Mortgaging Our Future — The Cost of Medical Education

The cost of obtaining a medical education has been spiraling upward for the past 20 years. Despite a lot of rhetoric in articles1, 2 and at meetings of the Association of American Medical Colleges, nothing has happened to change the alarming pattern. The average tuition and fees at public medical schools during the 2003–2004 academic year amounted to 16, 153, and the corresponding figure for private schools was 32, 588. 3 Adding 20, 000 to 25, 000 for living expenses, books, and equipment brings the estimated cost of four years of attendance to about 140, 000 for public schools and 225, 000 for private schools. The continuing. . .