TUITION: New York University (NYU) is now offering free tuition for its medical students.
By Shelbie Nelson, Staff Writer
College tuition has always been a significant concern for incoming students in every field, and medical school tuition is usually one of the most expensive. This has caused a great decline of new students entering the field of primary care physicians and medical researchers. According to Business Insider, NYU’s free tuition announcement has other schools of its kind fighting to stay competitive to the ‘cream of the crop’ students. Due to this uproar, many other medical schools are finding ways to lower the coasts of medical education.
NYU recognizes the financial struggle of the incoming physicians and that it is important to support those looking for careers that serve the community “New York University (NYU) School of Medicine is proud to award all students enrolled in our MD degree program full-tuition scholarships as part of our tuition-free initiative, so that any student can pursue the dream of becoming a physician without the burden of overwhelming student debt,” said NYU.
NYU medical students usually pay up to about $55,000 yearly, but now most medical students will be paying around $29,000 yearly for room and board as well as other living expenses. This change of costs has allowed NYU to attract the most talented applicants instead of just the ones who can afford the tuition. John Hopkins University School of Medicine’s vice dean for education and professor of medicine told Business Insider, “All of us in medical education see this as a good thing, I don’t think there are any schools in the country that don’t grapple with the cost of attendance,” (Dr. Roy Ziegelstein). Many college administrators recognize that college tuition can be a huge financial struggle and ultimately a major deciding factor when applying to schools.
NYU will be providing 93 first-year students with full-tuition scholarships in addition to 350 students partly through their medical degree program. NYU’s main goal in making this adjustment is to relieve their students of student loan weight. According to the Director of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center, “It is the right thing to do in terms of getting a diverse class and sending a message that we want you to serve the public because we are trying to make this easier for you,” (Art Caplan).
Taking tuition out of the equation allows for more talented physicians, doctors, surgeons, medical experts, researchers, etc. to serve the public and overall help the world of medicine progress.