Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) is a private, historically Black graduate university in Los Angeles focused on training health professionals to serve underserved communities. Like any health-sciences education, its programs are an investment — but a mix of financial aid, scholarships, and service-based funding can make it far more affordable than the sticker price suggests. This guide explains how to pay for a CDU education, step by step, so cost doesn’t stand between you and a health career.
Start With Federal Aid
The first step for any student is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It determines eligibility for federal grants, work-study, and low-interest federal student loans, and it’s the gateway to state and institutional aid as well. CDU’s financial-aid office can then explain how the pieces fit and what the university itself offers.
Filing early each year matters, since some aid is limited and awarded until funds run out.
Scholarships and Institutional Aid
Universities like CDU typically offer their own scholarships and grants, some based on need, some on merit, and some tied to specific programs or a commitment to serve underserved communities — which is central to CDU’s mission. Ask the financial-aid office directly which institutional scholarships you qualify for and how to apply.
External scholarships are worth pursuing too, including awards for students in medicine, nursing, and public health, and for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Professional associations and foundations offer many of these.
Service-Based Funding for Health Students
Health-professions students have access to unusually generous service programs. The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and HRSA scholarship and loan-repayment programs pay tuition or forgive debt in exchange for working in underserved areas after graduation — a natural fit for CDU’s mission-driven students. Nursing students can pursue the HRSA Nurse Corps programs.
Because these can cover a large share of the cost in return for a service commitment, they’re worth investigating early, before taking on heavy loans.
Loan Forgiveness for Health Professionals
Funding doesn’t end at graduation. Health-professions graduates who take federal loans may qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), which erases the remaining balance after 10 years of qualifying payments while working for a nonprofit or government employer — a category that includes many hospitals and clinics serving underserved communities. Nurses and other providers can also pursue federal and state loan-repayment programs tied to service in high-need areas.
Because these can be worth tens of thousands of dollars, it’s smart to factor potential forgiveness into your plan from the start. Choosing a qualifying employer after graduation can be as financially significant as any scholarship you win going in.
Grants for Underrepresented Students in Health
CDU’s mission centers on diversifying the health workforce, and that mission aligns with a range of external funding for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Professional associations, foundations, and specialty societies offer scholarships aimed at increasing diversity in medicine, nursing, and public health, and these often draw smaller applicant pools than general awards.
It’s worth identifying every group you belong to — by background, field, or career goal — and searching for awards tied to it. Your financial-aid office and program faculty frequently know which of these students at your school tend to win, so ask them for leads.
A Smart Order of Operations
To keep costs down, sequence your funding. File the FAFSA first and accept grants and low-interest federal loans. Next, apply for CDU’s institutional scholarships and any external awards you qualify for. Then, if you’re open to a service commitment, pursue the NHSC or HRSA programs, which can cover a large share of your education.
Use loans last, and borrow only what you need, keeping loan forgiveness in mind for whatever you do borrow. Working through it in that order — free money first, service programs next, loans last — keeps your out-of-pocket cost and long-term debt as low as possible.
Common Questions
How do I pay for Charles R. Drew University? Start with the FAFSA for federal aid, then pursue CDU’s institutional scholarships, external scholarships, and — for health students — service programs like the NHSC and HRSA that trade funding for service in underserved areas. Most students combine several sources.
Does CDU offer scholarships? Universities like CDU generally offer need- and merit-based scholarships, some tied to serving underserved communities. Contact the financial-aid office for the current list and eligibility, since offerings change year to year.
What is the NHSC and how does it help? The National Health Service Corps offers scholarships and loan repayment to health-professions students and providers who commit to working in high-need areas. It can cover much of your education cost in exchange for that service.
Is CDU’s financial aid different from other schools? The process is the same — start with the FAFSA and the financial-aid office — but CDU’s mission of serving underserved communities aligns well with service-based programs like the NHSC and with scholarships aimed at diversifying the health workforce. So it’s worth leaning into those mission-aligned funding sources in particular.
