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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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Medical Debt Can Be Crushing

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I recently saw a short piece in US News that reported that the average debt among medical school graduates who borrowed for their medical education was $184,000, excluding undergraduate loans. 

There are many reasons to think hard about a career as a physician, and monetary ones are first or second on the list. For those with severe financial need, the AAMC offers their Fee Assistance Program (FAP). (Please note that I also offer a discount for those who have a current FAP grant.)

Most applicants, however, don’t qualify for the FAP and may be looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt after they complete their medical education. For many reasons, make sure that a career as a doctor is the right one for you.

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Race to the Bottom (In a Good Way)

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Thanks to NYU’s announcement that it will be eliminating tuition at its medical school, other institutions are reassessing their costs and graduates’ educational debt, as some experts predicted. Recently, Kaiser followed suit with a free tuition plan for their new medical school in Pasadena. Now, Yale is making overtures as well, lowering the financial burden for needy students by covering more costs with scholarships, instead of loans. Keep your eye out for what will likely be a revolution as more and more medical schools note that to compete for strong applicants, they must offer robust financial support.

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When Your Debt Affects Your Dates Part 2

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The New York Times recently ran Perfect 10? Never Mind That. Ask Her for Her Credit Score, an article that might worry some single pre-meds.

Along those lines, here’s an interesting piece by guest blogger David Z. Presser MD MPH that specifically addresses medical school debt and romance.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

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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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