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NEWS ALERT
Harvard Medical School Office of Public Affairs
Harvard medical school reduces financial burden for middle-income families
BOSTON, Mass. (March 21, 2008)—Harvard Medical School (HMS) Dean Jeffrey Flier today announced that the school is taking steps to reduce the cost of a four-year medical education by up to $50,000 for families with incomes of $120,000 or less.“The issue of student debt is of great concern to me, which is why I feel particular satisfaction with this first step toward making HMS more affordable,” Flier wrote in a letter to the HMS community. “It is important that the School not be out of reach to a broad segment of undergraduate students and their families. It is equally imperative to avoid burdening families with a new round of debt shortly after a child has finished college.”
The new policy, benefiting just over one-third of current HMS students, comes at a time when starting salaries in medicine are lagging behind increases in student debt. “Minimizing debt is also essential for eliminating a potential barrier for students in making career choices,” said Jules Dienstag, HMS Dean for Medical Education. “This way students will not have to take debt into account or feel pressured to enter into higher-paying specialties after graduation. They can go into whatever field it is that inspired them to study medicine in the first place.”
“We continue to pursue ways to make sure Harvard’s doors are open to students of talent and promise, whatever their financial means, and to moderate students’ debt levels so that financial worries don’t constrain their choice of career,” said Harvard President Drew Faust. “This initiative by the Medical School is a strong step forward down that path, and the long-term beneficiaries will include not only our future medical students but the many people these future physicians will serve.”
Under the current funding structure, families with incomes of $120,000 or less and assets typical for those income levels are expected to contribute about $12,500 toward the tuition, fees, and living expenses that make up the approximately $65,000 cost of a year at Harvard Medical School. In addition, the new plan will eliminate from the family income calculation typical before-tax retirement savings.
Students who demonstrate financial need are offered a package of subsidized federal and institutional loans--called the Unit Loan--of $24,500 per year. Students may then be offered institutional scholarships to make up the difference between the Unit Loan, the family contribution, and the cost.
Under the new financial aid plan HMS will increase to almost $11 million annually the amount provided in institutional scholarships to students. In his letter to the school’s community, Flier said HMS leadership is “currently studying the feasibility of reducing the Unit Loan and replacing that portion with scholarships to further decrease the debt burden on our students and their families.”
Flier’s announcement follows by days an announcement by Harvard Law School that it will eliminate third-year tuition for students who commit to working in public service for five years following graduation and is part of Harvard’s commitment to make the University’s education affordable for students who may previously have seen it as out of reach.
CONTACTS:
public_affairs@hms.harvard.edu
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Harvard Medical School has more than 7,500 full-time faculty working in 11 academic departments located at the School's Boston campus or in one of 47 hospital-based clinical departments at 17 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals and research institutes. Those affiliates include Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Children's Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Forsyth Institute, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Joslin Diabetes Center, Judge Baker Children's Center, Immune Disease Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospital, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and VA Boston Healthcare System.