Financial aid for medical students: a review and a proposal

By making it possible for all students admitted to medical school to finance their education, the federal government has been a dominant variable in medical education for over two decades. Financial aid programs during the 1960s were directed at increasing the number of applicants, medical school places, and, ultimately, the number of physicians. With these goals largely achieved, a trimming of the federal systems of financial aid seems probable. Unless accommodations can be made, such changes will have broad financial implications for both students and medical schools and could threaten the diversity, stability, and quality of the applicant pool. The authors in this article review the history of medical school financial aid and describe the development of an institutionally based, privately financed loan program. The authors propose that such programs can help preserve adequate financial aid for medical students as federal programs decline.