INTERNAL SCHOLARSHIP
Harvard Medical School Scholarships
Financial need is the only criterion used to determine the amount of HMS scholarship a student receives. This program is funded from endowed funds, current fundraising, and unrestricted income.
For a full-need student, the HMS scholarship funding covers both tuition and mandatory fees. Scholarship eligibility is determined by subtracting the institutional expected family contribution from tuition and mandatory fees. Eligibility for institutional scholarship funding is limited to eight semesters of full tuition charges.
HMS scholarship support is derived from many resources, most notably the result of donor gifts. Donations to financial aid are from individuals, foundations and organizations through the establishment of endowed funds, the giving to current use financial aid funds, or through annual gifts to the HMS Alumni Fund. These funds are monitored by the HMS Office of Resource Development. HMS scholarship recipients may be asked to write thank you notes to scholarship donors. Recipients of these funds may also be requested to provide information consisting of premedical background, residency preferences, personal and professional interests, and academic progress. Failure to comply with these requests may result in forfeiture of HMS scholarship support.
Dean's REACH Scholarship Award Program
Given the considerable costs associated with obtaining a medical education, Harvard Medical School strives to ensure that all applicants accepted to our institution are able to afford to attend. The Dean’s REACH Scholarship is a need-based four-year scholarship that has been established to provide funding to a select group of incoming MD students who demonstrate Resilience, Excellence, Achievement, Compassion and commitment to Helping the underserved.
Potential recipients are nominated for this award by the Committee on Admissions and are notified of their nomination at the time admissions decisions are released in early March. The Dean’s REACH Scholarships are contingent upon financial need. In order to determine eligibility for this scholarship, nominees must apply for financial aid.
Continuation of this program is contingent upon the availability of funds.
General Restricted Scholarships
HMS shares certain endowed scholarship funds with other units of the University. The Harvard University Committee on General Scholarships administers these multi-school funds. The HMS Financial Aid Office will nominate eligible HMS Scholarship recipients for these funds on the basis of the information provided on the Restricted Fund Survey submitted in the fall of each year.
If an HMS scholarship recipient is selected to receive a general scholarship, the general scholarship funds ordinarily will be used to fund a portion of the student’s regular HMS scholarship award. Thus being selected for a general scholarship changes only the source of funds for the student’s scholarship award; the total amount awarded ordinarily remains unchanged.
Yellow Ribbon Program
Harvard Medical School provides qualifying post-9/11 veterans the maximum assistance available through the Department of Veterans Affairs Yellow Ribbon Program.
Under this program, the Department of Veterans Affairs matches school aid contributions made to eligible veterans. Harvard Medical School will contribute the maximum amount to be matched by the VA for all eligible veterans.
You will be requested to submit a copy of your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) to the Financial Aid Office prior to the start of the academic year in order to process your Yellow Ribbon benefit. Veterans who choose to receive the Yellow Ribbon benefit will waive their eligibility for need-based HMS aid, and will not be required to complete an application for HMS aid.
Additional VA benefits for veterans provide substantial assistance for living expenses. These benefits should cover academic year living expenses for most Yellow Ribbon recipients. However, Yellow Ribbon recipients may also apply for federal student loans to meet living expenses costs, if needed.
Resident Tutor Policy
Students who serve as a Resident Tutor for Harvard College receive free housing and a free meal plan as part of their compensation for service. This in-kind compensation will be treated as a resource for financial aid purposes and will be reflected in a student’s financial aid package. Generally, the resident tutor resource will equal one-half of the annual HMS housing components of the cost of attendance budget.
EXTERNAL SCHOLARSHIP
The HMS Financial Aid Office maintains a list of Outside Scholarship Opportunities and coordinates a limited number of private scholarships.
Private Scholarships Coordinated by the HMS Financial Aid Office
External (or outside) scholarships are a great way to help students subsidize their Harvard Medical School education because they can help minimize educational loan debt. External scholarships can replace the calculated expected parent contribution or replace loans, beginning with the least favorable loan in the student's financial aid award package. Institutional scholarship is the last source of funding to get replaced by outside awards. The Financial Aid Office also has a small library of resource directories to help students in their search for external sources of aid.
Joseph Collins Foundation Scholarship
The Joseph Collins Foundation offers a limited number of scholarships for MD students who demonstrate financial need, intend to specialize in neurology, psychiatry, or general practice, and who demonstrate an accomplishment in cultural pursuits (art, music, theater, writing, etc.). Candidates must be nominated by the Financial Aid Office. In 2018-2019, new recipients received an award of $15,000, renewable for each year of medical school.
National Medical Fellowships (NMF)
Federal Programs with a Commitment of Future Service
F. Edward Hebert Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (AFHPSP)
The Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program is intended to recruit personnel to alleviate the shortage of physicians serving military personnel and their dependents. The program is offered through the Air Force, Army, and Navy. The program offers support to MD students for their tuition and required fees, and provides a monthly stipend for living expenses. The stipend is subject to state and federal taxes and must be reported on the recipient’s tax returns. In addition, each year the student is required to spend 45 days on Active Duty for Training (ADT) with full pay and allowances.
The minimum service obligation incurred by participants in AFHPSP is two to three years depending upon specialty; a year of obligation is required for each year the student receives financial support. Participants must apply for residency programs in military facilities. Residents are selected for military or civilian programs based on the future needs of the military. Time spent in graduate and post-graduate training is not credited towards the fulfillment of a program obligation for AFHPSP or ROTC.
To be eligible for participation in military scholarship programs, a student must be a U.S. citizen who is enrolled in, or who is in receipt of a firm letter of acceptance from medical school. The student must meet the eligibility requirements for appointment in the U.S. Armed Forces. Students must complete the application process through the military branch that interests them.
Since the AFHPSP provides support that covers most of the expenses in the standard budget, students generally do not apply for additional financial aid. Students who determine that they have a shortfall between their AFHPSP funding and the standard budget may apply for student loans to meet this gap. Funds from the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan Program are generally used for this purpose.
National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholarship Program
The National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program was created to address the shortage of health professionals in certain areas in the United States. Scholarship recipients receive 12 monthly stipends, a single payment to cover books, supplies, and equipment for the year, and payment to the School of tuition and required fees for the year. The scholarship may be renewed throughout medical school without additional competition. A maximum of four years of support is available.
For each year of support, participants owe one year of future service providing primary care services in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) as assigned by the NHSC. The minimum obligation is two years. These assignments are most often as salaried civilian employees of community-based systems of primary health care.
These awards are targeted for students who intend to train and practice in primary care specialties. To request an application, call (800) 221-9393.
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