HMS dean Jeffrey Flier announced that the School is taking steps to reduce the cost of a four-year medical education by an average of $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.”
Flier’s announcement followed by days a statement 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.
“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.
Under the current tuition structure, parents with incomes of $120,000 or less with assets typical of these income levels are expected to contribute an average of about $12,500 toward the tuition, fees, and living expenses that make up the approximately $65,000 cost of a year at HMS. This amount often ends up being partially funded by loans taken out by the students. The new plan also will eliminate tax-deferred retirement savings in its calculation of family income.
All students who demonstrate financial need are offered a package of subsidized federal and institutional loans—called the Unit Loan—of $24,500. Students may then be offered institutional scholarships to make up the difference between the annual cost and the Unit Loan plus the family contribution.
Under the new financing plan, HMS will increase to almost $11 million annually the amount provided in scholarships to make up for the reduction in family contributions. 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.”
This effort to lower student debt grows out of the ongoing strategic planning process begun by Flier and is the work of the Strategic Advisory Group on Education, chaired by HMS professors Thomas Michel and Orah Platt (see related story); the HMS Program in Medical Education; and the HMS Committee on Financial Aid.
