questions you might ask:
- When did I first become interested in medicine?
- What change do I hope to make in the world through my career as a doctor?
- When have I demonstrated skills that indicate my potential as a future doctor?
- Where do I see myself in 10 years?
You can also try asking these questions to your friends, family, and other trusted adults. Oftentimes, they have some insight into your past accomplishments that you wouldn’t have otherwise thought of.
Writing your essays
Writing scholarship essays is an art, and we are here to teach you how to do it as efficiently as possible. We have guides to help with every aspect, such as starting your essay, writing to a 250 or 500 word limit, and answering the common prompt, “Why do you deserve this scholarship?”. Here are a few more articles to help you out:
- How to write an essay about yourself
- “Show, Don’t Tell” essay primer
- How to write a winning scholarship essay
Need-based financial aid for medical school
Medical school students can also apply for need based financial aid to pay for their M.D. There are two main applications that students should know about when thinking about need-based financial aid:
- FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid is how financial aid from the federal government is awarded, which includes federal student loans.
- CSS Profile is a financial aid application offered by the College Board. The CSS Profile is how some medical schools will award institutional financial aid, which can include grants, scholarships, and student loans. Yale School of Medicine is one medical school that uses the CSS Profile for both scholarships and Yale student loans.
Students who need even more financial aid can consider private student loans. Remember, these private loans should be a last resort as they may have higher interest rates and less flexible repayment options than loans from the federal government.
Frequently asked questions
Can doctors qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
Doctors who work in a non-profit or public sector and make regular loan payments for ten years should be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This would mean that any remaining federal loan balance after those ten years would be forgiven; they would never have to repay it.
It’s worth noting that PSLF has a notoriously strict set of rules for eligibility, so if you plan to take advantage of the program, be sure to educate yourself on all of the stipulations to ensure that you fulfill them.
Also see: How to get PSLF as a healthcare worker
Can you use the Pell Grant to pay for medical school?
Only undergraduate students are eligible for the Pell Grant, so although you can use it to pay for a pre-med education, you won’t be able to use it for med school.
