Eligibility

Citizenship

Federal Financial Aid
U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is required.

Institutional Financial Aid
U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and foreign students are eligible.

Enrollment Requirements

Each student must meet the enrollment and satisfactory progress as defined in Section 10.3: Standards for Performance and Satisfactory Progress in the 2013-2014 M.D. Program Handbook.
- Per quarter:

1. Autumn, winter, spring: nine medical school units each quarter (medical school course work includes all courses and research units offered through the medical school).
2. Summer: a minimum of nine units that must include three medical school units.

Per academic year: minimum of 36 medical school units.

1.Students planning not to register for a quarter, or to register for summer and take only three medical school units, must be careful that during each academic year they complete a minimum of 36 medical school units. No financial aid will be disbursed to a student who completes less than the minimum. Units for a course dropped will not be included.

2.Academic deficiencies must be corrected within the time frame established by the Committee on Performance, Professionalism and Promotion (CP3).

Advanced degrees outside of the medical school do not qualify for financial aid funding through the medical school.
A student who has completed his or her degree requirements, with the exception of the ACLS, will not be eligible for financial aid funding.

Maximum Financial Aid Eligibility and Satisfactory Academic Progress

Federal law and regulations require that students receiving financial assistance from federal funds must maintain satisfactory academic progress. The following policy presents the standards adopted by Stanford University School of Medicine for students receiving financial aid. This policy supersedes prior policy:

For students in the M.D. program: five years (i.e. 20 quarters).

For M.D. students working on a master's degree at the medical school: six years (i.e. 23 quarters)

Funding beyond the maximum time frames will be provided only if there are significant mitigating circumstances and the student's Academic Advisor gives his or her approval.

The maximum time allowed does not include periods of approved leaves of absence.

The School of Medicine Registar's Office monitors student progress and notifies the School of Medicine's Financial Aid Office and the Committee on Performance, Professionalism and Promotion (CP3) of those students whose academic progress may be in question.

Upon notification of insufficient SAP, the Financial Aid Office will place students on a "Financial Aid Warning" which will allow students to continue to receive aid for one additional term without taking further action. If the student has not met the requirement by the end of the warning period, then they become ineligible for further assistance (financial aid suspension).

The student may appeal the financial aid suspension decision and be placed on "Financial Aid Probation" and continue to receive assistance. The student then has one academic year (CP3 will determine length of remediation period) to meet the minimum standards or meet the requirements of an "academic plan" as developed by CP3.

Financial Need

All financial aid administered by Stanford University School of Medicine is based on demonstrated financial need, not academic achievement.
Stanford's financial aid program requires that you, your parents and your spouse provide all financial information fully and accurately. If you are over 30 years of age by the start of the academic year, parental information is not required.

Change in Financial Status

All students regardless of age must promptly notify the Financial Aid Office in writing of any change in their financial circumstances during the year.
Failure to report changes such as marital status, parental income, assets, scholarship aid, work income, etc., could result in a total loss of assistance, revision of past awards, serious disciplinary action, or all three.

Agreement to Student Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities (Opens PDF file in new browser window)

Donor Acknowledgement

Most of our grant, loan and medical scholar funds exist because of generous gifts from alumni or friends of Stanford.
If you are awarded such funds, you may be required to write the donor(s) a thank-you letter. Your cooperation is needed and expected since maintaining the good will of Stanford's donors helps assure the availability of funds for the future.
Aid recipients who fail to comply with this requirement by the specified date will lose eligibility for Stanford grants or loans — or both.

Institutional Aid

Due to institutional resources being limited, Stanford University School of Medicine holds the policy that the primary responsibility for financing a student’s education rests with the family to the extent of demonstrated ability.

You are considered financially dependent upon both your biological parents, even if they do not claim you as a dependent. This applies regardless of your marital status, or the fact that you may have been self-supporting for a number of years.

Exception: Students who are 30 years old by the start of the academic year are considered independent and will not be required to provide parental information.

The Need Access Application and your parents’ latest federal income tax returns are used to determine the parental contribution. The formula takes into consideration your parents':

Taxable income (wages or salaries, interest and dividends)
Untaxed income (social security benefits, veteran benefits, voluntary annual contributions to tax deferred savings, workers compensations)
Assets (savings, investments of all kind, stocks and bonds, stock options)
Age
Number of dependents
Number of dependents in college*
Federal and state income taxes paid
An allowance, which varies according to family size.

*The calculation of parental contribution may be affected by the number of children enrolled in college (excludes parents enrolled in college). As a result of this, the amount of the expected parental contribution will vary from student to student and may change year to year.

Information from Separated or Divorced Parents

For the purposes of determining Stanford-based financial aid only, each natural parent must submit financial information and the required tax forms.

Estrangement from Parents

If it is not possible for you to secure information from a parent due to absolute estrangement, you may complete an absolute estrangement waiver from the School of Medicine Financial Aid Office. Professional third-party verification of the circumstances is required. If approved, this parent's information will be waived each succeeding year that you are on financial aid.

Verification of Sibling/Spouse Enrollment in College

Only siblings under the age of 26 that are attending college at least half time for a minimum of one semester or two quarters in the current academic year may be counted as dependents on the FAFSA and Need Access Application.
Verification of sibling enrollment will be required during the winter quarter of the current academic year. Failure to provide certification of a sibling's enrollment in college by the specified deadline and/or when the sibling is no longer enrolled in college will result in the financial aid office will recalculating the student's Stanford aid eligibility.
Students may complete the verification form provided by the Financial Aid Office or they may have their sibling/spouse request that the National Student Clearing House provide proof of enrollment (for a nominal fee and this option is only available if the sibling/spouse's school participates in this program).

As a graduate and professional student, regardless of age, you will be considered financiallyindependent of your parents for the Federal Subsidized Stafford, Federal Unsubsidized Stafford, Federal Perkins, Federal Grad PLUS Loans, and most alternative loan programs. *Note: All federal loans are subject to aggregate loan limits.*

The FAFSA and yours and your spouse's (if married) latest federal income tax returns are used to determine the student/spouse contribution. The formula takes into consideration:

Taxable income (wages or salaries, interest, and dividends)
Untaxed income (social security benefits, veteran benefits, voluntary annual contributions to tax deferred savings, workers compensations)
Assets (savings, investments of all kind, stocks and bonds, stock options)
Age
Number of dependents
Number of dependents in college
Federal and state income taxes paid
An allowance, which varies according to family size.

Selection for Federal Verification

The Department of Education requires colleges and universities awarding federal aid to verify the information that students submit during the financial aid application process. Students are selected at random by the Department of Education. If you are selected for verification, the Financial Aid Office will send you a verification worksheet to complete and return.

Items which may be verified include, but are not limited to:

Adjusted gross income (AGI).
U.S. income tax paid.
Number of family members in the household.
Number of family members attending post-secondary education on at least a half-time basis.
Certain untaxed income and benefits.

If you do not provide the required documentation by the indicated deadline, you may lose eligibility for further federal aid. The verification process is complete when the Financial Aid Office has received documentation and any inconsistencies in the reported data have been corrected.