Fee Assistance Program FAQs

Fee Assistance Program eligibility decisions are tied directly to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' poverty level guidelines. For the previous calendar year, applicants whose total family income is 400 percent or less of the poverty level for their family size will be approved for fee assistance.

In addition, you are eligible for the Fee Assistance Program if prior to completing your Fee Assistance Program application you have a permanent U.S. address.

Finally, you must be preparing to apply to medical school. Specifically, applicants for AAMC Fee Assistance must not:

• Be currently accepted or enrolled in any medical school.
• Have graduated from medical school.
• Be preparing to apply for residency.

If you are a Canadian MCAT examinee, please see the Fee Assistance Program for Canadian Examinees for more information.

You are eligible for the Fee Assistance Program if prior to completing your Fee Assistance Program application you have a permanent U.S. address.

You are eligible for the Fee Assistance Program if prior to completing your Fee Assistance Program application you have a permanent address in the United States.

You may be awarded fee assistance a maximum of five (5) times during your lifetime. This restriction enables other examinees and applicants to also benefit from this program. You will receive MCAT Official Prep product benefits once in a lifetime, regardless of the number of times you are a Fee Assistance Program awardee.

There are two reasons that this may occur:

• You have already received Fee Assistance Program five (5) times in your lifetime. You may be awarded fee assistance a maximum of five (5) times during your lifetime.This restriction enables other examinees and applicants to also benefit from this program.
• You have a previous Fee Assistance Program application with a confirmed investigation. If a previous Fee Assistance Program application resulted in an investigation, you will not be able to apply for Fee Assistance Program in future applications.

There are two common reasons that your application will be denied in this case: 

• Your parent(s) income did not meet eligibility requirements. Parental financial information is viewed independently from applicant data, but must also fall within eligibility guidelines. If your parent(s)’ household income exceeds 400% of the national poverty level for their family size, you will not be eligible for fee assistance. 
• The income or family size for yourself or your parent(s) is incorrect. It would be a good idea to compare the income levels you entered against the official tax documentation you were planning to submit. If you find that you incorrectly entered this data, then you should submit an appeal.

The only circumstance in which you may appeal the denial of your Fee Assistance Program application is if your (or your parental) financial information was entered incorrectly on the application.

For example:

• You entered the wrong family size, and the corrected/new family size would make you eligible for consideration.
• You entered the incorrect amounts for your income and/ or your parent(s) income.

If it appears that you have a reason to submit an appeal e-mail fap@aamc.org with the subject line "Fee Assistance Program Appeal."
 
Your e-mail must include:

• Your name
• Your AAMC ID
• Reason for appeal
• Corrected financial information (if applicable)

In the event that an appeal is initiated, please allow up to five (5) business days for AAMC to review the request and provide a response. Reinstatement of your application does not mean approval is guaranteed. Upon review of your appeal, your application may again be denied. It is our goal to process each request in a timely manner, and do appreciate the time sensitive nature of the application process. Note: Where possible, if documentation is required, it should not include any sensitive identifying information (i.e. SSNs, DOB).