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Students interested in saving money while attending medical school might be inclined to explore public school options. Although in-state schools may be able to offer more deals for their residents, there are some opportunities to go beyond your home state while keeping within a set budget.
Among the 83 public medical programs surveyed annually by U.S. News, 68 reported annual out-of-state tuition and fees data for the 2010-2011 academic year. Overall, medical students attending a public school out of state spent an average of $48,386 annually in tuition and required fees. This is more than the $43,962 price tag students at private medical schools paid on average during the same time period.
[Explore the 10 least expensive private medical schools.]
While the out-of-state costs may be high at some programs, students can find cheaper alternatives. Among the 10 least expensive public medical school programs for out-of-state students, the average annual cost for tuition and required fees was $31,763. The College of Medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center is the least expensive public medical school for out-of-state students, with an annual cost of $26,682—more than $20,000 less than the national average. Texas schools were well represented, with the Lone Star State fielding the top six least expensive public programs.
The F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a federal service postgraduate academy that charges $0 in tuition and fees in return for military service, was excluded from this list, as were schools designated as Unranked by U.S. News.
Below is a table of the 10 least expensive public medical schools for first year, out-of-state students, based on tuition and required fees. The cost does not include room and board, books, and other miscellaneous costs:
| Public medical school | Out-of-state tuition & fees (2010-11) | U.S. News research rank | U.S. News primary care rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas A&M Health Science Center | $26,682 | 84 | 76 |
| University of Texas Health Science Center--Houston | $26,709 | 56 | RNP* |
| Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | $27,661 | RNP | RNP |
| University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center--Dallas | $28,740 | 22 | 24 |
| University of North Texas Health Science Center | $30,827 | RNP | 20 |
| University of Texas Health Science Center--San Antonio | $31,290 | 60 | 33 |
| Ohio State University | $34,961 | 38 | 33 |
| University of Wisconsin--Madison | $35,811 | 26 | 10 |
| University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences | $37,458 | 84 | 58 |
| East Carolina University (Brody) | $37,489 | RNP | 10 |
(*RNP denotes an institution that is ranked in the bottom one fourth of all medical and osteopathic schools. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it.)
Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News Medical School Compass to find tuition data, residency statistics, and much more.
U.S. News surveyed more than 140 medical schools for our 2010 survey of research and primary care programs. Schools self-reported a myriad of data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News's data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While the data comes from the schools themselves, these lists have no influence over U.S. News's rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools.
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