Financial Aid for Medical Students

Apply for Aid

The Office of Financial Aid at TUSM provides students with guidance on managing financial aid and the resources they need to be financially successful upon graduation. Financial aid is offered each academic year, and students must reapply to be considered for aid eligibility. Our office primarily uses electronic communication. It's important that students complete the Tufts Financial Aid Electronic Consent form, as financial aid eligibility notices will be emailed to those who provide e-consent.

To ensure that students receive their financial aid eligibility notifications promptly, we request that students complete their applications by the February 21 priority filing date. The sections below provide guidance on the application materials needed to apply for aid. Please be aware that students must upload and submit tax and/or supplemental documents through the Tufts MED FA Box. We encourage you to review the following instructions carefully to ensure that the application requirements apply to the student.

Award Notification

Incoming first-year MD students can expect to receive financial aid eligibility notices beginning in March. Returning students can expect to receive financial aid eligibility notices beginning in May.

Apply for Aid

We strongly encourage all interviewed applicants who are interested in applying for financial aid to submit their financial aid materials as soon as possible, even if they are not admitted to the School of Medicine. If you are an incoming first-year MD student applying for institutional, need-based financial aid, including Federal Direct Loans, submit all requirements below.
- Submit the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) School Code: E00520
- Submit the 2025-26 CSS Profile School Code:6150
  - Both biological and/or adoptive parents must include their information on the CSS Profile.
  - If either or both biological and/or adoptive parents are remarried, include the parent’s current spouse’s information.
  - If biological and/or adoptive parents are divorced, separated, or never married, one parent must complete a separate CSS Profile application.
  - $25 fee for the first school and $16 fee for each school added thereafter
- Provide 2023 federal tax documents (If applicable)
  - 2023 federal tax returns (including all schedules) and W2s for yourself and your spouse.
  - 2023 federal tax returns (including all schedules) and W2s for both biological and/or adoptive parents (and current spouse’s information if remarried).
The FAFSA is the only initial requirement to determine eligibility for federal loans. Students are not required to provide any parent information on the application.
- Submit the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) School Code: E00520
Students must continue to submit FAFSA annually with updated student information. For the 25-26 academic year, we will not collect updated parental information for students who previously completed the institutional aid application process as incoming students and had no changes to marital status/number of dependents. We will continue using parental information from the previous application cycle we have on file. Please choose one of the three options and follow the instructions provided.
Option A: Students only applying for federal aid (Federal Work-study and/or Federal Direct Loans) are only required to:
- Submit the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) School Code: E00520
Option B: Students who have already completed the institutional aid application process as an incoming student and wish to apply for aid must:
- Submit the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) School Code: E00520
- Submit the 2025-26 Tufts School of Medicine – Financial Aid Renewal Application for MD Returning Students
- Provide 2023 Financial Documents (If applicable)
  - Signed copy of student/spouse’s 2023 Federal Income Tax Return(s) – including all schedules.
  - 2023 W2(s) for student/spouse
  - A current mortgage statement from the lender showing outstanding loan principal for all properties owned by the student/spouse.
Option C: Students who wish to apply for institutional aid for the first time and did not provide all required parental information in previous years must:
- Contact their financial aid advisors for additional guidance regarding their application.

Types of Aid Available

Type of Aid	Annual Limit	Interest Rate	Net Fees	Eligibility
Medical School Scholarships	1/4 Tuition to 3/4 Tuition			Determined by Office of Financial Aid, need-based, considers family resources
Maine Track and DFMF Scholarships	20 scholarships; $25,000 each; may be renewed in subsequent years			Determined by MMC Scholarship committee. All incoming students considered.
Tufts SOM Restricted and/or endowed scholarships	Varies			All financial aid recipients who submitted parental information and have a complete FA file are automatically considered.
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan*	1st Year - $42,722 2nd Year - $44,944 3rd Year - $47,167 4th Year - $44,944	8.08% (accrues from the date of disbursement; fixed rate for the life of the loan but each year new rates will be established for loans disbursed within that year based on the variable index rate)	1.057%	Meet federal requirements*
Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan*	COA - other aid	9.08% (accrues from the date of disbursement; fixed rate for the life of the loan but each year new rates will be established for loans disbursed within that year based on the variable index rate)	4.228%	Meet federal requirements*, and meet credit requirements
Wolfson Loan	Up to $20,000	0% during grace and/or eligible deferment periods, fixed at Prime +1% when in repayment. Capped at 7%.		Determined by Office of Financial Aid, need-based, considers family resources.
Primary Care Loan**	Varies annually based on funds available	0% during grace and/or eligible deferment periods, 5% in repayment		Students should contact Office of Financial Aid if planning to work in primary care and interested in borrowing funds. Borrowers must commit to a career in Primary Care for 10 years or until the loan is paid in full, whichever occurs first. Students must be U.S citizens or eligible noncitizens, demonstrate financial need, and parental information may be required.**
Loans for Disadvantaged Students**	Varies annually based on funds available	0% during grace and/or eligible deferment periods, 5% in repayment		All financial aid recipients who submitted parental information and have a complete FA file are automatically considered. Awards offered to students with most significant financial need. Fund availability varies annually.**
Federal Work-study	Typical base award of $500			Need-based, meet federal requirements.* Student may request an increase if necessary.

*Students must complete FAFSA, submit all required documents to the Office of Financial Aid and be: U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens, enrolled in degree-seeking program at least half-time, meeting standards of satisfactory academic progress, in compliance with Selective Service requirements (if male), and have no prior drug convictions during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving Title IV aid. In addition, borrowers must complete an online entrance interview AND complete a Master Promissory Note for each program prior to receiving funds from Federal Direct Sub/Unsub, Grad PLUS, and/or a Federal Perkins loans. Net fees are effective as of 10/01/2020.

** LDS and/or PCL borrowers must meet Title VII requirements, complete an HPSL online entrance interview and complete a Master Promissory Note for each program. In addition, the borrower will be required to review and accept disclosures and complete a self-certification form annually before funds disburse to their student account.

Need-based scholarships are available for medical students attending Tufts University School of Medicine. All students who have applied for institutional assistance by submitting parental information will be assessed automatically. Scholarships are awarded to those with the most significant financial need, and awards range in value. Most scholarships are equivalent to 25% to 75% of MD tuition. However, some students may receive multiple scholarships totaling up to 100% of MD tuition. Tufts will not offer institutional scholarship(s) that exceed the value of 100% MD tuition.
Externally funded scholarships are considered when determining the total scholarship eligibility for institutional funding. Students are encouraged to disclose outside scholarship awards as early as possible to avoid having their institutional scholarship reduced later in the year.
The Office of Financial Aid will review eligibility of those receiving institutional scholarships who are also receiving outside scholarship awards. If it is determined that the total combined amount of all scholarship resources (institutional and externally funded) exceeds 125% of MD tuition, institutional scholarships will be reduced regardless of time of year. Tufts University School of Medicine will not provide institutional scholarship funds for any student that exceed a combined total equivalent to 125% MD tuition value regardless of the source of funding.
All scholarship awards are need-based and are never guaranteed for renewal in future years. Students are required to reapply for aid annually and those displaying similar levels of need are likely to receive similar aid packages in future years.
The Office of Financial Aid awards institutional and federal student loans in accordance with eligibility requirements and availability of funding.
Students are responsible for completing all requirements to ensure the disbursement of loan proceeds to their student accounts.
Tufts University participates in the Federal Direct Loan program. Students must complete the Direct Loan Master Promissory Note for each loan being borrowed (Unsub Direct Loan and/or the GradPLUS Direct Loan). Each MPN is valid for a 10 year period.
Federal Direct loan borrowers must also ensure that they complete mandatory online Entrance Counseling. Students should be sure to select the Graduate Student option and indicate Tufts University School of Medicine.
Students who are graduating, taking a Leave of Absence, withdrawing, or who will drop to less-than half-time enrollment must also complete online Exit Counseling. Students should be sure to select the Graduate Student option and indicate Tufts University School of Medicine.
Medical students may take advantage of loan repayment programs through a variety of sources. Tufts University has also created a new Loan Repayment Assistance Program, available to graduates of any Tufts program who are pursuing careers in public service.