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Financial Aid and Scholarships

Scholarships Available

There is a limited amount of financial aid available for pre-medical students, medical students, nursing students, pharmacy students, pre-dental students, dental students, pre-veterinary students, and veterinary students on each trip. Financial aid will be distributed on a case by case basis per written request by students experiencing financial hardship. We also have the following scholarships available:

(1) Full Scholarship per team per University for the motivated individual who organizes his/her own group, minimum of 15 students, then you can come for free! Large groups of 40 or more from the same University shall be granted 2 Full Scholarships for the 2 individuals coordinating the group.

See the Full Scholarship Requirements form under the section for “Downloads”

(2) Partial Scholarships per team for those individuals who are certified translators in Spanish/English and are interested in translating for fellow students during clinics. You can receive a discount of up to $300.00! A telephone interview will be conducted to ensure that individuals are satisfactorily fluent in Spanish along with presentation of certification as a translator in the U.S.A. or E.U.

(1) Partial Scholarship per team if you recruit a volunteer health professional (parent, sibling, etc) who is a general medicine medical doctor, internal medicine doctor, physician’s assistant, family dentist, veterinarian, or a nurse practitioner. This individual would need to enjoy teaching, volunteer experience/volunteer spirit, and pay for his/her own airfare, meals, and bring personal spending money. Medical Professionals need to submit their current license and University diplomas to VIDA staff in Central America at least 75 days prior to trip for pre-approval by health officials. You are eligible to receive up to a $300 discount on your trip with this scholarship!

We have a template for participants who would like to solicit a volunteer medical professional. Please contact VIDA staff at info@vidavolunteertravel.org to request a copy of the template.

We are working hard to obtain sponsors for our scholarship programs and we post new scholarships as they become available.

These scholarships are on a first come first serve basis. Please inquire about availability as early as possible for your desired dates.

VIDA Full Scholarship Requirements

Students wishing to receive a full scholarship will need to comply with the following items:

Hold informational meetings as soon as possible; start early in the calendar year. Speak with your advisors and professors regarding the trip, many will allow you to make announcements prior to the start of class. Speak to members of any special clubs/groups like AMSA, AMVA, etc on campus.
Utilize organizational media information such as brochures, referrals to website, power point presentations, promotional videos, flyers in communal areas, via email over server lists, etc to educate potential students. If you have already been on a trip with VIDA, utilize your own photos and experiences to educate your fellow students.
Form a group email of those interested or already signed up for the trip, as well as adding our email address.
Handle coordination of student’s information as well as reminders to students regarding deposit and payment deadlines in conjunction with VIDA staff.
Refer to staff as needed for support and guidance on questions that arise from fellow students, parents, or potential sponsors.

Pre – Trip Meetings:

Arrange at least 2 pre-trip meetings.
Print out pre-trip guidelines and review with team members at meeting; making sure each member receives a copy or brings a copy to the meeting.
Work on fund raising ideas together to help the whole group reduce costs. Try to host 1 -2 fundraising events on campus or in the community. (Download the fundraising Information form).
Review application deadline and payment deadline dates for your trip and inform all students of those deadlines at meetings and via email. (Staff will send reminders as well)
If there are students paying by check, you would remind all students of deadlines and assist staff as needed.
Hold 1 Special meeting (or include it in one of your regular meetings) to include the following information:

Medical/Dental/Nursing students – Important to review how to take BP’s, listen to heart rate/ pulse, and lung sounds. Participants must read Medical manual prior to arrival. *Contact an M.D. or Nurse at your educational institution or community that may be interested in teaching the basics at one of your meetings.

Veterinary students – Important to review how to take pulses on canines and felines for castration clinics, review dog/cat anatomy. Contact a DVM or 4th year Veterinary student at your educational institution. Participants must read Vet manual prior to arrival. Significant suture practice is required for those who wish to participate in the spay/neuter surgeries as well as 25 hours of observation of spay/neuter surgeries for pre-veterinary students and vet students who have not had small animal surgery class.

Construction/General students – Important to review safety on construction sites, review of construction processes in developing countries. Participants must read manual prior to arrival.

Fun Ideas:

Have a T-Shirt design contest and get memorable shirts designed for your group, wear them on the plane together or you choose to wear the shirts VIDA provides.

Group pictures at the pre-trip meetings, at Airports, at the “Welcome to ______” signs for each country, with staff, at clinics, of your favorite patients. We even had one girl who photographed all of her food!

Set up a link at Photobucket, Mulitply, MySpace, or Shutterfly prior to the trip to share photos of the trip online for all to see. . Encourage fellow students to share their photos and experiences of the trip with their sponsors, families, and on campus so that others will understand the amount of need that exist in the countries you visited. . Join the VIDA Facebook group or create your own Facebook group for your University.

Create a group blog for your VIDA adventure and have group members write in before they depart and after they return.

Keep a journal of your experience as the coordinator and leader of a group. Analyze your written thoughts, frustrations, triumphs. This will help you identify strengths and weaknesses, reflect on your cross-cultural experience, and perhaps help you gain insight into what kind of medical professional you want to become.

Create a personal blog about your VIDA trip to a developing country and encourage your fellow students to record their memories and thoughts on their own blog; such as journalspace.

Add this type of leadership experience and cross-cultural serving experience to your resume as well as medical, dental, or veterinary school applications; it will make a lasting impression.

Contact VIDA staff at info@vidavolunteertravel.org to verify if there is an existing campus representative at your educational institution.

VIDA offers volunteers hands-on, eye-opening, mind-enriching volunteer experiences in a constructive and intercultural environment. We provide humanitarian services that help local people in need and learning experiences that benefit globally-minded volunteers.

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