The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College and The Short List: Grad School to find data that matters to you in your college or grad school search.
Medical school requires a significant commitment of time, energy, and money.
In 2010, the average med student graduated with more than $145,000 in debt, according to data collected in U.S. News's fall 2011 survey of medical schools. For doctors graduating from private schools in 2010, the average debt load jumps almost $10,000.
While public medical schools tend to be more affordable for students willing to stay close to home—in-state tuition at some public medical schools costs less than $20,000 per year—tuition and fees at even the most expensive private medical schools can cost less than out-of-state tuition at public medical schools.
For the 49 private medical schools that reported tuition and fees data for the 2011-2012 academic year to U.S. News, the average total cost was $45,870 per year, several thousand dollars less than out-of-state tuition and fees at the 64 public medical schools reporting tuition data, which averaged $50,396 for the same time period.
Still, tuition and fees at private medical schools can vary greatly—from $29,508 annually at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, to $54,578 per year at Tufts University in Boston. Below are the 10 most expensive private medical schools, based on school-reported tuition and required fees, which do not include room and board, books, and other miscellaneous costs. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report:
| Medical school (name) (state) | Tuition & fees (2011-2012) | U.S. News research rank | U.S. News primary care rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tufts University (MA) | $54,578 | 44 | 38 |
| Temple University (PA) | $54,218 | 47 | 86 |
| Columbia University (NY) | $52,659 | 8 | 43 |
| New York University | 52,576 | 26 | 77 |
| Case Western Reserve University (OH) | $51,062 | 24 | 35 |
| Harvard University (MA) | $51,043 | 1 | 15 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | $50,510 | 6 | 40 |
| University of Southern California (Keck) | $50,247 | 34 | 86 |
| Boston University | $50,160 | 31 | 31 |
| George Washington University (DC) | $50,036 | 55 | 83 |
*While the Temple University School of Medicine is a private program, the school offers both an in-state and out-of-state tuition. Temple's in-state tuition is lower than the out-of-state tuition provided in this article.
Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News Medical School Compass to find tuition data, complete rankings, and much more.
U.S. News surveyed more than 140 medical schools for our 2011 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 U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Medical Schools rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News's rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools.
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Alexander Krach of OR 3:21PM April 11, 2012