$1 Billion Gift Means Free Tuition For Most Johns Hopkins Med Students

By Pikesville Patch
Posted on 07/08/24 | News Source: Pikesville Patch

Baltimore, MD  - July 8, 2024 - Most medical students at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore will attend at no cost thanks to a $1 billion gift announced Monday by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The donation also increases financial aid for students at its schools of nursing, public health, and other graduate schools.

Starting in the fall, the donation will cover full tuition for medical students from families earning less than $300,000. Living expenses and fees will be covered for students from families who earn up to $175,000.

“As the U.S. struggles to recover from a disturbing decline in life expectancy, our country faces a serious shortage of doctors, nurses, and public health professionals – and yet, the high cost of medical, nursing, and graduate school too often bars students from enrolling,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg L.P., in the annual letter on philanthropy in the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2023-2024 Annual Report released Monday. “By reducing the financial barriers to these essential fields, we can free more students to pursue careers they’re passionate about — and enable them to serve more of the families and communities who need them the most.”

Currently, nearly two-thirds of all students seeking a doctor of medicine degree from Johns Hopkins qualify for financial aid, and future doctors graduate from Hopkins with an average total student loan debt of about $104,000, Bloomberg Philanthropies said.

Forty-five percent of the current class will also receive living expenses. The school estimates that graduates’ average total loans will decrease from $104,000 currently to $60,279 by 2029.

The gift will also increase financial aid for students at the university's schools of nursing, public health, and other graduate schools.

The gift will go to John Hopkins' endowment and every penny will go directly to students, said officials.

“Mike has really been moved by the challenges that the professions confronted during the course of the pandemic and the heroic efforts they’ve made to protecting and providing care to American citizens during the pandemic," Ron Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University, said in an interview with the Associated Press. “I think he simply wanted to recognize the importance of these fields and provide this support to ensure that the best and brightest could attend medical school and the school of nursing and public health.”

Bloomberg Philanthropies previously gifted $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins in 2018 to ensure that undergraduate students are accepted regardless of their family’s income.