BENEFACTOR REPORT

Class of 1951 Endowed Scholarship Fund

Read More

George Q. Daley, MD, PhD
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
Caroline Shields Walker Professor of Medicine

June 2026
George Q. Daley, MD, PhD

Dear Dr. Richter,

Sincerely,

Our financial aid program reflects our core belief that cost should never be a barrier to attending Harvard Medical School. Because of you, we can welcome outstanding students regardless of their financial means and enable them to begin their training with purpose and focus. 

As the representative of your class’s fundraising efforts, thank you for your generous commitment to financial aid at Harvard Medical School and for your support through the Class of 1951 Endowed Scholarship Fund. I am grateful for your leadership and for your classmates’ collective philanthropy. I’m pleased to share this report on how your class’s philanthropy is making a difference in our students’ lives and in the future of medicine.

Harvard Medical School is proud to offer one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country. In fiscal year 2025, we awarded $31.2 million in MD financial aid, placing HMS sixth nationally in total MD scholarship funding awarded. Seventy-one percent of our MD students receive aid, with an average annual scholarship of $61,758, and half of our scholarship recipients qualify for our Middle Income Initiative, which adjusts the parental contribution expected from HMS families with the greatest financial need. Your class’s support is essential to maintaining this level of aid and directing resources to those with the greatest need.  

Even in a current challenging financial environment, with uncertain federal support, we remain steadfast in our commitment to financial aid. With your class’s partnership, we can continue to prioritize access and opportunity for outstanding students.

Financial aid does more than ease financial pressure—it enables our students to fully engage in their education, research, and clinical experiences, and to pursue careers guided by impact and service rather than by financial constraints. Thank you to your class for helping to educate and inspire the next generation of physicians and physician-scientists.

Chad Vigil

Class of 1951 Endowed Scholarship Fund

Pathways, Class of 2026

Path to Medicine

Chad grew up in Pueblo, Colorado, and discovered an early interest in brain and behavior that led him to the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude in Neuroscience with a minor in Chemistry and a Spanish language certification. Research on avian song circuits and extensive community work through the Minority Association of Pre‑Health Students, hospital volunteering, and suicide‑prevention outreach shaped his goal of becoming a physician‑advocate serving Latinx, pre‑med, and first‑generation/low‑income communities.

Training & Development

After Penn, Chad worked as a research technician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, constructing 3D cardiac models for surgical planning and clinical trials while shadowing congenital heart surgeries, which sparked an interest in cardiology. He matriculated at Harvard Medical School in 2021 and later completed an MPH in Health and Social Behavior at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2025, earning an Interdisciplinary Public Health Leadership Certificate. At Harvard College’s Adams House, he supports students as a pre‑med, intercultural, wellness, and First-Generation, Low-Income (FGLI) tutor and mentors peers considering gap years, public health training, and careers at the intersection of medicine and policy.

Access & Opportunity

Scholarship support and community‑focused programs open critical doors in Chad’s educational journey. As a Daniels Fund Scholar and Fund for Education Abroad recipient, he received financial backing to attend Penn and study abroad in Madrid, opportunities that reduced financial pressure and broadened his global perspective. Continued scholarship support at HMS, along with leadership roles in FGLI and Latinx student communities, allows him to focus on clinical training, health policy, and advocacy while helping younger students navigate similar financial and structural barriers.

BA, University of Pennsylvania (2020)

Your support of financial aid ensures that the world’s most promising students can attend Harvard Medical School, regardless of their financial means. In turn, these students, representing a wide range ofbackgrounds and perspectives go on to become innovators and leaders in the field of medicine. HMS is proud to have one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country.

 Thank you

We could not do this without you.

Class of 2029

HST

165

Students

PATHWAYS

135

30

15 students are pursuing both an MD and a PhD (MD-PhD)

14%

From groups historically underrepresented in medicine

62

Colleges

31

U.S. States

09

Countries

The Impact of Financial Aid

Average annual scholarship

$61,758

Qualify for the HMS Middle Income Initiative, which adjusts the parental contribution expected for HMS families with the greatest financial need.

50%

Come from a family whose annual income is $50,000 or less

1 in 5

Receive financial aid

71%

Student Beneficiary

The Impact

Office of Alumni Affairs and Development


25 Shattuck Street
Boston, MA 02115
giving@hms.harvard.edu
Make a Gift →