Ashish Thakurdas Khanchandani

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I will always be indebted to the AAMC Fee Assistance program, which single-handedly enabled me to put my best foot forward while applying to medical school.

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Ashish Khanchandani Headshot

Medical School: Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Expected Graduation Year: May 2024
Undergraduate Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Major: Quantitative Biology
Minor: Chemistry

Why I’m becoming a doctor

Growing up with immigrant parents, I saw how they didn't have good access to health care. Furthermore, growing up in an underserved community (Eastern North Carolina) showed me that the disparities I saw with my parents affected numerous factions of people across the region. I don't expect to single-handedly fix some of these systemic issues, but I am motivated to become a physician and go to medical school so that I can channel my strengths in STEM to play a small role in fixing these community-wide inequities. At the very least, I want to provide care to those families who don't have access to quality healthcare, like my parents years ago. 

My experience with the AAMC Fee Assistance Program 

I used the following benefits during my premed journey: 

I will always be indebted to the AAMC Fee Assistance Program, which single-handedly enabled me to put my best foot forward while applying to medical school. 

Other ways I benefited from the AAMC Fee Assistance Program

I was able to have all my secondary fees waived. I learned about these typically by filling out the secondary or contacting the school. Overall, this was a huge burden that was lifted during stressful application cycles.

Advice to future applicants

Make sure to be as thorough as possible. Keep your tax returns, tuition stubs, your parents' finances, and any other pertinent financial information on hand. Additionally, even if you don't think you'd qualify, definitely still apply and see whether you will be approved. Fee Assistance Program application provides a section to explain any extenuating circumstances or provide additional information, so utilize this to explain your case and why you need the Fee Assistance Program. More information will never hurt most of the time. Also, just because the AMCAS program allows you to apply to up to 20 schools with the fee waiver, don't feel obligated to use all of that. Likewise, try to be efficient and good stewards of the resources allotted to you. It'll keep you less stressed and enable you to have a successful application cycle.

These students’ testimonials were selected because they represent diverse stories. The views expressed herein are those of the students and do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the AAMC.
 

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2024 Fee Assistance Program Essentials

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