Medical schools around the country, including Weill Cornell Medicine, are concerned about the rising costs of medical education and have implemented a variety of measures over the years aimed at reducing or eliminating debt. The goal of these initiatives is keep medical education accessible to a talented and diverse body of students, while ensuring that young physicians are able to pursue productive and fulfilling careers, across a range of specialties, without undue financial strain. We will continue our efforts until we achieve debt-free medical education for our students.
Weill Cornell Medicine is firmly committed to providing a supportive living and learning environment for our students, which includes active efforts to reduce debt and foster greater financial well-being among those in the MD program. We are proud of our strong record of providing scholarships to students with financial need, which, thanks to our generous donors, has consistently kept graduating student debt lower than the national average. In 2018, with additional philanthropic support, we were able to take steps to further alleviate the financial burden for students with need:
- A reduction in the unit loan (the amount of money that students are expected to borrow) of $3,500 per year.
- Introduction of two full-tuition Dean’s Diversity Scholarships, awarded to students from groups underrepresented in medicine in need of financial support.
While these initiatives will have a beneficial effect, we recognize that they are just a start. Extensive discussions and planning that have taken place over the past year as part of Strategic Plan 4 have focused squarely on the issue of student tuition, debt, and scholarships. As we finalize the vision for Weill Cornell Medicine’s next strategic plan, please be assured that our goal of achieving debt-free education for our medical students will be centrally addressed.
Augustine M.K. Choi, MD
Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean
Weill Cornell Medicine
Provost for Medical Affairs
Cornell University
Jessica M. Bibliowicz
Chair, Board of Overseers
Weill Cornell Medicine