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Undergraduate Financial Aid

There are a number of resources available to help you finance your MCPHS education. We recommend that every family consider applying for financial aid, regardless of their income and assets. Financing your education shouldn’t be complicated. Our Student Financial Services staff will help you navigate the forms, terminology, numbers and deadlines associated with applying for and receiving financial aid. Together, we’ll create a financial plan that makes sense for you and your family’s unique financial circumstances.

Types of Aid

Merit Scholarships

MCPHS aspires to enroll students who have outstanding ability, academic promise, and a passion for healthcare. We recognize that a college education is one of the most important investments a student will make in their lifetime. To this end, our merit award program helps put an MCPHS education within reach to qualified first-year applicants. It is not necessary to submit a separate application for consideration; all applicants will be reviewed for merit at time of acceptance.

MCPHS Award (Need based)

The University provides need-based scholarships to students with demonstrated financial need determined by their FAFSA application.

Pell Grant

This federal program provides grants to undergraduate students demonstrating exceptional financial need. Award amounts are determined by the federal government based off of their EFC.

SEOG Grant

The FSEOG program provides grants to undergraduate students demonstrating exceptional financial need. Awards are based off an annual allocation and cannot be guaranteed to every eligible student.

Direct Student Loans

Direct Student Loans are a federally funded educational loan for undergraduate students. The fixed interest rate and fees are defined by the federal government. More information about the Direct Student Loan program can be found, here.

Parent PLUS Loan

The Parent PLUS Loan is a federally funded loan that enables parents of dependent undergraduate students to borrow up to the cost of attendance, less financial aid. More information about the fixed interest rate and fees defined by the federal government.

Private Student Loan

Loans available in this category are offered by various private lenders and are certified by the University each year for the student’s enrollment. There are numerous alternative loans available, from a wide variety of lenders many of which can be found using our private lender comparison tool ELM Select.

Health Professions Student Loan

The Health Professions Student Loan is need based a federally funded loan with a fixed interest rate of 5% available only to students in the undergraduate portion of the Doctorate of Pharmacy program (PharmD). It carries no interest while the student is enrolled full time. Repayment of principal and interest does not begin until 12 months after the student ceases to be enrolled full time.

Massachusetts State Aid

The Massachusetts State Aid program provides need based aid to full-time undergraduate students who demonstrate exceptional financial need and meet the Massachusetts residency requirements as detailed by the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance. Award amounts are determined by the state government and are estimated until final state appropriations.

Federal Work Study

Federal Work Study is a need-based award which provides the opportunity for part-time employment in an on-campus or community service related position.

Private Scholarships

Explore your local community (rotary clubs, businesses, high school, etc.) for scholarship opportunities to assist with the cost of your education. All scholarship awards from outside establishments are required to be reported to the Office of Student Financial Services.

Next Steps

In addition to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), students and families may be required to submit additional information before we can prepare or finalize a financial aid award. Should additional materials or other supporting documentation be needed, we will indicate this to you through an email.  Please note students and families are not required to submit copies of tax forms or W-2’s unless we specifically request this information.

If you need to update the information originally submitted on your FAFSA for example, you have now filed your taxes; you may make any adjustment to the FAFSA online and resubmit the corrections electronically. 

You are not required to officially accept your offer of financial aid. We assume that you accept the entire aid package unless you specifically notify us that you wish to decline all or part of the award. Please pay close attention to the language contained in your financial aid award letter as it will provide important information about the paperwork and processes that are necessary to obtain certain sources of financial aid.

Should you decide to decline any part of your award, we ask that you send an email to your financial aid counselor from your MCPHS email address indicating the type of aid and amount you would like to cancel.

If you will be receiving any forms of assistance not listed on your offer such as a scholarship from an outside organization, you need to notify us of this additional resource.

If you or your family has experienced a change in financial circumstances, such as loss of income, significant out of pocket medical/dental expenses or separation/divorce, since filing our FAFSA, please let us know. Once we have information about his change, we can let you know the process for filing an official appeal.

When comparing financial aid awards, you will want to examine not only the total award amount, but also the net cost of attendance for each school after financial aid.  Make sure to differentiate between grant aid (that does not have to be repaid) and loans. Some financial aid awards also include an estimated parent loan. Costs should be compared based on educational experiences and outcome you can expect to receive from each school.