New York University (NYU) says it will henceforth make tuition free for all current and future medical students.
The announcement was made Thursday at the end of the annual ‘White Coat Ceremony’ where new medical students are given white lab coats to mark the start of their degree program.
Current NYU medical students also received emails saying the school is offering them full-ride scholarships too.
“Our last thing was to tell the students and their parents that, hey, tuition is going to be on us,” said Rafael Rivera, associate dean for admission and financial aid.
“It was awesome to see the emotions on their faces.”
The scholarship covers the full cost of tuition, which this year amounts to $55,018.
All students enrolled in the degree program are eligible, regardless of their financial need or academic performance.
According to a survey by the Association of American Medical Colleges, about 75% of medical students across the country graduated with debt in 2017.
“The debt can scare people away,” Rivera said.
“One of those individuals could be the one to find a cure for cancer.
“For us, it’s important to have the best applicant pool possible and society deserves nothing less.”
The NYU School of Medicine is set to become the first top-ranked institution in the US to pay for the tuition of all its medical students.
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Good initiative by a country that understand the values of education. Nigeria should emulate initiatives like this.