Medical School can be very expensive. The tuition fees and living expenses will eventually add up. Everyone finances medical school differently, however here are some of the common methods.
For the 2024-25 year, tuition was $25.254.14 for tuition and ancillary fees. Fees each year can be found at: https://www.queensu.ca/registrar/tuition-fees/undergraduate
1. Admissions Bursary
https://www.queensu.ca/registrar/financial-aid/specific-students/graduate-professional/medicine
If you are coming in with financial need, then you may receive assistance from the Queen’s School of Medicine Admission Bursary. For more information check out the link above. You’ll have the opportunity to apply for it in the summer prior to the Fall Tuition payment deadline, and it will apply to this amount. Students can receive upwards of ~$5,500 in non-repayable grants.
2. Queen's Bursary
http://www.queensu.ca/studentawards/financialassistance/medicine.html
If you are coming in with existing debt, then you may receive some assistance from the Queen's Bursary, which is separate from the Admission Bursary. For more information check out the link above. You'll have an opportunity to apply for it in the fall, and it will apply to the Winter Tuition amount. Students can receive upwards of ~2,500 in non-repayable grants.
3. OSAP
Many people will be familiar with OSAP and many will not. OSAP has very strict repayment policies as well as requirements for being "independent" (independent = 4 years out of high school). However, OSAP is very helpful and on average, most medical students will receive ~$16,000 per year from OSAP.
If you’re from outside of Ontario, you will likely need to apply through your province’s OSAP equivalent.
Either way, we recommend applying as soon as possible in order to make sure your funding comes in on time!
4. Line of Credit (LOC)
Buckle up! This is a lot of info below, but is simply to help.
Many students finance their medical education with a LOC from one of the major banks, such as TD, RBC, Scotiabank, and CIBC. The terms of the loans are similar across the different banks: all tend to offer a loan of $350,000 - $400,000 at Prime interest rate - 0.25%. Most banks will offer you 1-2 premium reward credit cards (such as cash back or travel rewards) for free (i.e. the card usually has an annual fee of $100 - $120, but the bank waives this fee for you). Some banks vary in the amount of LOC funds you can access: some make the entire amount accessible to you right away, while others will release a certain amount (e.g. $100,000) to you in each term/year (although you may be able to request or negotiate an adjusted/increased allotment if you wish).
We suggest doing research and making appointments with the major banks to find out the most up-to-date information (it changes year to year) and deciding which one is best for you. Typically around June-July banks will come out with their ‘bank with us’ benefit- $1000 bonus,
Some people choose to stay with the bank they’re currently with, others go with the ‘best’ credit card, others go with perks. Bottom line, they’re all pretty much offering the same thing, and you can’t really go wrong. You can post in the Facebook group or email us if you have any questions! Check out this document with more information!
Other resources:
MD FInancial
https://mdm.ca/what-we-offer/financial-planning
Members of the Canadian Medical Association (you'll have the opportunity to join the OMA and CMA during Orientation Week) are entitled to use the services of MD Financial (a group of CMA companies), including debt management advice and banking and insurance solutions. All services provided are free to CMA members, so check out their website and if you have any questions or need advice feel free to contact an advisor.