The institution will cover the annual tuition of $ 55,000 for current and future students without distinction of merit or financial need, in an attempt to prevent young people being scared off by the high costs of the profession. The program will require 600 million dollars in donations.
The School of Medicine of the prestigious New York University announced on Thursday that from now on will offer completely free medical career, both for students already enrolled and for future applicants, and without distinction of merit or economic need.
"When you look at the median debt of medical students at the time of graduation, it's getting to the point where it impacts the workforce of doctors," said Rafael Riviera, associate dean of admissions and financial aid at the private US institution.
With tuitions that reach US $ 55,000 a year throughout the country, Riviera ensures that the offer will attract students who are scared away by this huge number when it comes to pursuing their vocation and who end up choosing more accessible study programs.
"Young people are in high school or college and think about what they want to do, they think medicine is a great career opportunity for them, they love the material, but they see that number and think, 'Well, you know, it should be better think of something else. "And for me that is a loss for society," he said.
Riviera also highlighted another problem. "Once people start studying medicine, we do not want debt to be a factor when it comes to deciding specialization," he explained, citing the case of pediatrics and research, very necessary but unprofitable options.
Because of the high costs involved in university education, especially in frontline institutions, in the United States it is usual for students to get into debt to pay for their studies. After graduating, they begin to repay the loan, but many times the returns of professional life are not enough to carry this weight.
According to the American Association of Medical Universities, one out of every five medical students in private institutions graduates with a debt of more than $ 300,000. At NYU, the percentage of students who graduate with debt reaches 62% and an average of 187,000 dollars.
With this announcement, NYU becomes the only prestigious university in the United States to offer the race for free, and Riviera hopes that other institutions will soon do the same.
To finance the program, the university has raised 450 million dollars in philanthropic donations, out of a total of 600 million that it considers necessary to ensure the sustainability of the project in the future.
However, although this covers all education costs, students are expected to be responsible for paying their support in New York City during the years of study, an expense estimated at $ 27,000 per year.
The NYU medical school is ranked third among the best universities in the United States, in a tie with Stanford University, and behind Johns Hopkins University (2) and Harvard (1).
NYU currently has 350 students enrolled in their medical school, according to the New York Times. Across the country, the number rises to 22,000.
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