As classes started up last week, some students were already studying. To those students, our nation's aspiring doctors: Congratulations. Completing the Medical College Admission Test is no easy feat.
Taking the MCAT comes at no small price — and we don't just mean to your social life. It costs $235 just to take the MCAT itself. And you might spend nearly $2,000 on test-preparation classes. But these are only the first expenses in the lengthy process of applying to medical school.
It costs $160 to submit an application for your first medical school, and $31 for each additional institution. Most schools also require secondary applications, which come with fees of $30 to $120, according to George Vassilev, assistant dean of the College. Brown students typically apply to 10 to 15 schools, Vassilev wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
Students who land interviews at the schools where they applied have the privilege of covering their own travel expenses: round-trip airfare or a bus or train ticket to the school's campus, accommodations and food. The University of California at Berkeley estimates that an applicant's travel expenses for interviews will total $2,500.
Assistance exists for some of the costs associated with applying. The Association of American Medical Colleges reduces the MCAT registration fee and waives the central application fee for eligible students. But no financial aid exists to help with travel expenses, a hefty chunk of the total cost of applying, or to help even the playing field for applicants who can't afford a months-long test-prep course.
Medical school may come with a price tag of more than $40,000 in tuition and fees each year, but a successful graduate expects his or her new degree to help pay off student loans. Someone applying to medical school, on the other hand, is not guaranteed admission anywhere. In fact, in 2009, 54 percent of applicants nationwide and nearly 20 percent of Brown graduates were not admitted into a medical school. There is no guaranteed return on an investment that can easily reach more than $7,000.
The socioeconomic barriers to attending medical school are more complex than just the expenses associated with applying, but the financial cost of the application process is a significant obstacle to low-income students who are considering a career in medicine. Given the already considerable concerns about the growing elitism and affordability of undergraduate education, it is imperative that the doors of a prestigious and well-paid profession should be open to all students, regardless of their socioeconomic background.
We commend professional associations such as the Association of American Medical Colleges for the aid that they make available to financially needy students. But we ask them, and medical schools themselves, to recognize that such assistance is insufficient. The medical establishment has the responsibility of investing in the people that are its profession's future. We also hope the University's health career advisers will be up front with students about the expenses of applying and to advise students and their families to prepare financially for applying to, as well as attending, medical school.
Editorials are written by The Herald's editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
