The goal of the Brown Medical Annual Fund (BMAF) has always been to support students. Because financial aid remains a top priority for The Warren Alpert Medical School, a significant portion of the annual fund is dedicated to this purpose. Another top priority is institutional diversity, and the BMAF is poised to make an impact on this front as well.
Multicultural perspectives are critical to the success of the Medical School. Not only do these perspectives enrich educational understanding, they foster culturally appropriate patient care and enhance trust in research. They also make us better partners to the communities that we serve, which, in turn, will benefit the communities Brown’s medical students will serve as their careers progress. To further support a thriving learning environment with multiple experiences and backgrounds, the BMAF has announced the Advancing Diversity in Medicine Term Scholarship—a perennial effort to support students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine (URiM).
One of the challenges that impacts the Medical School’s ability to enroll URiM students is financial aid. “The underrepresented students who apply to The Warren Alpert Medical School are wanted by every medical school in the country,” says Director of Financial Aid Linda Gillette. “Though we have a healthy scholarship fund, we often lose those students to schools that offer either a better need-based scholarship package, merit funding, or both.”
“With 26 percent of the Medical School student body identifying as members of groups underrepresented in medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School is one of the most diverse medical schools in the country,” says Director of Admissions Joanne McEvoy. “Still, the majority of admitted URiM students who decline an offer from Brown cite better financial aid at another school. With this new BMAF effort, we hope to increase the chances of having these candidates say ‘yes’ to Brown.”