Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program Students

The FAFSA opens on October 1 each year and postbac applicants should complete the FAFSA before they enroll in the program.

• Complete the online version of the FAFSA using Bryn Mawr College code #003237. You must sign your online FAFSA with an FSA ID.
• Report social security numbers and full legal names as they appear on your social security card. You can update this information through Bionic. Without them, the U.S. Department of Education cannot process your financial aid results.
• Your grade level for the postbac program is 5th year/other undergraduate. You should enter that you are seeking "other/undecided." Do not enter yourself as a graduate student or indicate that you are seeking a master's or doctoral degree.

• This form certifies whether or not you have previously borrowed Federal Direct Loans for preparatory coursework.
• You must complete and return the Postbac Preparatory Release Form to the Office of Financial Aid before your loans can be certified.
• Please note that you are only eligible to borrow Federal Direct Loans for preparatory coursework taken in one single, consecutive 12-month period.
• If you plan to use private alternative loan funding, please complete the Private Alternative Loan form instead.

The Direct loan maximums for the academic year differ based on dependency status. Your dependency status and eligibility for subsidized loans will be determined by the answers you provide on the FAFSA. No more than $5,500 of loan may be subsidized. You must have remaining eligibility under the Direct Loan aggregate limits.

Summer/Fall or Fall/Spring

$5,500 for dependent Postbac students

$12,500 for independent Postbac students

Spring Term

As a student enrolled at least half-time in preparatory courses, you are eligible for Direct loans for one consecutive 12-month period. If your enrollment spans more than one academic year or two terms within the consecutive 12-month period, you may borrow an additional loan. If you borrow for the summer/fall terms, you may borrow a second loan for the spring. A dependent student may borrow the full amount of $5,500 and an independent student may borrow the full amount of $12,500 in the spring.

You have the right to a six-month grace period before your repayment period begins on the principal of your loan. Your grace period begins when you leave school or drop below half-time status. Once you are enrolled in the Postbac program, you can request deferment of paying the loan until you have completed your education. Check with your lender for more information. You should submit deferment forms to the Bryn Mawr Registrar’s Office.

Dependent students’ parents can apply for a PLUS Loan by going to www.studentloans.gov. If the parents of a dependent student are denied a Plus Loan, the student will be eligible for additional unsubsidized Direct Loan funds. Independent students are not eligible for Graduate PLUS loans because the Postbac Program is a 5th year Undergraduate program, not a graduate program.

Summer is considered the start of the academic year for graduate and Postbac students. If you are starting in the Summer of 2025, that is the beginning of the 2025 academic year and you would complete the FAFSA for 2025-2026. If you finished a graduate program in the spring of 2025 and started a postbac program in the 2025 school year (Summer 2025), you are no longer considered to be enrolled in a graduate program as of the summer. Keep this in mind as you fill out your FAFSA.

Since the 1980s, the Philadelphia-based Measey Foundation has made an annual award to Bryn Mawr College for a limited amount of scholarship funds for students enrolled in Bryn Mawr's postbac premedical program. As designated by the Measey Foundation, the scholarship money is intended to reduce the financial burden on academically talented students who have already accrued debt from federal or private education loans. In recent years, scholarships have ranged from $3500-$6500 and have been awarded to 5-10 students per year. Measey Scholarship awards are not guaranteed at the point of admission to the program. Enrolled postbaccalaureate students are invited to apply at the midpoint of their year at Bryn Mawr. Scholarship awards are applied to the tuition costs of their final semester in the program.

The scholarship committee encourages scholarship applications from members of groups historically underrepresented in medicine or who are economically disadvantaged. The scholarship committee also considers the socioeconomic status of family of origin along with student loans and outstanding debt.

Your award having two unsubsidized loans mean you were awarded for a borrower-based academic year. The borrower-based academic year (BBAY) allows you to borrow more through federal loan programs. Your initial loan is calculated using the Summer and Fall terms as one loan period, and Spring as a second loan period. You will have two equal disbursements for Summer and Fall. For BBAY awards, Spring begins a new, separate loan period, and your loan funds will be disbursed in one payment. Remember, loan funds must always be applied toward your bill first. Refunds are only calculated after the bill is paid in full. The amount that you borrow in the Spring term will reduce the amount of eligibility you have left to borrow for the following Summer term. Students are only eligible for the BBAY if they maintain at least half-time enrolllment for consecutive summer, fall and spring semesters in the same award year.