Free tuition for all NYU medical students – a $55,018-a-year surprise

Joel Shannon | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption NYU announces free tuition for all med school students NYU surprised incoming medical school students by announcing that they won't have to pay tuition, and they're not the only ones getting a free ride.

All current and future students enrolled in New York University school of medicine's MD degree program will receive full-tuition scholarships, the school announced Thursday.

The scholarships are granted independently of merit or financial need for all enrolled students, the university said. Sticker price for tuition at the school is $55,018 a year.

The school has an acceptance rate of 6 percent, according to Princeton Review.

Students will still be responsible for books, fees, housing and other costs. The school estimates those education and living-related expenses will total about $27,000 for a 10-month term.

"No more tuition ... The day they get their diploma, they owe nobody nothing," said Kenneth G. Langone, board of trustees chairman for NYU Langone Medical Center. The center is named for Langone and his wife, Elaine.

"(Students) walk out of here unencumbered, looking at a future where they can do what their passion tells them."

The school announced the news in a surprise end to its White Coat Ceremony, where new students receive lab coats.

NYU Langone says Thursday's announcement comes as the medical community reckons with the moral impact of higher education costs.

Medical students who face debt burdens that can reach well into six figures may be more likely to pick lucrative specialties, which may not be in the public's interest, a release from NYU Langone says. The cost can also discourage some students from pursuing a career in the medical field at all.

The increasing cost of higher education has sparked action from employers, politicians and schools around the country. Often those efforts are focused on financial need, as in the case of a "debt-free graduation" program announced by Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in April.

Rising higher education costs have led some to question the value of college broadly. More than half of undergrads do not think the "value of a college education has kept up with the cost," a July Ascent Student Loans study found.