‘Opening Doors’ aims to keep best & brightest in medical school
October 16, 2014
Historic scholarship campaign looks to raise $20 million dollars over next three years.
CHARLESTON, SC – For the first time since its founding in 1824, the MUSC College of Medicine (COM) is conducting a formal campaign to raise much-needed funds for medical student scholarships.
In 1970, the cost of medical school tuition was about $500 a year. In 1990, that number had risen to about $5,000 annually and today, after years of rising costs and steep cuts in state subsidies, tuition alone costs an in-state student more than $36,000 for one year of medical school and more than $62,000 for out-of-state students.
Today, state appropriations now account for just 5% of the annual budget at the COM. Our students are now paying 6,500% more than they did in 1970. The cost of higher education has outpaced inflation in other sectors, rising 7.45% annually between 1978 and 2011, and the past decade has seen steep cuts in state and federal support of higher education.
Nearly 90% of COM students borrow money to finance their educations and upon graduating owe, on average, nearly $200,000. Debt like this is a deal-breaker for some of the best and brightest young minds in the country and threatens to close the medical profession to otherwise qualified students of modest means. Today, just 10% of the nation’s medical students come from families with incomes in the lowest 40th percentile.
A goal of the Opening Doors campaign is to remove tuition as a barrier to a career in medicine. The campaign strives to keep COM classrooms filled with the most gifted and motivated students, no matter their financial situations, and to minimize debt repayment as a factor in students’ career decisions.
For more information about the campaign and to watch the launch video and “Scholarship Stories”, please visit www.musc.edu/openingdoors.
About MUSC
Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and residents, and has nearly 13,000 employees, including approximately 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $1.7 billion. MUSC operates a 750-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children’s Hospital, the Ashley River Tower (cardiovascular, digestive disease, and surgical oncology), Hollings Cancer Center (one of 66 National Cancer Institute designated centers) and a leading Institute of Psychiatry. For more information on academic information or clinical services, visit www.musc.edu. For more information on hospital patient services, visit www.muschealth.com.
