In a move to address the large cost of entering a
career in medicine, New York University's School of Medicine will
offer full scholarships to all current and future students in its doctor of
medicine program.
NYU is the "only top 10-ranked" medical school
in the U.S. to offer such a generous package.
"I'm proud to announce that as of right now,
every student that we admit to New York University School of Medicine comes
tuition-free," Kenneth G. Langone, chair of the board of trustees, said in
a video announcement Thursday. "And this includes the incoming class and
the upperclassmen as well that are here right now — no more tuition."
The program covers a yearly tuition of $55,018, NYU
says.
Students will not have a totally free ride, however. Medical
students will still foot the bill for about $29,000 each year in room, board
and other living expenses. The scholarships will help 93 first-year students
along with 350 already partially through the program.
Three out of four medical school graduates in 2017
graduated in debt. Of those in debt, the median amount was $192,000.
NYU also says medical school debt is "reshaping
the medical profession," as graduates choose more lucrative specialized
fields in medicine rather than primary care.
The U.S. faces a shortage of doctors of all types —
perhaps more than 120,000 by 2030. The predictions vary widely, however, to
between 42,600 and 121,300. The country will lack between
14,800 and 49,300 primary care physicians by 2030, while "non-primary care
specialties" will fall short by 33,800 and 72,700 doctors.
NYU's announcement follows Columbia University, whose medical school has been offering
full-tuition scholarships to certain students in need since last December.
The free tuition will cost NYU about $600 million to
fund indefinitely. It has raised $450 million of that already. Langone,
who founded Home Depot, and his wife Elaine, contributed $100 million of that
total.
The school hopes the plan will also increase diversity
among its students.
Almost 90,000 students enrolled in U.S. medical
schools for the 2017-2018 school year. About 52 percent of them identified as
white, 21 percent as Asian, 8 percent as multiple race/ethnicity, 7 percent as
African-American, and 6 percent as Hispanic or Latino, and smaller percentages
for other groups.
