Amidst the wonder of following our dreams to medical school, we often run into the very practical roadblock of money. Specifically, the cost of a pre-medical education, standardized testing, and medical school applications. We are gamblers in Vegas when we schedule and pay for our MCAT crossing our fingers that we will truly be ready. Will you have to retake it and pay for it all over again? Or reschedule? How do you pay for that? We again gamble with our limited funds when we fill out an AMCAS application. Do you spend the money to add more schools to increase your chances? If so when does it stop? Let’s answer these questions and talk about some resources to help you pay for your pre-medical education.
The Medical College Admissions Test – the MCAT
The first in a long string of standardized tests that only get more important, more nerve-wracking, and more expensive. In order to take the MCAT, you must pay the AAMC a $310 basic registration fee. This allows you to take the exam and receive your scores. Late registration within 1-2 weeks before the test date (also known as the bronze zone) will cost you $365. Now for rescheduling and cancellations, the AAMC sets three zones: gold, silver, and bronze. If you’ve waited long enough to be in the bronze zone, you can no longer cancel or reschedule so you will have to retake your exam at a later date and pay the entire price for a second time.
The American Medical College Application System
Now for the bigger gamble: the AMCAS. According to the AAMC, the 2018 application cycle will cost you $160 for the AMCAS application services, which includes one school. After that one school, you pay an additional $39 for each medical school you choose send your application to. On average, applicants apply to about 16 schools. For perspective, that is $745 total for an average primary application. Which brings me to my next point that you will hopefully be sent secondary applications and will be expected to pay between $0-150 depending on the school. If that goes well, you might receive interview invitations; requiring you to pay for travel, lodging, and food for the day or two that you will be visiting the medical school campus. I was once told at Mayo’s Med School 101 that you should budget around $10,000 for the application and interviewing process alone.
AAMC Fee Assistance
With all that in mind, what if I told you that there was a resource that is the answer to most, if not all, of your monetary qualms regarding medical school? I am here to tell you that the premed process in completely affordable if you do your homework and search out fee assistance anywhere you can. Even if you think you don’t qualify, you are not losing anything by applying for assistance. The AAMC offers a fee assistance program that includes: reduced MCAT registration fees of $120 and $175 for late registration, $170 worth of MCAT prep materials and AAMC practice exams, free access to the $54 Medical School Admissions Requirements website for smart school choices, and an AMCAS application with at most 16 school designations free of charge. For more MCAT prep, Kaplan offers reduced costs for their courses if you ask a sales associate via phone. In addition to these two main resources there are many, many more, all you have to do is take a moment and look for them. Nothing as mundane as money should cause you to falter on your path to medical school.
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