Medical student-loan debt is a reality for most future physicians. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), 70% of graduating medical students had education debt. And more than half—59%—carried a medical student-loan debt load of $200,000 or more.
For many medical students, that debt will be paid off slowly in the first decade of their careers in practice. But that burden can be reduced with medical school scholarships that medical students can apply for prior to beginning their training—and as they go through medical school.
Mark C. Meyer, MD, is the senior associate dean for student affairs at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He offered some tips on how students should go about finding medical school scholarships.
Scholarships are common
A survey conducted in 2024 by the AAMC found that 65% of graduating medical student respondents had some form of financial assistance—grants, stipends or scholarships—that was not a loan. The scholarship totals that medical students were awarded were generally lower, with 27% of respondents listing their total scholarship funding as being less than $25,000. Meanwhile, 9% of respondents said their total scholarship funding was between $25,000–$49,999. A bit more than one-quarter of respondents listed their scholarship total as $50,000 or more.
The work to build up scholarships is often going to be labor-intensive, requiring students to apply for a number of programs to cobble together their medical school funding.
“Every cent does count,” Dr. Meyer said. “While $3,000 doesn’t seem like it’s making a dent if you are paying $30,000, $40,000 or $50,000 in tuition each year. However, over time, it can add up.”
Merit-based scholarships are uncommon
About 70% of medical students entered medical school without prior educational debt, the AAMC survey said. That can be at least partially attributed to undergraduate merit-based scholarships being frequently awarded. At the medical school level, significant merit-based scholarships may be less available given the caliber of students accepted into medical school.
“Medical schools absolutely try to give as much scholarship money as possible to students, but unlike undergraduate institutions, medical schools may opt to spread it around more evenly amongst their students,” he said.
“For medical students coming from undergrad, they may have been an elite student, but in medical school everybody is, which makes it much more difficult to receive merit-based scholarships. It’s not impossible, though,” said Dr. Meyer, also the interim chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.
The University of Kansas School of Medicine is a member of the AMA UME Curricular Enrichment Program, which provides on-demand education through a micro-learning approach to help medical students distinguish themselves for residency and succeed in medicine. Educators can assign specific elements such as health care business fundamentals and developing leadership skills and receive reports on student progress, track via a dashboard, send reminder emails and customize reports.
Draw on your medical school’s resources
Upon admission, medical schools typically will provide students with information on available scholarships. That is not the only avenue, however.
Every medical school has an office of financial aid that is going to be a resource for students looking for scholarship funding. Dr. Meyer advocates having conversations with staffers in that department on a semiregular basis.
“Students should never hesitate to have a conversation with the director of financial aid or somebody in that office,” said Dr. Meyer, an AMA member. “They are the experts and will guide a student through a number of avenues for possible funding.”
Dive deeper:
- Medical student financial FAQ: Insight on loan forgiveness, repayment
- 4 key student-loan terms that medical students should know
Look beyond your medical school
Your medical school is often the first stop on a journey to find scholarship funding, but it certainly should not be your only one. Dr. Meyer advised looking for third-party organizations—typically nonprofits—that offer scholarship funding for graduate-level education.
“I’ve written a number of letters for students to organizations that offer scholarship funding,” Dr. Meyer said.
“If you’re looking for those types of outside organizations, start your search with any organization that might have provided funding. Then as simple as it sounds, I’d do a Google search and talk to your classmates about where they might be getting funding. The financial aid office may also have suggestions.”
Never stop searching
The scholarships you have as a first-year medical student don’t have to be the only scholarships you get. Dr. Meyer advised medical students keep having check-ins at least annually with their financial aid office to see what might be available.
“Never leave a dollar on the table,” Dr. Meyer said. “Even toward the end of medical school, there are entities that want students to apply for scholarships, and not having an awareness or thinking they would not receive it, students don’t apply.
“Filling out applications may seem time-consuming,” he added, “but if you complete one application, you've done the hard work—because a lot of the process is copy, paste and modify. You can push out several applications doing it that way and potentially reap some rewards.”
One option for medical students to consider: The AMA Foundation Physicians of Tomorrow scholarship program, which distributes $10,000 in tuition assistance scholarships to medical students approaching their final year of school. Applications closed Feb. 16, 2026, but will reopen later this year.
