Medical scholarships: Attracting the best and brightest

Sharon Zimmerman, MPA

Director of Medical Development

Executive Director of Alumni Affairs

An investment in scholarships is an investment in the college’s most precious resource: its students. OU-COM depends largely on private support to attract the brightest, most promising young people who will be tomorrow’s physicians—our future alumni—and also to ensure that their dream of becoming a physician is within financial reach.

Each year, approximately 400 students compete for OU-COM’s 40 scholarships.  Scholarships help narrow the gap between awards requested and those granted. When we cannot offer enough financial aid, we sometimes lose talented applicants because they simply cannot afford the expenses associated with medical education and training. 

Our Student Affairs staff members work diligently with our students, advising them on how to incur the least possible medical school debt. Still, tuition and fees have risen more than 100 percent in the past decade, due in large part to steady cuts in government funding, and living expenses continually increase. As a result, the average debt of our most recent graduates has increased from $89,182 in 1999 to $150,868 for the class of 2008, even though our college tuition ranks among the lowest of all seven medical schools in Ohio.

Scholarships change lives by making medical school financially possible. If you would like to help, I am always happy to talk about how you can contribute to an existing scholarship or even start your own osteopathic scholarship in your name or the name of a mentor or loved one.

Your generosity means a lot to our students. We are pleased to announce the establishment of these new 2007-2008 OU-COM Scholarships:

• Austin-Bailey Health and Wellness Foundation Gerald L. Meck Osteopathic Student Scholarship
• *Auxiliary to the 9^th District Academy, Ohio Osteopathic Association Scholarship
• *Barbara A. Bennett, D.O., (’84), Osteopathic Medical Scholarship
• *Michael E., (’83) and Ruth Campolo Osteopathic Medical Scholarship
• *Chang Ying-Chien Osteopathic Medical Scholarship
• *Alison A. Clarey, D.O., FACOS Osteopathic Medical Scholarship
• The Cleveland Foundation Osteopathic Medical Scholarship
• *Mae F. and A.R. Harmon Memorial Scholarship in Osteopathic Medicine
• *Robert S. Harris, D.O., (’82), Osteopathic Memorial Scholarship
• *The Holzer Clinic Scholarships
• Northeastern Ohio Healthcare Foundation, Cpl. Joshua Harmon Memorial Osteopathic Scholarship
• *Georgenna Riley, D.O. (’95), Osteopathic Minority Scholarship
• *Geraldine N. Urse, D.O. (’93), FACOFP and John S. Urse, Jr., D.O. (’82), FACOS, Osteopathic Medical Scholarship

*Endowed scholarships