Former New York Mayor Bloomberg Donates $1 Billion to Alma Mater Johns Hopkins Medical School
"High Tuition Is a Barrier Amid Shortage of Health Experts"
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg (82), former mayor of New York City, announced that he will donate a scholarship worth over 1 trillion won to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, his alma mater. The purpose is to help students complete their studies without worrying about expensive medical school tuition fees.
On the 8th (local time), foreign media including The Washington Post (WP) reported that former Mayor Bloomberg decided to donate $1 billion (about 1.38 trillion won) to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Thanks to this donation, a significant number of Johns Hopkins medical students will be able to attend school tuition-free.
The annual tuition fee at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is about $65,000 (approximately 89.8 million won). Including health insurance, dormitory fees, living expenses, and textbook costs, the total tuition rises to about $100,000. However, with this donation, students from households with an annual income below $300,000 (about 414 million won) will have their tuition waived starting from the new semester in September. Students from households with an annual income below $175,000 (about 240 million won) will also receive living expenses.
The school expects about two-thirds of incoming and current students to benefit. Financial support for nursing school, public health graduate school, and other graduate students will also increase.
Former Mayor Bloomberg explained the reason for donating such a large scholarship to the medical school, stating, "The United States is currently facing a shortage of doctors, nurses, and public health professionals, but expensive tuition fees are a barrier for students." Johns Hopkins University also stated in a press release, "The most talented and motivated medical students will be able to graduate without debt."
In the United States, many students reportedly do not choose medical school due to the burden of tuition fees. According to Johns Hopkins University, the average student loan balance for medical school graduates this year is $105,000. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), 70% of U.S. medical school graduates took out student loans to cover tuition last year. The median student loan amount is known to reach $200,000 (about 276 million won).
Student loans have also been criticized as a cause of a vicious cycle where medical school graduates choose high-income specialties instead of essential medical fields or local medical sites.
Former Mayor Bloomberg previously donated $1.8 billion (about 2.49 trillion won) to Johns Hopkins University in 2018. Including this $1 billion donation, the cumulative donation amount reaches $4.55 billion.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that medical students have had their tuition waived due to a large donation. In February, Ruth Gottesman (93), a former professor and chair of the board of directors, donated $1 billion to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine under Yeshiva University in New York, allowing students to have their tuition waived.
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