How would YOU like to make a difference?

Consider what you would like to accomplish with your money that would be meaningful and spark passion to you.

Whether you wish to help future Drexel physicians afford medical school, continue traditions by funding white coats and stethoscopes for first-year medical students, or enhance graduate student experiences by funding travel and research opportunities, your gift will make a permanent impact in your life and the life of the institution.

Please contact Andrea Pesce Hannan, adp77@drexel.edu or 215.432.7934, for guidance through this process. Andrea's role is to assist you in matching your wishes to the College of Medicine's priorities. Please keep in mind that your gift can be designed to best suit your financial situation and preferences. Whether you choose to make an annual gift once a year, monthly credit card payments, or establish a pledge/gift agreement to be paid over five years, there are several options to consider using tax-advantageous ways of giving through stock, charitable gift annuities, your estate plan, IRA rollover, and more.

The Case for Scholarship Support

Over the past several decades, tuition costs for medical students have skyrocketed. The average cost of one year of tuition is roughly $61,000 plus additional costs (fees, books and living expenses). At DUCOM, tuition and fees are roughly $96,000 for a first-year medical student. Many students graduate with a debt load estimated at $277,000, with 76% of the 2022 class graduating with medical school debt. DUCOM has 1,146 enrolled medical students, and 884 (77%) are receiving some form of aid. The average need-based scholarship from Drexel is roughly $14,188. Talented and qualified students are often unable to obtain the financial resources necessary to have access to medical education. Even as the predicted primary care physician shortage looms ahead, many young physicians feel compelled to choose a specialty with potential for greater economic return rather than an area of passion that generates less income. Now more than ever, deserving and qualified medical students need financial assistance.

Endowed Scholarship – $100,000+

Endowing a scholarship creates a legacy in perpetuity. The minimum to endow a scholarship at the College of Medicine is $100,000. This provides approximately $4,750 (the average spending allotment per annum) in scholarship aid to student per annum. This is roughly 5% of the estimated cost of tuition plus room and board, books and additional expenses ($96,000). Every gift earmarked for scholarship represents a significant impact on a student's ability to realize their dream of becoming a physician.

Current Use Scholarship – $25,000+

Scholarships often make the difference in whether talented students can attend and afford Drexel. With a minimum commitment of $25,000 to be gifted annually through a five-year period ($5,000 commitment each year), a current use scholarship has an immediate and profound impact on a medical student. A gift of $25,000 in current-use funding has the same impact as an endowed scholarship of $100,000, and it will immediately benefit a student in need.

College of Medicine Scholarship Fund

The general College of Medicine Scholarship Fund is a restricted fund that will support students with current-use resources annually. Whether you contribute $25 or $25,000 to this fund, you know that your gift will enable a student to offset their student loan debt with a scholarship. Your gift will make a direct impact on the life of a deserving student who counts on this extra financial support and is grateful to have it.

White Coat/Stethoscope Fund

The White Coat Ceremony, at which incoming medical students were presented with white coats they would wear throughout their medical school career, began in 1997. Additionally, at this ceremony students take the Hippocratic Oath, a symbolic and traditional beginning of medical school. In 2012, Drexel University began inviting alumni to purchase a white coat for an incoming first-year medical student. This tradition has carried on and is a fantastic way to connect alumni with medical students, and remind alumni of their own medical school journey.

Gifts in the amount of $2,500 and up will receive recognition in the White Coat Ceremony program. Leadership donors will have the opportunity to cloak students on the stage during the ceremony. Also, consider funding a first-year medical student's white coat and stethoscope with a gift of $250 to cover the cost of both.

Health Outreach Project Clinics

The mission of the Drexel University College of Medicine Health Outreach Project (HOP) is to work in partnership with the community to provide caring, nonjudgmental and interdisciplinary health services to individuals who have limited or no access to care. The HOP clinics strive to create a respectful environment in which patients, students, community members and health professionals work and learn together to address community health issues in innovative ways. HOP programs provide opportunities to address obstacles to health care, including language and cultural barriers, hours of operation, lack of insurance, homelessness, and drug and alcohol addiction. The Health Outreach Project offers care to underserved Philadelphians through free health clinics and services run by Drexel medical students. They're also a great way for first- and second-year students to gain clinical exposure.

The Legacy Center – Archives and Special Collections

The Legacy Center is the repository for the records and heritage of Drexel University College of Medicine and its predecessor institutions, including Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (W/MCP) and Hahnemann University. The materials in the collections include the history of women in medicine, evolving from W/MCP's unique position as an all-female medical school; the history of homeopathic medicine, rooted in Hahnemann's founding as the first school for homeopathic medicine in the United States and much more. A gift of $2,500 will cover the cost to process and preserve 10 linear feet of materials and provide accessibility. We also encourage alumni to consider donating their personal materials to the Special Collections; these could include papers, photographs and artifacts reflecting the mission of The Legacy Center. Learn more about donating personal materials.

WMC/MCP Trust Fund Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards

As of June 2015, the Trust Fund of the Alumnae/i Association of WMC/MCP is formally part of Drexel University College of Medicine. This allows the Trust Fund to continue the legacy of graduates of WMC/MCP with greater visibility and with the full support of Drexel University. This collaboration will ensure ongoing support for generations of women to come. All scholarships will continue as endowed scholarships within the College of Medicine. In addition, remaining unrestricted funds have been used to establish two new endowed scholarships: the WMC/MCP Legacy Scholarship and the Ann Preston, MD, Scholarship. If you are a WMC or MCP graduate or would like to support female medical students, please consider a gift to one of the several scholarships established in honor or memory of the female pioneers in medicine. Learn more about the WMC/MCP Trust Fund.

Planned Giving

Donors who make a commitment to the College of Medicine in the form of a planned gift are invited to join the Drexel Legacy Society. Information about supporting the College of Medicine through a planned or deferred gift such as a bequest, charitable gift annuity, or gift of appreciated assets can be found at legacy.vg/drexel or by contacting David Toll, associate vice president, Office of Gift Planning at 215.895.4982.

New Funding Ideas?

If you'd like to support a priority not listed above, we welcome your thoughts!

In many cases, a donor's vision can become a reality through conversation. Please contact Andrea Pesce Hannan at adp77@drexel.edu to share your ideas or to arrange a private meeting.

 
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