Starting this fall, Johns Hopkins will offer medical school students free tuition — normally about $65,000 a year for four years — for those whose families earn less than $300,000 a year.
Students from families earning up to $175,000 a year will have living expenses and fees covered as well…
5 Likes
That’s great…for those accepted to Hopkins.
True. Of course, it’ll make admissions even more competitive.
2 Likes
Hopefully all med schools will follow suit, since the cost to medical is so EXPENSIVE.
2 Likes
Why just med schools though? If low/no cost education is the goal, there are many other socially beneficial fields (for example, social work) that require a graduate degree and the income potential is nowhere close to what doctors make.
Sure, because donors with a billion dollars in hand are beating down the doors of every med school in the country…
2 Likes
The donation also will increase graduate financial aid in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Nursing. And it will bump up graduate financial aid at the schools of arts and sciences, advanced international studies, education, engineering, business, the Peabody Institute and the forthcoming school of government and policy.
Per the article.
1 Like
There are several schools with free tuition beside JHU
NYU Grossman SOM–including NYU’s Long Island campus which is a 3 year primary care program
Einstein SOM, which is dedicated to “patient-centered care” and community medicine
Kaiser Permanente Tyson SOM (but the class entering in 2025 will be the last eligible for the 100% free tuition)
Cleveland Clinic Lerner SOM --every student accepted gets free tuition, including a 5th year for research
Columbia Vagelos – 100% of COA for families with incomes under $125K/year
Cornell Weill SOM-- 100% of COA for students with “demonstrated financial need”. Grants have replaced the family contribution and mandatory unit loans requirements for those students
Additionally the following med schools offer full tuition scholarships to some of their students:
WashU (based on merit and demonstrated financial need) 100% tuition for up to 50% of the incoming class
UCLA – (merit based) the David Geffen Scholarship pays 100% of the tuition; David Geffen Impact and Distinction Scholarship pays 100% of COA for 10 students annually
Harvard-- (need based) 100% tuition and fees if the family income is under $50,000/year (25% of matriculants). Parental contribution waived for families with incomes under $150K/year and reduced on a sliding scale for families with incomes up to $200K.year, Unit loan still required
1 Like
So medical students are getting older and older and expected to have life experience and work before applying to medical school, but these amazing programs are happy with letting students with parents who make more than 300K take out loans and have full COA? That makes no sense.
What is your point- that every med school should be free? Go tell the other billionaires- many of whom COULD be as generous as Michael Bloomberg but choose not to- to endow other programs.
Why is it that every time someone does something exceedingly generous, the folks on CC immediately grouse that it isn’t enough? We could all name ten billionaires who are busy self-aggrandizing, divorcing and remarrying and spending god knows how much on lawyers and prenups, having extra-marital children which they do or do not acknowledge, etc. Send them a letter explaining that med school is too expensive for older parents to fund. See if that shakes Elon Musk out of his philanthropic torpor…
3 Likes
All medical schools should be free. This is one of the reasons why I would never encourage a family member into medicine (I am a doctor btw). Young doctors come out of 8 years of schooling with many hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and then work 4-10 years at what often comes out to minimum wage. The issue is why they make an income cut off for the free tuition when adults who are not dependent on their family are going to medical school. Do the other schools have an income cutoff? I don’t believe they do. Much easier to do second rate training as a “physician extender”. If we want to continue to have excellent medical care in the future this needs to be addressed.
For the number of hours worked…it is LESS than minimum wage per hour here.
I think it is wonderful that another medical school is being added to the list of endowed schools.
I will say, these are all very elite medical schools. I hope some millionaires step up and give funds to some of the less lofty medical schools as well.
3 Likes
I am not attacking you personally-- and I agree with much of what you write. But how has the medical profession worked to get to free tuition? What concrete steps have any of the medical associations, licensing boards, etc. done to get control of tuition?
I don’t see any systemic change unless the docs lead the charge. The scholarships in law schools (for example) are often funded by alums of those law schools who see in their legal practice the need for lawyers who are NOT products of upper middle class families. Where are the doctors doing the same? I honestly don’t know. But to a layperson- that’s where the shift has to start. At least to this layperson.
3 Likes