Harvard Medical School, Aid for Internationals?

[WayOutWestMom]

Some points for consideration:

1. Medical school acceptance (at Harvard or anyplace else for that matter) isn’t simply a matter of having good grades. There are additional expectations for community service, research, medical/clinical experiences, demonstrated leadership and diverse life experiences.

In addition to demonstrated academic excellence, these are the qualities HMS seeks in its students. Our Committee on Admissions evaluates applications based on a variety of criteria that range from your academic records and MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) scores to your extracurricular activities, research, and community-service experiences in the field of health care. And while we expect you to demonstrate an aptitude for the biological and physical sciences, our ideal candidates are those with well-balanced academic backgrounds that include the humanities and social sciences.

http://hms.harvard.edu/departments/admissions/applying

2. Even domestic students are expected to contribute to the cost of their medical education at Harvard. Harvard requires all students with any financial need to take out a “unit loan” before grant aid will be given. (Unit loan = ~$35K/year) International students are expected to self-fund the same amount thru either a family contribution or a private loan.

http://hms.harvard.edu/departments/financial-aid-harvard-medical-school/about-financial-aid-hms/financial-aid-packaging

The decision to attend a high-cost private medical school should involve the entire family. Individual students (and spouses, if married) and their parents have the primary responsibility for financing the cost of a medical education at Harvard. Our financial aid program strives to help students meet a shortfall of funds after the student and his/her family have made the maximum financial effort.

http://hms.harvard.edu/departments/financial-aid-harvard-medical-school

3. Applying to MD/PhD and MD programs concurrently-- that is school specific. Each school sets it own policies regarding this.

Harvard’s policy is here:

http://hms.harvard.edu/departments/admissions/applying/md-phd-applicants

Here’s a document listing all MD/PhD programs in the US, the funding level (not all MD/PhD programs fully funded students in the program), number of positions and whether or not the school will consider internationals.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/62760/data/faqtable.pdf