Understanding medical school costs

Medical school cost figures are easy to misread. This guide explains what the published numbers mean and why one tuition figure is not always comparable to another.

Tuition is not cost of attendance

Tuition is the instructional charge. Cost of attendance (COA) is the full budgeted cost for a year — tuition plus fees, health insurance, books, equipment, and living expenses. COA is what financial aid is calculated against, and it is typically far higher than tuition alone.

In-state vs out-of-state

Public schools often charge lower tuition to state residents. Private schools usually charge a single rate. When comparing, check whether a figure is the resident or non-resident rate, and for which year.

Why institution-level data can mislead

Federal College Scorecard data is reported at the institution level. For a medical school that is a unit of a university, that number describes the whole university (often driven by undergraduate tuition), not the medical program. Presenting it as the medical school's cost would be wrong. That is why this directory shows a tuition figure only for standalone institutions where the school is the reporting entity, and marks the year. For every other school, the honest answer is to consult the official financial aid page, which each school page links to.

Comparing costs responsibly

Use the compare tool to see the dated figures that do exist side by side. Blank cells are not zeros — they mean the figure is held back by the data firewall or was not reported, never guessed.