About the AAMC Fee Assistance Program (FAP)

The AAMC believes that the cost of applying to medical school should not be a financial barrier to individuals who are interested in becoming physicians. The AAMC Fee Assistance Program (FAP) assists MCAT examinees and AMCAS applicants who, without financial assistance, would be unable to take the MCAT examination or apply to medical schools that use the AMCAS application.

Applicants who are approved for fee assistance in 2009 receive the following benefits from the AAMC:

• Reduction of the MCAT registration fee from $225 to $85 for any registration submitted subsequent to the date of approval during the 2009 calendar year. A FAP approval is also good for one free copy of The Official Guide to the MCAT Exam. This is a $30 value provided free to FAP recipients who have used the fee assistance to register for the MCAT exam.
• Waiver of the application fees for submitting the completed AMCAS application to up to 13 medical schools. Applicants pay an additional fee for each school beyond the 13 free applications.

In addition, most AMCAS-participating medical schools waive their supplemental application fees for applicants who have been granted fee assistance by the AAMC.

FAP Policies

The FAP does not draw a distinction between dependent and independent student status, and, therefore, all applicants must provide parental financial data for the FAP.

Once a FAP application is approved, this fee assistance approval may be applied to any subsequently submitted MCAT registration or AMCAS application during that calendar year. The FAP approval is not retroactive. For the MCAT, a FAP approval may be used to reduce the MCAT registration fee from $225 to $85. A FAP approval is also good for one free copy of The Official Guide to the MCAT Exam. This is a $30 value provided free to FAP recipients who have used the fee assistance to register for the MCAT exam. For AMCAS, a FAP approval will enable an applicant to apply to up to 13 medical schools with the application fee waived. Appropriate fees must be paid to process an application to medical schools beyond this initial set of 13.

You must supply complete and accurate financial data on the application, and you must certify to the accuracy of the data provided for both the applicant and the applicant's parents.

Copies of Federal Income Tax forms, welfare payment statements, Social Security payment statements, and documentation for all other sources of income may be required based on an initial review of your application. University or college financial aid award statements, which indicate the amount of the total aid that was based on tuition, fees, and books, and the amount made available for room, board, and other expenses may also be required.

All income data must be for the previous year (calendar year 2008 for FAP applications submitted in 2009).

Changes in current year financial situations will not be considered.

The AAMC decision to approve or deny your application for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program will be transmitted to the e-mail address you provide in your application. You may also check your status by logging on and visiting the main menu of your FAP application online.