With Medical School Tuition at All-Time Highs, Blueprint MCAT's 2022 Medical School Tuition Scholarship Bolsters One Student's Career Aspirations

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Aug 08, 2023, 13:12 ET

The scholarship program grew from Blueprint Prep's goal to remove barriers to access and achieve equal opportunity within the medical field

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blueprint Prep, the leading platform for innovative test prep, tutoring, and lifelong professional prep solutions, has awarded its annual $20,000 medical school tuition scholarship to Erin McShane, a Virginia Tech graduate currently working as a medical scribe. McShane plans to use the Blueprint Prep scholarship next year to pursue her passion for patient-centered care.

While the number of applications to medical schools has leveled off after an explosive increase following the Coronavirus pandemic, schools still received 55,188 applications last year, a 4.1% increase from 2021. Coupled with the all-time high average annual cost of medical school, this trend of slow growth in the applicant pool creates a high-stakes admissions environment, magnifying the need for resources that will allow students to achieve good test scores and avoid large student loans. Blueprint Prep aims to relieve both of those pressures simultaneously by selecting a winner at random every year from a pool of submissions to offer a student a $20,000 tuition scholarship. Beyond this scholarship, Blueprint Prep has formed partnerships with organizations, like the Student National Medical Association, to offer scholarships that include free access to MCAT prep courses.

"Expecting med students to take on so much debt and navigate the MCAT without coherent, personalized support means that access to the medical field is unfairly restricted and human potential goes unrealized," said Matt Riley, Co-Founder and CEO of Blueprint Prep. "This scholarship, along with our test prep and professional prep resources, can funnel more well-trained, well-supported professionals into the workforce, which is especially important in light of the personnel shortages we see in healthcare right now."

Erin McShane's path to winning the 2022 Blueprint Prep scholarship began the summer of her senior year when she started preparing for the MCAT. Unsure of what she needed to learn or how to organize her study schedule, she first took an approach centered on learning content, but that proved ineffective. After discovering Blueprint Prep's MCAT courses and the $20,000 scholarship, she changed her strategy, sorting the vast amounts of information covered on the test into high-yield and low-yield categories, and emphasizing practice exams. This approach paid off on her next attempt, unblocking ambitions she has held ever since she shadowed physicians at Children's National in high school, and taking her one big step closer to reaching her career goals.

"My advice to other students planning to apply to med school is to take your time, and to prioritize how to learn, not just what to learn," said McShane. "Studying for the MCAT is a daunting task, so you want to explore the resources available and take advantage of the ones that help you improve the most with the least wasted effort."

With interest in the medical field projected to remain strong in coming years, Blueprint Prep expects its suite of resources to play a key role in preparing tomorrow's healthcare leaders for their career challenges all the way from undergrad to retirement.

Blueprint's Medical School Tuition Scholarship is now open and accepting entrants for 2023. Students can enter August 7, 2023-October 31, 2023. Visit Blueprint's website to learn more and apply.

To explore Blueprint Prep's lifelong professional prep solutions, visit blueprintprep.com

About Blueprint Prep
Founded in 2005, Blueprint Prep is the leading platform for high-stakes test prep in the U.S., offering live and self-paced online courses, private tutoring, self-study materials, and application consulting services for pre-law, pre-med, and medical school students, as well as Qbanks for residents and practicing physicians, PAs and NPs via its recent acquisition of Rosh Review. Blueprint Prep leverages a unique approach that combines engaging video lectures, unparalleled expertise in content creation, the latest adaptive learning technology, and personalized study planning tools. Blueprint Prep has produced unrivaled results, including industry-leading score increases for its pre-law and pre-med students taking the LSAT and MCAT.

SOURCE Blueprint Test Preparation LLC