The Scholars Fund
On average, medical students in the U.S. graduate with an overwhelming debt load of nearly $155,000. To help ease the burden of medical school debt, the American Medical Association (AMA) Alliance—the largest volunteer arm of the AMA—works with the AMA Foundation each year to raise money for medical schools to distribute to deserving students.
The funds are used to support tuition assistance for students. Throughout the years, this program has provided over $60 million to support aspiring physicians.
Scholars Fund recipients reported that the scholarship had an impact by:
- Reducing their debt levels (84%)
- Providing encouragement (73.9%)
- Reducing stress (52.1%)
- Receiving recognition (43.7%)
Deanna M. Shoup, a student at University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, received a Scholars Fund Award and explained, "My transition to medical school has been filled with amazing opportunities and trying circumstances. My husband and our five children have made this move together and we are all willing to sacrifice, but having this scholarship means that we will not have to sacrifice the important things....it is truly a blessing that the AMA considers this an important investment."
Jay Patel, a student at University of Alabama School of Medicine, Huntsville, received a Scholars Fund award and stated, "Your support and dedication to my medical education will never be forgotten. Because of your generous gift, I have been able to choose a specialty based on my interests, instead of compensation. Thank you for contributing to the future – and present – of health care."
Courtney Hathaway, a student at University of Washington School of Medicine, received a Scholars Fund award and stated, "Thank you so much for providing me with this scholarship, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your generosity. As the daughter of a Montana rancher, worrying about how I will pay for these four years of medical training is overwhelming. Support from contributors like you will undoubtedly help ease the burden of student loans and allow me to focus on doing well in school and worry less about how I will pay for it. More importantly, it will give me the opportunity to pursue a specialty that I love without worrying about how well it pays."
Paul Ramsey, MD, Dean, University of Washington School of Medicine, recognized the importance of the Scholars Fund support by stating, "Scholarships help our students afford a medical education – and, in reducing loan debt, scholarships allow students to feel more freedom to pursue lower paid but urgently needed professions, or to choose to work in rural and other medically underserved communities. We are indebted to you for helping our students to make a real difference to our communities and our world."
The AMA Foundation keeps track of donations for each medical school in separate accounts. Medical schools will be notified in March of their account balance. Each Scholars Fund award must be granted in the amount of $1,000 or more. If a school does not have $1,000 in their account, the AMA Foundation will let funds accumulate until at least one $1,000 scholarship can be fulfilled. The medical school dean or the dean's designate, at his/her discretion, chooses the scholarship recipient(s) and may divide the school’s total balance into smaller amounts to create a greater number of scholarships (as long as each scholarship is a minimum of $1,000), or limit the funds to fewer, but larger, monetary awards.
AMA Foundation scholarship information has been sent to the offices of the dean, student affairs, minority affairs and financial aid. There are no student application forms for this award. There is, however, a Scholars Fund recipient information form that the medical school must submit to the AMA Foundation. After the AMA Foundation receives this form, the funds are then sent to the medical school.
If you are a medical student seeking scholarship funds, contact your dean or dean's designate to learn more about this opportunity.
