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Is Making Medical School Tuition-Free Doing What it’s Supposed to?

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Six years ago, when Kenneth and Elaine Langone generously donated $100 million so that students could attend NYU Medical School tuition-free, the philanthropists’ main goal was to encourage more graduating doctors to enter primary care fields. 

Fast forward: In 2024, the number of NYU graduating medical students who went into primary care was about the same as it was in 2017. Furthermore, in the interim, the number of African-American students has declined – although the number of Latinos grew slightly. Additionally, at least in the first two years of the experiment, the percentage of incoming matriculants categorized as “financially disadvantaged” fell from 12% to 3%. 

One thing that has improved is NYU’s rankings and reputation.

All of this begs the question: Is making medical school tuition-free the most effective way to increase the number of primary care practitioners and improve equity?

See this clearly-written Atlantic article by Rose Horowitch for a deeper dive into the query. She was also recently interviewed by Kai Ryssdal on NPR’s Marketplace . 

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Applying to Residency this Cycle? Don’t Forget the New AAMC Fee Assistance Program for Residency Applicants 

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Here’s a quick reminder that the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is expanding its Fee Assistance Program (FAP) to residency applicants this year.

The good news is that if you were previously approved for the AAMC FAP, you will automatically get a 60% discount on your residency application for this ERAS season.

The bad news is that current medical students are not eligible to apply for the FAP even if they now have financial challenges that they did not have prior to medical school or if they qualified before medical school but declined to apply for the FAP benefits.

The AAMC says they are going to survey “the student affairs community” to understand “if and how” they can further expand the FAP for residency applicants.

Here is more information with some frequently asked questions.

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One Billion Dollars

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I was super impressed with the news that Albert Einstein College of Medicine Professor Ruth Gottesman is donating $1 billion to her institution to make tuition free for all medical students going forward.

In 2019 NYU made medical school tuition free. Subsequently, the demand to go to their institution skyrocketed, as did their matriculants’ median MCAT and AMCAS GPAs. According to the most recently published MSAR, NYU’s median total and BCPM GPAs were both 3.96, and their median MCAT was 522. A similar phenomenon will occur with Albert Einstein School of Medicine.

The tremendously generous donation by Professor Gottesman allows earnest individuals interested in caring for our communities to become physicians without excessive debt. Of note, Albert Einstein offered to rename their school to include “Gottesman,” but the professor declined, a choice which adds to her stature in my mind.

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There’s a New and Improved ERAS Fee Structure on its Way

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The AAMC recently announced an updated fee structure for the next ERAS cycle with the goal of lowering total application costs and simplifying the current cost framework, which has been criticized for its complexity. In theory, the change should be an improvement for this year’s applicants.

Essentially, residency candidates will pay $11 per application for up to 30 and $30 per application for 31+. Of note, the structure restarts for any new specialty. So if you plan to apply to two, your costs will be higher.

The AAMC estimates most applicants will see discounts of up to 36%.

The old system was triple tiered. You can see it here. Of note, as I previously blogged about, this year the AAMC will also expand their Fee Assistance Program to include some residency applicants, a first.

You can see the new ERAS fee structure in graphic form here.

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The AAMC Will Expand the FAP to Include Some Residency Applicants

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The American Association of Medical Colleges has announced that they will expand their Fee Assistance Program to certain residency applicants starting with the 2024-5 ERAS application season. At that time, the FAP will include residency candidates who were previously approved for the program during their medical school application process. The qualifying candidates will receive a 60% fee discount on up to 50 ERAS applications. This is great news for medical students who have severe financial needs. The AAMC reports that it will be providing more information in the following months.

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About Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more

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