School of Medicine receives grant to support scholarships for disadvantaged students

By Sathya Achia Abraham

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine has received a Department of Health and Human Services grant totaling more than $250,000 to help students who might otherwise be unable to attend medical school take a step closer to achieving their goals.

The scholarships, totaling $10,000 each, will be awarded to 25 medical students whose entire family income is equal to or less than twice the national poverty level for the number of family members. Students can be at any level of their medical school careers to be eligible.

According to Glenda Palmer, Ph.D., assistant dean for student affairs and financial aid in the School of Medicine, most medical students nationwide borrow at least some of the money to complete their education and end up $150,000 or more in debt by graduation. In 2008, 91 percent of medical students at the VCU School of Medicine had to borrow some of the money for education, she said.

“For all students this is a tremendous financial burden, but for students from families that are already strapped, borrowing is an absolute necessity and a particularly difficult burden,” said Palmer.

“Families with greater financial assets often help their students to some extent so they can borrow less. Receiving this grant for financially disadvantaged students will enable them to borrow less this year,” she said.