Cut Down on Medical School Application Fees

Some prospective students may be eligible for a fee waiver that covers application fees, experts say.

 

 

There are two major financial costs most prospective medical students face in their quest to become a doctor.
The first occurs when they're trying to become a competitive medical school applicant and spend thousands on MCAT preparation classes or a postbaccalaureate program. The second comes once they're enrolled in a school and billed for tuition, fees and sometimes health insurance. The total was as high as $82,251 for some students during the 2013-2014 school year, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Between these two financial hurdles is another expense that applicants must also plan for: application fees.
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"It is expensive to apply to medical school," says Thomas Levitan, vice president of research at the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.
Prospective osteopathic medical students, who get a D.O. when they graduate, usually apply for schools using an application service called AACOMAS that's managed by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. Through the service,​ students can fill out one application and then ask for it to be designated for various schools. They pay $195 for the first designation and $35 per additional designation.
Most allopathic schools, which award an M.D.​, have students apply through a similar system – known as AMCAS – that's managed by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Those students pay $160 to have their application designated for one school; they pay $36 per additional designation.
After students apply, schools may respond by rejecting the applicants or asking them to submit secondary applications. Secondary applications vary​ from school to school – some ask for additional essays while others don't – but most require students pay an additional application fee.
It's easy for prospective doctors to spend hundreds on their applications and taking the MCAT, but they may be able to reduce these expenses​. Below are three places prospective students may be able to get a break.
Applications for allopathic schools: Offered through the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Fee Assistance Program gives eligible applicants a fee reduction for the MCAT and a fee waiver for applying to school, among other benefits.
In recent years, more medical school applicants have been able to take advantage of the program. "Between 2006 and 2011, FAP applications grew by roughly 20 percent yearly (from 3,850 to 9,560), as did the number of awardees (from 2,038 to 7,288)," according to a July report from the association.
This year awardees pay just $100 to take the MCAT,​ instead of the $275 everyone else pays, says James Hafner-Eaton, the director of AMCAS operations. "They also receive free MCAT preparation materials," he says.
Awardees this year also have their application fees waived for 15 school designations, which can save them $664. But this number can fluctuate, Hafner-Eaton says. For example, if the average number of designations among applicants was 14, awardees would have 14 designations covered.
Now if they want to apply for more than 15, they must pay an additional $36 per designation.
Students must prove to be within a certain income level​ for eligibility and can apply online. They should apply before they register for the MCAT or submit an application through AMCAS, Haflner-Eaton says. Those given permission to use the program must do so within the calendar year.
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Applications for osteopathic schools: ​The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine does not provide financial help for the MCAT, though students take this exam for admittance. But it does help applicants with financial need reduce the cost of applying.
The association provides 1,000 fee waivers each year for applicants, says Stephen Shannon, the president and CEO​ for the organization. "With the fee waiver, they can apply to three colleges of osteopathic medicine," he says. Students save $265.
Students must prove they have financial limitations​ to be eligible for a fee waiver, though the organization gauges eligibility in a different way from the Association of American Medical Colleges​. Those given a waiver must use it within 90 days, says Levitan. If not, the waiver expires and can then be given to another eligible applicant.

Because of the rolling system in which waivers are granted, aspiring doctors can receive them at various points during the year. But they shouldn't wait until the last minute to apply. "The earlier the better is what I say," says Levitan, from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.
If students who receive the waiver want to designate their application for more than three schools, they must pay an additional fee of $35 per college.
Secondary applications: Secondary applications at osteopathic medical schools​ can be costly, but it depends on the school.