New York University Makes Medical School Tuition Free For All Its Students

In a surprise announcement today, the New York University School of Medicine said that it will pay the tuition of all its students regardless of merit or financial need, becoming the first major American medical school to do so. NYU made the announcement at its annual White Coat Ceremony, where new students are presented with white lab coats to mark the start of their medical education.



“Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our trustees, alumni, and friends, our hope—and expectation—is that by making medical school accessible to a broader range of applicants, we will be a catalyst for transforming medical education nationwide,” said Kenneth G. Langone, chair of NYU Langone Health’s board of trustees.

Together with his wife Elaine, Langone, who made his $3.5 billion fortune as a cofounder of Home Depot, has given $100 million to fund the tuition package. NYU has raised more than $450 million of the $600 million it will need to fund the program.

In its announcement, NYU pointed to the fact that “overwhelming student debt” is reshaping the medical profession in ways that are bad for the healthcare system. Graduates pursue high-paying specialties rather than careers in family medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology.

The pay disparities among specialties can be striking. Pediatricians earn an average of $221,900 a year, according to one survey, and internists make $260,000. By contrast neurosurgery, the top-earning specialty pays an average of $662,755. Orthopedic surgeons make $537,568.

NYU’s statement quotes Dean Robert I. Grossman: “A population as diverse as ours is best served by doctors from all walks of life, we believe, and aspiring physicians and surgeons should not be prevented from pursuing a career in medicine because of the prospect of overwhelming financial debt.”

The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve has paid full tuition and fees since 2008 but it has only 32 students. The NYU scholarship will go to more than 400.

UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine has a $100 million fund that pays the entire four-year cost of medical school, including room and board, but it is based on merit rather than need and only 20% of students receive it.

The yearly tuition cost covered by the NYU scholarship is $55,018. It applies not only to incoming students but to those already enrolled, who will be refunded payments made for this year. NYU will also refund loans that students have taken out.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the median current debt of graduating med students is $192,000.

While the NYU program covers tuition, it does not provide funds to pay for room and board in one of the nation’s most expensive cities. At NYU that comes to some $27,000 a year. The average debt of NYU’s class of 2017 was $184,000.

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