The Most Affordable Private Medical Schools

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”

—Albert Einstein

When my physician-dad went to medical school, he told me that the tuition was about $500 per year. While that sure doesn’t seem like a lot of money—especially compared with today’s $51,000 yearly average for a private US medical school—it was “all the money in the world to our family back then,” dad explained.

“The day we had to pay the bill my mother was so nervous just handling that kind of money,” dad said. “We had to save, sacrifice, and borrow just to get it and I really felt a lot of pressure to do well my first year at medical school.” He did just fine.

Another good thing about those days is that dad didn’t have a lot of medical school debt to pay off. Again, very different times. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the average educational debt for a public medical school graduate last year was about $168,000; for a private medical school grad it was over $190,000.

With Medical School “Match Day” upon us, it’s a good time to consider medical degree affordability—on the cheap. US News & World Report is out with its 10 Most Affordable Private Medical Schools List for 2014-15.

US News is well known for its annual “Best Medical Schools” list; its 2016 rankings are here. More than 150 medical schools around the country were surveyed by U.S. News to create the “Affordable” list:

1. Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX was founded in 1900. It has annual tuition and fees of $31,618.

2. Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine located in Erie, PA was established in 1992. Annual schooling costs are $32,510.

3. Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of Pikeville is in Pikeville, KY. The school was founded in 1997. It’s $40,120 for annual tuition and fees.

4. Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine has campuses in Blacksburg, VA and Spartanburg, South Carolina. It opened in 2002. The annual cost is $42,500.

5. Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami is in Miami, FL. The school was established in 1952. Annual education costs are $42,610.

6. DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine at Lincoln Memorial University is located in Harrogate, TN. The school was founded in 2004. It has annual tuition and fees of $44,320.

7. Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine is in Harlem, NY. It was opened in 2007. The annual education expenses are $45,950.

8. College of Medicine at Howard University is located in Washington, DC. The school was founded in 1868. The medical school costs are $46,838 per year.

9. Mayo Medical School is part of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The school opened in 1972. The cost for a year of school is $47,470.

10. College of Osteopathic Medicine at Rocky Vista University is located in Parker, CO. The school was established in 2006. The annual bill for education is $48,578.

Note: The most expensive private medical school in the nation today is NYC’s College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University (founded in 1767) at just under $60,000 per year.