Tuesday, December 3, 2019

More than 400 UCLA medical school students get a free education thanks to major donation - Los Angeles Times

Medical school isn’t cheap.

The median tuition was $38,119 at a public medical school, for a student paying in-state tuition, fees and health insurance during the 2018–2019 academic year. And that number, which comes from the Association of American Medical Colleges, is on the low end. The median cost for tuition, fees, and health insurance for students at private schools in that time span was more than $60,000.

A $46-million donation from entertainment billionaire David Geffen means 414 medical school students are receiving full-tuition merit scholarships

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, left, presents an award to David Geffen in 2014. Geffen has donated more than $400 million to the university, mostly for the medical school.

(Imeh Akpanudosen / Getty Images)

The UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine announced Monday that the DreamWorks co-founder, who gave the school $100 million in 2012, has donated an additional $46 million to continue to fund merit-based scholarships so medical students do not have to take on weighty loads of debt. His UCLA donations total nearly half a billion dollars in the last two decades, much of it to the medical school.

The scholarships cover tuition and expenses, and students are told of the award when accepted to the medical school. The school expects that the $146 million will fund 414 scholarships — 20% to 30% of each class for a decade, ending with the class of 2026.

Last year, 75% of U.S. medical school graduates had accrued debt that averaged almost $200,000, according to an Assn. of American Medical Colleges Survey of graduates from 150 medical schools. For California residents, tuition and fees alone at UCLA’s four-year program cost upward of $42,000 annually.

Medical students do tend to have higher-income parents who are more likely to have college degrees, according to surveys from the Assn. of American Medical Colleges.

Geffen declined to comment on the donation via a university spokesman. The medical school bears his name after a $200-million gift in 2002, and in addition to this scholarship, he donated $100 million in 2015 to start a private school meant in part to serve the children of UCLA faculty members.

UCLA is not the only school to seek out large donations for its medical students. Last year New York University’s School of Medicine announced that it was raising $600 million from private donors to cover tuition for all students.

Most medical school students who gain acceptance have one to three schools to choose from, said Geoffrey Young, senior director of student affairs and programs for AAMC. As a former admissions committee member at three schools, including the Medical College of Georgia, he said, “If we could use scholarship money to entice someone to come to that school, I would. That’s a free market.”

Geffen was clear that he wanted to use merit-based scholarships to attract the best potential doctors to the school, said UCLA Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor Dr. John Mazziotta. Other students do have access to need-based scholarships, and Mazziotta said his ultimate goal is to start an endowment that would fund UCLA medical school for all students “forever” — an endeavor that would take upward of $1 billion, he said.

The scholarships awarded to UCLA Medical School are based on merit, not need. Not all students receive the scholarship as only about 30% of students receive the funds.

Some schools offer to fund based upon need, or geographic commitment to serve in an underserved community.

Service scholarships

Service-based scholarships funded by the federal government offer students a chance to fund virtually their entire education in exchange for a commitment to serve a certain population. Among the more popular options is the National Health Service Corps Program, which requires a year of work as a primary care doctor in an underserved region for every year of scholarship funding, with a minimum of two years of service. The military-sponsored Health Professions Scholarship Program provides a full scholarship to medical school in exchange for an obligation to serve as a military physician.

Outside scholarships

When students interview at UC Davis, they are given a written list of available outside scholarship opportunities. It is 32 pages long and is still is only the tip of the iceberg.

“In terms of…donors and agencies that sponsor students, many of these resources spring from local community goodwill,”

Check with community organizations such as county medical societies, and Rotary, Lions or Soroptimist clubs to see what type of scholarship opportunities are available.

Kaiser Permanente is offering 'free medical school' during the next five years, with a commitment to work at a Kaiser Hospital for several years

NYU Medical School Plans Free Tuition For Those Studying To Be Doctors

Students will not have a totally free ride, however. According to The Wall Street Journal, most medical students will still foot the bill for about $29,000 each year in room, board, and other living expenses. The scholarships will help 93 first-year students along with 350 already partially through the program, the Journal reports. Several students enrolled in a joint MD/Ph.D. program are already offered free tuition under a separate program. NYU also says medical school debt is "reshaping the medical profession," as graduates choose more lucrative specialized fields in medicine rather than primary care.

Columbia School of Medicine, one of the most prestigious, has received a large grant from an alumnus, Dr. P. Roy Vagelos, 88, the former chairman of Merck & Co., and his wife, Diana, are donating $250 million to the school, $150 million of which will fund an endowment that the school projects will ultimately enable it to underwrite its student financial aid. Those students with the greatest financial need would receive full-tuition scholarships, while others would get only grants, not loans, to make up their need, the school said.

The couple also funded the construction of the Vagelos Education Center at the medical school, which is filled with high-tech classrooms and facilities. Credit...Philip Greenberg for The New York Times