NYU Langone Health is the first private medical school in the U.S. and currently the first top-10-ranked medical school to offer full tuition coverage.
This full tuition waiver will benefit the school's current 531 students, including 102 new students entering this fall.
This year, tuition at NYU School of Medicine is as high as $55,018. For new students starting this fall, the total $220,000 tuition for the four-year MD degree program will be fully funded by the school.
According to a survey by the Association of American Medical Colleges, 72% of U.S. medical school graduates in 2017 had student loan debt, with graduates from private medical schools averaging about $202,000 in debt.
Through this decision, NYU School of Medicine hopes to help students reduce debt as much as possible, enabling outstanding students from diverse backgrounds who aspire to study medicine to realize their dreams, while also alleviating talent shortages in certain sectors of the industry.
However, this big news doesn't seem to be of much use to us international students.
NYU School of Medicine's MD program is open only to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. International students can only apply for PhD programs in basic medical sciences offered by the school.
If you are still struggling with visa issues, you can pretty much say goodbye to the full scholarship at NYU Medical School.
Many medical schools across the U.S. are essentially closed to international students. At the same time, the application process for U.S. medical schools is quite complex and lengthy.
However, if you are a dedicated "pre-med" student, you can also consider applying to the following top institutions (non-exhaustive list):
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Tuition/year: $58,050 // Students: 720 // Ranking: 1
Average MCAT: 35 // Average GPA: 3.91 // Acceptance rate: 3.3%
Harvard Medical School is the top-ranked medical school in the U.S., located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston. It is the third oldest medical school in the country. Difficulty of admission: 20 stars out of 20.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Tuition/year: $50,160 // Students: 471 // Ranking: 3
Average MCAT: 36 // Average GPA: 3.9 // Acceptance rate: 5.8%
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is one of the top medical schools in the U.S., renowned worldwide for its biomedical research programs.
Columbia University Medical School
Tuition/year: $57,634 // Students: 660 // Ranking: 6
Average MCAT: 37 // Average GPA: 3.87 // Acceptance rate: 4.1%
Columbia University Medical School was the first U.S. medical school to hold a "White Coat Ceremony" and is one of the most popular medical schools in the country.
Duke University School of Medicine
Tuition/year: $55,180 // Students: 478 // Ranking: 7
Average MCAT: 35 // Average GPA: 3.8 // Acceptance rate: 3.5%
Duke School of Medicine is Duke University's flagship college. Its clinical research institute is the oldest of its kind in the U.S. and the largest academic group among similar institutions.
Yale School of Medicine
Tuition/year: $57,629 // Students: 411 // Ranking: 9
Average MCAT: 36 // Average GPA: 3.82 // Acceptance rate: 5.9%
Yale School of Medicine is a world-class medical center. The first X-ray in the U.S. was conducted at Yale.
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Tuition/year: $51,237 // Students: 362 // Ranking: 15
Average MCAT: 37 // Average GPA: 3.88 // Acceptance rate: 4.1%
The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine was founded in 1927 and is known for its academic achievements in women's health and AIDS research.
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Tuition/year: $55,889 // Students: 648 // Ranking: 17
Average MCAT: 36 // Average GPA: 3.87 // Acceptance rate: 6.7%
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is located in downtown Chicago, advancing human health through forward-thinking innovations in medical education.
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Tuition/year: $48,244 // Students: 561 // Ranking: 22
Average MCAT: 35 // Average GPA: 3.77 // Acceptance rate: 7.2%
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is a private medical school in New York City, offering relatively greater admission opportunities for international students.
Application Notes
It is worth noting that some U.S. medical schools that accept international students provide only partial financial aid or none at all, so studying medicine in the U.S. requires adequate financial and mental preparation.
If you are very interested in full scholarships, missing out on NYU's is not a big deal. The university still has other programs, such as computer science, open to international students. Moreover, there are other U.S. schools and various majors for you to choose from.
