Rural Illinois Medical Student Assistance Program This program, which started in 1948, has helped many qualified applicants to hurdle financial need or borderline academic barriers to a medical education. This program has assisted over 800 students with a recommendation and/or loans. Recommendation Assistance The Board representing the sponsoring organizations of the program can recommend candidates annually to the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Your grade point average and your Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores weigh heavily on your being

Loan Assistance
Students seeking financial aid will be contacted after they have been accepted as University of Illinois Medical School students. The Office of Student Affairs, University of Illinois at Chicago, Health Sciences Center, Chicago, Illinois, will provide a financial aid request form to be completed and returned for committee consideration. This information will remain confidential and will offer a basis for selection of students to receive loan assistance.

Loans of $3,750 per semester are available during the four years of medical school ($30,000 maximum loan from this program). The total amount of loan funds available is uniform each year. Loans are granted at 4% interest. The borrower must insure himself for the total amount of his intended loan and must pay the premiums on the policy. The repayment schedule of the principal amount begins three years following termination of post graduate training.

Students are asked to pay the interest on their loans annually and are provided with an annual invoice.

General Information
Eligibility Requirements:
Freshmen student applicants are considered on a comparative and competitive basis regardless of whether they seek a loan or a recommendation or both. Applicants must have the signatures of their county medical society president or secretary and the county Farm Bureau president on their application form. Minimum scholastic requirements of an applicant are that only students who are in their fourth year of college and who will have completed study for a bachelor's degree prior to matriculation to medical school may apply. Applicants to the Rural Illinois Medical Student Assistance Program MUST be Illinois residents. Please talk to your pre-med advisor about this program.

Your Part of the Bargain
This is a program designed to provide doctors in rural communities in Illinois. Students must be willing to specialize in Family Practice or another primary health care field. The following approved residencies are permitted: Family Practice, Internal Medicine, OB-GYNE, Pediatrics, or 2+2. In return for assistance from the Rural Illinois Medical Student Assistance Program, you must agree to practice medicine in an approved community in Illinois serving a rural populace. Minimum practice time is as follows:

• Freshman student receiving a recommendation - five years.
• Freshman student already approved for admission requesting loan assistance for four years - four years.
• Upper classman already in medical school - one year of practice for each year that financial aid is taken (one year minimum).

When and How to Apply
Freshman student applicants must submit their completed Rural Illinois Medical Student Assistance Program applications to James L. Schmidt by November 1 to be considered as a candidate for the medical school enrollment the following September.

APPLICANTS MUST ALSO COMPLETE THE REQUIRED AMERICAN MEDICAL COLLEGE ADMISSION SERVICE FORMS. THIS AMCAS APPLICATION MUST BE ON RECORD WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF MEDICINE BY NOVEMBER 1. THESE SHOULD BE MAILED TO AMCAS BY OCTOBER 1.

The Board of the Rural Illinois Medical Student Assistance Program conducts an annual interview meeting for freshman students. Students qualifying for the interview are notified and invited in mid-November. For application and additional information, write to: