Student Financial Services

“The financial burden—it’s a little staggering when you think about it…the Foundation loans really alleviate that burden…”

Click to hear Ms. Nelson’s video testimonial

Laurie Nelson
Foundation Loan Borrower
2^nd Year, Penn State College of Medicine

The face of gratitude…

Hot Highlight
... Allegheny County Medical Society Foundation awards first scholarship

New Scholarship Established
In 2007, the Foundation was pleased to announce the availability and presentation of the new Allegheny County Medical Society (ACMS) Medical Student Scholarship. This is the first award offered by the ACMS Foundation. In 2004, ACMS Foundation established the scholarship with $10,000 in seed money, which has grown to maturity thanks to generous contributions from the ACMS Foundation and local physicians. ACMS’ mission is to provide leadership and advocacy for patients and physicians.

“ACMS is delighted to offer this medical student scholarship and to support local medical trainees,” said Krishnan A. Gopal, MD, 2007 ACMS president and ACMS Foundation board chair. “The scholarship is a great way to help remarkable students from our region offset the tremendous financial cost of attending medical school. We encourage physicians to contribute to the scholarship through the ACMS Foundation or The Foundation of the Pennsylvania Medical Society.”

The ACMS Scholarship Committee selected two medical students to receive $2,000 each for use toward tuition. To qualify for the award, the students had to complete a detailed application and write an essay answering these questions: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? How do you plan to give back to the community? Other award criteria include being: a third- or fourth-year Pennsylvania medical student from Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington, and Westmoreland counties; and a United States citizen enrolled full time in a Pennsylvania medical school.

“The Foundation is proud to participate with ACMS in establishing a scholarship fund to benefit medical students from the greater Pittsburgh area,” said Virginia B. Henning, CPA, Foundation executive director. “We are excited to work with ACMS to ease our future physicians’ debt load and acknowledge their significant achievements.”

Six Scholarships Awarded
Currently, the Foundation offers six medical student scholarships (see list below); a seventh, Montgomery County Medical Society Scholarship, is in the planning stage. In 2007, we awarded $37,600 to 17 students. The Lycoming County Medical Society Scholarship increased its award amount from $1,000 to $1,800.

Here are the scholarships presented in 2007:

Financial Management Seminar Branched Out

2 seminars, 2 schools, 1 day: On March 14, we co-sponsored two financial management seminars for graduating medical students who are transitioning to residency. At Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey 94 students attended, and Temple School of Medicine drew 125 students.

Volunteer speakers led students through a daylong seminar to cover various aspects such as residency contracts, loan repayment, investment strategies, identity theft, and insurance needs.

Speakers and sponsors included:

Temple
Speakers
Keith Babich
Student Capital Corporation

Brian Grant, CLU, ChFC, MSFS, CFP
Premier Financial Group

Kathleen Reeves, MD
Temple University School of Medicine

Scott Schartel, DO
Temple University Hospital

Jerry Sharf
Temple University School of Medicine

Raymond Truex Jr. MD, FACS
The Foundation of the Pennsylvania Medical Society

Sponsor
Student Capital Corporation

Penn State
Speakers
Erin Adams
NorthStar, Total Higher Education Loan Programs

Edward Bollard, MD, DDS
Penn State College of Medicine

Joetta Bradica
Penn State College of Medicine

Virginia Hall, MD
The Foundation of the Pennsylvania Medical Society

Beth Herman
Penn State Hershey Medical Center

Thomas Rowan, CLU, ChFC, CLTC
Rowan Associates

Richard Simons Jr., MD
Penn State College of Medicine

Sponsors
Commerce Bank
NorthStar, Total Higher Education Loan Programs

Loans Disbursed
By the end of December, we had helped 99 medical students finance their education by distributing $470,763 loans. To aid 20 residents with relocation expenses, we disbursed $20,000 in loans.

Including the 2007 borrowers, Student Financial Services manages 525 active student loan accounts and maintains a current principal balance of more than $4.6 million.

In addition to the monetary disbursements, Student Financial Services staff prepared holiday study packs for students who received a 2007 loan or scholarship. The packs arrived just before final exams and contained snacks, notepads, and highlighters to bring students some cheer to help them get through the busy time.

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