If you are thinking of entering medical school, you had better get ready for the long haul. Medical students spend at least eight years in school, four for their undergraduate degree, and then at least four for their doctorate degree in medicine. It is not uncommon for a medical school student to graduate with more than $100,000 in debt. It is no wonder that most students thinking of entering this profession are looking for help in the form of scholarships or grants.

One option for medical school students is to pursue research grants. For example, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute will provide money to students who are towards the end of their training and are willing to work in research projects the institute is interested in. Companies and institutions are willing to invest in research because the results they hope to find from the research would bring prestige and national recognition to the company that funded it. The National Institutes of Health are another source of research grants.

Of course, research grants do not help the student who is entering medical school. If you are a minority or a woman, you will likely be able to find grant programs targeted to your demographic, because both minorities and women are largely underrepresented in the medical field. The American Medical Association’s Minority Affairs Commission has a list of grants available to minorities for all branches of medicine, so this is a great resource to start your search.

Anyone looking for a medical school scholarship, even if they are not a minority, can pursue the options available through the Daughters of the American Revolution. This organization has several memorial scholarships aimed at medical school students. The National Medical Fellowships offer a need-based scholarship program to qualifying medical school students who are in their freshman and sophomore years of school and absolutely cannot pay their educational expenses.

Finally, if you are looking for help paying for medical school, talk to the school you have chosen. Your school may have school-based scholarships and grants available for medical students. These are often need and merit-based programs. Even if there are not any school-sponsored scholarships available, the financial aid office at your institution will be able to point you towards potential sources of grant and scholarship money. Depending upon what school you do end up choosing to attend for your degree in medicine, you can find grants and financial aid that are categorized by state rather than by school in order to reveal state funding available.

Remember, you are unlikely to find a full-ride scholarship to put yourself through medical school, but if you can find help here and money there, you will be able to take a good portion of the burden off of yourself as you pay for your education. Although the figure presented earlier for probable debt out of college, the benefits of holding a career in medicine makes the long haul completely worth while. Now you can look forward to job security and a very nice looking salary to pay off that debt.

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