Types of Financial Aid

Click on the titles to learn more about each section!

Institutional Need-Based Scholarships

GUSOM offers need-based institutional scholarships funded by GUSOM’s General Fund and by contributions from alumni, foundations and friends of the School of Medicine.

Eligibility is based upon financial need as determined by the information provided on a student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Georgetown School of Medicine Application for Financial Aid. The Office of Admissions & Financial Aid uses this information to evaluate both student/parental financial strength and historical economic access.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

INCOMING STUDENTS:

January 2, 2024 (11:59 PM EST): GUSOM Financial Aid Form must be submitted by this date to be considered for institutional aid (regardless of admission status; no exceptions to this deadline)
January 15, 2024 (11:59 PM EST): 2024 – 2025 FAFSA must be submitted by this date to be considered for institutional aid (regardless of admission status; no exceptions to this deadline)
February 1, 2024 (11:59 PM EST): CSS Profile must be submitted by this date to be considered for institutional aid (regardless of admission status; no exceptions to this deadline)

CONTINUING STUDENTS: FAFSA and Returning Student Financial Aid Form must be submitted no later than March 1st, 2024 to be considered for institutional aid

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Awards are classified as Institutional Scholarships.
All funds represent scholarships supported by private donors with established guidelines for the selection of recipients.
Scholarships are considered financial assistance and do not have to be repaid.
Awards can be based upon a combination of the availability of funds, number of qualified students, donor guidelines, student financial need, student loan indebtedness, and/or academic merit.
Federal policy requires all institutional, state or private scholarship funds be considered in determining eligibility for federal assistance, including student loans.
GUSOM institutional scholarship aid is limited to application to tuition and fee charges.
Recipients of scholarship funds after the awarding of federal aid may result in an adjustment of the recipient’s federal award and the return of federal aid funds.

AWARD TIMELINE

Institutional scholarships awarded to incoming M1 students are guaranteed for four academic years or eight semesters (see exceptions below – AWARD MAINTENANCE).
If a student does not receive institutional aid until M2 – M4 years, the award is guaranteed for the remainder of the student’s four-year medical school journey.
Example: if a student first receives institutional aid for their M2 year, then this scholarship aid will be guaranteed for three academic years or six semesters.
Institutional aid is not eligible for an M5 year should a student need to extend their medical school journey.

AWARD MAINTENANCE

All students seeking financial aid of any kind (e.g. institutional aid, federal loans, private loans, etc.) are required to complete both the renewal Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and Returning Student Financial Aid Form by March 1st prior to each academic year.
Recipients of all institutional scholarships must maintain good academic standing status per GUSOM Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) guidelines for continued eligibility. If a student fails to meet SAP requirements, they are at risk of losing their scholarship aid.

If a student chooses to pursue a service scholarship program such as HPSP or NHSC, they will lose their GUSOM institutional scholarship since the service scholarship covers tuition and fees.
If a student opts to pursue a Supplemental Educational Experience before the start of an academic term, the student will receive a loans-only package for the SEE term. The student’s institutional aid will resume upon return to the four-year curriculum.
If a student opts to pursue a leave of absence (LOA) during a term, the student may lose their institutional funding for that term depending on how far into the term the student pursues a LOA. If a student receives institutional aid of any kind during a term, the term counts toward the limit of terms a student can receive institutional aid.
If a student takes a LOA during a term, it is possible that the student could have to pay back accepted scholarship and/or federal aid funds.

Institutional Student Loans

Need-based institutional student loans are extremely limited and awarded based upon the information provided on a student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Georgetown School of Medicine Application for Financial Aid.

All incoming students who have received funding through the GUSOM Institutional Student Loan Program (i.e. DeVictoria, Desmond, Sullivan, Medical Student Loan) are required to complete both a master promissory note (MPN) and Truth-In-Lending (TILA) documents before the funds can be disbursed.

The terms of the institutional student loan are as follows:

No interest during medical school, grace or eligible deferment;
12 month grace period following graduation or when enrollment drops below half-time status;
24 month residency deferment;
Fixed interest rate of 4.0% during repayment; and
Repayment term of 10 years

All graduating students who have received funding through the GUSOM Institutional Student Loan Program must complete exit counseling in their fourth-year prior to graduation.

NOTE: Once the Exit Interview is ready, students will receive an email from ECSI (webmaster@ecsi.net) with instructions on how to complete the Exit Interview process. If you do not have the email by the end of April prior to graduation, please check your SPAM folder.

If you have any questions about your GUSOM Institutional Student Loan or the Exit Interview process, please contact our wonderful colleagues who oversee these loans at finuloan@georgetown.edu.

Federal Student Loans

Student loans are a vital component of the financial aid package. This form of aid may assist you in paying for everything from books to tuition. There are two types of unsubsidized federal student loans available to medical school students: the Federal Direct Stafford Loan and the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan.

In a typical, two-semester academic year, federal direct loans are disbursed in two installments. Funds are not disbursed more than 10 days prior to the first day of class.

DIRECT STAFFORD LOAN

The unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program is the largest source of funding for students at the School of Medicine:

Eligibility: You must be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen enrolled full-time (note: no half/part-time student status in medical school) in a degree-seeking program in courses that apply towards your program’s completion requirements and maintain satisfactory academic progress. Because the unsubsidized loan is a non-need-based loan, you do not need to demonstrate financial need to be eligible.

Applying: For incoming M1 students, please submit the (1) Free Application for Federal Student Aid and (2) either the GUSOM Financial Aid Form or Federal Authorization Form as part of your financial aid application. For returning students, please submit the (1) Free Application for Federal Student Aid and (2) Returning Student Financial Aid Form.

If you have accepted your Federal Direct Loans in MyAccess and are a first-time borrower at Georgetown, you will need to complete the following loan requirements on StudentAid.gov (new window) before loan funds are disbursed:

Master Promissory Note for a Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan (MPN) – select “Complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN)” under “Complete Aid Process” tab.
Entrance Counseling – select the “Complete Entrance Counseling” under “Complete Aid Process” tab.

Exit Counseling: Students must complete exit counseling upon dropping below half-time status, taking a leave of absence, withdrawing, or graduating.

Maximum Loan Amounts: Students may apply for up to $42,722 per year (additional amounts are available for M2 and M3 students based on longer curricular budget durations). The lifetime borrowing limit for medical students from the Stafford Loan Program is $224,000.

Loan Details:

In-school fixed interest rate: 7.05% for loans disbursed between 7/01/23 – 6/30/24
Origination fee: 1.057% for loans disbursed between 10/01/2020 to 10/01/2024
Grace period: 6 months or enrollment below half-time
Repayment period: Flexible
Does interest accrue when enrolled?: Yes

DIRECT GRADPLUS LOAN

The Graduate PLUS Loan can be borrowed for education expenses not covered by other sources of financial aid:

Eligibility: You must be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen enrolled full-time (note: no half/part-time student status in medical school) in a degree-seeking program in courses that apply towards your program’s completion requirements and maintain satisfactory academic progress. You must also have a satisfactory credit rating, not be in default on a prior loan, and not owe a refund on any federal student aid program. There is no lifetime borrowing limit for the Graduate PLUS loan.

After receiving your award notification and accepting or reducing your award, you must complete the following requirements on StudentAid.gov (new window) before loan funds are disbursed:

COMPLETED ANNUALLY –

Credit Application – select “Apply for a Grad PLUS Loan” under “Apply For Aid” tab. If your credit is denied, follow the instructions per the Department of Education regarding the potential for approval with a credit-worthy endorser

COMPLETED AS FIRST-TIME BORROWER –

Master Promissory Note for a PLUS Loan (MPN) – select “Complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) – MPN for Graduate/Professional Students” under “Complete Aid Process” tab.
Entrance Counseling- select “Complete Entrance Counseling” under “Complete Aid Process” tab.

Exit Counseling: You must complete exit counseling when you drop below half-time status, take a leave of absence, withdraw, or graduate. You will also be notified of this by email.

Maximum Loan Amount

Cost of attendance minus ALL other financial aid

Loan Information

In-school fixed interest rate: 8.05% for loans disbursed between 7/01/2023 and 06/30/2024
Origination fee: 4.228% for loans disbursed between 10/01/2020 and before 10/01/2024
Grace period: 6 months after graduation or enrollment below half-time
Repayment period: Varies
Does interest accrue when enrolled? Yes

Federal Service Scholarships

Each year approximately 8% of Georgetown University medical students choose to finance their medical education with federal service scholarships. The two types of service scholarships are the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) and the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program (NHSC) through the Public Health Service.

Both programs currently offer full tuition assistance, reimbursement for books and a monthly living stipend in exchange for service commitments after school and residency.

Students must apply directly to the military or the Public Health Service for these programs. Please note that our wonderful colleagues in the Office of Third Party Billing oversee all aspects of the financial aid tied to HPSP & NHSC service scholarships.

Outside Scholarships

Many non-profit, charitable, religious and other organizations offer scholarships to assist students with their educational expenses. Scholarship amounts and eligibility criteria vary based upon each funding organization’s policies. Students are encouraged to research and apply for outside scholarships, which will help reduce total medical school loan debt.

In addition to the outside scholarship information provided on our website, medical students may also research the following as sources of possible scholarship funding:

organizations in or near your hometown (Rotary Club, Lion’s Club, Knights of Columbus, etc.)
city, state and regional medical societies
your parent’s employer
churches/religious organizations
your state scholarship office

We will email the class listserv with any new scholarship opportunities we are made aware of throughout the academic year and spotlight various outside scholarship processes in our quarterly financial aid newsletters.

IMPORTANT NOTE: receipt of outside scholarship funding may affect either a student’s eligibility for institutional scholarships or the amount of institutional scholarship a student receives from the School of Medicine based upon the total awarded. Therefore, you are REQUIRED to report any outside scholarships you receive to ensure your financial aid package is compliant with the overall Cost of Attendance limit.

Federal Work Study (FWS)

Federal Work Study (FWS) jobs are a good way to offset some of your borrowing needs. FWS is part of your overall financial aid award and the amount you’re eligible to earn through the program is designed to contribute to your academic expenses. A portion of FWS wages are paid through federal funds allowing on-campus employers to hire students for positions that otherwise wouldn’t be funded.

Students who intend to work on campus and would like to be considered for Federal Work Study (FWS) funds should indicate such on the School of Medicine Application for Financial Aid, Federal Authorization Form or Returning Student Financial Aid Form. As part of the financial aid award package, FWS funds decrease eligibility for other aid (usually Grad PLUS loans), dollar-for-dollar.

If you’ve applied for and been awarded FWS funds, you will see the amount in your financial aid award on MyAccess and our colleagues in Employment Services have the same information so that your hiring documents may be completed. It may come as no surprise to you that the largest employer is the library. Faculty and many administrative offices hire medical students for FWS positions.

Unlike other types of financial aid, FWS funds are paid to students bi-weekly for hours worked. Therefore, eligible students who participate in the FWS program typically use these funds to help cover day-to-day living expenses, not big-ticket expenses like tuition or rent.

For more information about FWS eligibility and financial aid considerations, please email medfinaid@georgetown.edu.

Private Student Loans

Private education loans are offered by many lending institutions to assist students and their families with meeting college expenses. These programs are designed for undergraduate and graduate students, parents, and international students. Students considering a private education loan program should carefully consider the terms and conditions of the loan.

The maximum amount a student may borrow per academic period is the total cost of attendance budget minus all financial aid received. It is recommended that borrowers use their potential federal loan eligibility prior to exploring private education loans. In a typical academic year, private education loans are disbursed in two installments. When the academic period is for one semester, one disbursement is permitted at the beginning of the term. During the regular academic year (fall/spring semesters) funds cannot be disbursed more than 10 days prior to the first day of class. Due to credit expiration timeframes, students should avoid applying more than 90 days prior to the start date of classes.

For your convenience, we have provided a list for you to compare and contrast different lenders. ELM Select (new window) is a third party site that provides a neutral comprehensive list of private education loan lenders that Georgetown University students have borrowed from within the past three years, listed in random order. Georgetown University does NOT endorse, recommend, or promote any of the listed lenders. You are not obligated to borrow only from the lenders listed. Georgetown University will process alternative loans from lenders who are not listed.

Below is a comprehensive list of lenders that Georgetown University students have borrowed from in the past three years:

*Lender does not participate with ELM Select. Please contact the lender directly for its most current student loan information.