Most medical students at Johns Hopkins University will no longer pay tuition thanks to a $1 billion gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies announced Monday.

Starting in the fall, the donation will cover full tuition for medical students from families earning less than $300,000. Living expenses and fees will be covered for students from families who earn up to $175,000.

  • nifty@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    It’s insane making tuition free for medical students, who have the best chances of stable employment and increasing wage growth over the years after graduation. Make tuition free for humanities students instead

    Edit: drs have lots of flexible income

    Here’s some data though: https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges/maryland/johns-hopkins-university/salaries/

    Median US physician salary: https://physiciansthrive.com/physician-compensation/doctor-median-pay/

    So this $1B gift to make med school free for people who wouldn’t have had issues paying it off sounds like tax cuts for the rich…

    • Artemis@lemmy.ml
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      4 months ago

      I get the hate, but as someone with some experience here, the amount of debt from a normal BA/BSc is miniscule compared to med school…like doesn’t even come remotely close. The amount of time spent paying that back for someone that doesn’t come from wealth is sometimes longer than they live…

      • nifty@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Okay I hear you. I guess I was thinking of drs who end up making quarter mill usd 5-7 years after school. That kind of income isn’t guaranteed in any other profession, not even software engineering or law

        • Artemis@lemmy.ml
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          4 months ago

          After all that school, I hear you 😅. But physicians in Canada, for instance, make substantially less than our friends to the south…for some specialties, even getting to $200,000 doesn’t mean much when you have so much debt, fees, and other business costs. It makes a difference given the huge need for physicians all around…such a sacrifice on so many levels with little payoff untill so much later. Couldn’t imagine the impact a donation like this would have anywhere, let alone Canada.

    • boonhet@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      So and so.

      This could be a vehicle for a lot of people who don’t come from a great financial background and don’t want to take loans without knowing if they’ll even be able to graduate because they’d likely need to work through school, to get an education that lifts themselves and their families to a higher socioeconomic class.