Hi guys!
If you guys are new to the channel I’m Jamie and I’m a third year medical school student.
One of the most frequent questions I get is how much does medical school cost and how
do medical school students cover their living expenses--so I thought I would make a dedicated
video on the the cost of medical school and answer some questions like if it’s worth
it or not.
The actual cost of going to medical school is dependent a lot on what state you reside
in and the type of medical school you go to.
State or public medical schools--for the most part are cheaper than private ones.
According to a survey by the Association of American Medical College the average (median)
yearly tuition of a student attending a public medical school in 2016 is approximately $31,000
while the cost of attending a private medical school is approximately $53,000.
Outside of tuition there are other costs to consider as well like:
cost of living--like your rent and food, healthcare costs,
transportation costs, cost of books, and
fees for boards exams like USMLE step, etc.
With all these taken into account the annual living cost can reach upto $25,000.
Making the total estimated cost $56,000 and $78,000 for public and private med school
respectively.
And for four years that’s $224k or $312k.
According to the AAMC in 2015, the average debt of a medical school graduate is $183k.
That’s not including the debt incurred during undergrad years.
While you do get paid during residency, it’s usually not enough to pay off your debts,
and you’re still not a full practicing physician.
You’re still learning to become one.
Aside from the monetary costs, there are other costs to consider as well--such as time.
One of the requirements of applying to medical schools is a bachelor degree from an accredited
institution--so that means for most of us, that’s
-4 years of Undergrad, Plus Medical school itself which also takes
4 years.
Finally, when you’re done with medical school, residency can take anywhere between 3 to 7
years.
So in total it can take upto: 11 to 15 years to complete.
Just by attending medical school, there are a lot of things you miss out on.
First, there’s the potential money you could be earning if you went to a different field.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average weekly income of a person with
a bachelor’s degree is approximately $1,200.
That equates to $62,400 a year.
For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume your income stays at this level for the next
four years, in four years the total income you’re giving up by going to medical school
is $249,600 while accumulating anywhere between $224k to $312k in expenses.
So it does set you back quite a bit.
Aside from the income, there are a lot of other things you’re giving up…because
of the academic rigors that come with being in med school, your social life is one of
the first things to go.
You have to say no to a lot of social events with your friends.
It’s not uncommon for friendships and relationships you have made from high school or college
to drift away.
Anecdotally speaking, I went from maybe hanging out with my non-med school friends every weekend
or every other weekend to maybe once every couple months.
Keep in mind though- you do make friends in medical school and you get to spend a lot
of time with them.
You go through a LOT together so it does tend to nurture close friendships.
So it’s not completely true that your entire social life goes out the window- it’s more
like your social life shifts to include mostly only your med school friends.
Another thing you’re giving up is your 20s!
There are some industries where you can start working right after getting your bachelors.
You can enjoy life, travel, buy a house and even start a family.
In med school, your lifestyle by default will be a little different--you’ll probably wait
a little longer and start your family a bit later, though not necessarily.
While you do get paid during residency, it’s not enough to pay down your loans.
By the time you’re done with residency, you’re going to be in your early to mid
30s.
So overall you’re sacrificing quite a bit.
That’s why I always say you need to be pretty close to 100% sure if you want to go to med
school--you are giving up a lot and you should be ready to make those sacrifices.
So after EVERYTHING I just said, why should anyone go into medicine?
I’m a third year medical school student now and I can’t think of anything I’d
rather be doing.
I love that I’m learning a special set of skills that allows me to help people in ways
very few other professions can.
I love that in medicine, you’re constantly learning and it’s always intellectually
stimulating.
You’re pretty much a lifelong student because science, medicine, and technology is constantly
changing and you get to stay on top of that.
And at the same time, medicine is all about teaching, empowering others with the information
you have, and bringing up and training the next generation of physicians, which is what
I hope to do later in my career.
So to ME, all the sacrifice, debt, and time is worth it.
People ask me all the time whether they should go into medicine or not- whether the time
and financial commitment is worth it.
I think the only person who can make that decision is YOU and hopefully this video can
aid in some small way to make that a very well-informed decision.
With that, I’ll end the video here.
I hope you guys found it useful and got an overall idea of the cost of medical school.
If you guys found it helpful, please give this video a thumbs up, and if you haven’t
already subscribe and I’ll see you guys next time.
Byee!