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Living in New York is not easy, but the opportunities it holds are too many to ignore for those pursuing medicine.
With a Consumer Price Index that rose 4.0% in the last year alone, New York is an expensive place to live. Even if you have a job that sells well, the cost of living is nearly 26% higher than the state average. So, going to medical school there is a hard sell.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t find any affordable medical schools in New York, both in the public and private sectors.
Considering that the average medical student has some of the highest student loan debts in the country, a medical school that doesn’t pinch your pockets sounds like a dream. However, they do exist in New York, with some even offering tuition-free education.
Today, let’s examine the medical school landscape in New York, from long-established public institutes to privately funded but scholarship-abundant medical schools:
- Studying Medicine In New York
- New York’s Role In Furthering Medical Innovation
- New York’s Most Affordable Medical Schools
New York: An Outlier In The Medical Landscape?
New York is notorious for being almost larger-than-life when it comes to institutions there. This is why it isn’t surprising that it has some of the most expensive universities in the entire U.S…
The cost of living for a student studying in New York is easily around $15,000 to $20,000+ per year, as broken down here by CUNY. A significant portion of that is just rent and transit, meaning you need a steady income to study in the city or a substantial trust fund.
Yet, many students happily incur debt to study in New York because of what it offers, especially for medical students.
Boston is seen as spearheading medical research and opportunities across the country, but New York isn’t far behind. With projects such as the New York Biogenesis Park, featuring cutting-edge gene and cell therapy innovations, and its advancements in the digital health hub sector, New York is on the fast track to becoming a leader in modern medicine in America.
But all those opportunities, for both medical students and residency aspirants, come at a steep price. Not even those living in New York can afford medical school fees, let alone those out of state. And yet, there are some exceptions.
Cheap Medical Schools In The Big Apple?
I know all the talk about student loan debt and surviving in New York isn’t very motivating to any pre-medical students wanting to start their physician’s journey there. But it isn’t all hopeless. For all its expensive tuition, New York does have some affordable medical schools.
Albert Einstein School Of Medicine
Image Credits to the School. The 67th Commencement
A private medical school in New York being free for all sounds like something out of a myth, but that is exactly what happened with the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, located in the Bronx.
Dr. Ruth Gottesman, a former professor, donated a billion dollars to the school, effectively making it tuition-free for any new inductees.
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
The NYU Grossman School of Medicine requires no introduction. After all, it is home to illustrious alumni such as Dr. Nina S. Braunwald, executor of the first successful mitral valve replacement, and Dr. Linda Laubenstein, who was the first to link AIDS to Kaposi’s Sarcoma.
But it also is one of the cheapest medical schools in New York, at a mere $4,350 for a four year MD program. And they have an extensive scholarship Rolodex, to boot!
NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine
The Long Island branch of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine was only established in 2019, but has made a name for itself.
It is the first of its kind to implement a three-year MD program, easing the financial burden on students, and is the only tuition-free medical school on Long Island.
CUNY School of Medicine
Hailed as New York’s only public Medical School, CUNY School Of Medicine is one of the more affordable options, located right in Manhattan. Although it isn’t tuition-free, the $41,000 in school fees isn’t as high as compared to other medical schools in the state. And its focus on diversity and equity means equal opportunities for everyone.
Upstate Medical University Alan and Marlene Norton College of Medicine
Also known as SUNY Norton College of Medicine, it is the 15th oldest medical school in the U.S., established in the 1800s as Geneva Medical College.
Since then, Norton College of Medicine has become the most well-funded institute under the Upstate Medical University umbrella, leading to a higher caliber of residency programs. And it does that while having cheaper tuition than most, capping at just under $45,000.
There is no doubt that doing medicine in New York is not for the faint of heart or the light of wallet. But we’ve come a long way from medical schools only catering to those in the upper tax bracket.
