The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or grad school search.
Medical school is generally a large investment. But at these institutions, you might be able to get an education for a relatively lower price.
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Of the 10 private medical schools that had the lowest tuition and fees in the 2015-2016 academic year, most were ranked in the bottom one-fourth of the 2017 U.S. News Best Medical Schools rankings for research. The Baylor College of Medicine was the only institution on the list to rank among the top 20.
These 10 schools charged an average of nearly $42,900 in tuition and fees. The average among all 48 schools that submitted this data to U.S. News in an annual survey was slightly more than $52,500.
Columbia University had the highest tuition and fees for 2015-2016, at $61,485, while the Baylor College of Medicine had the lowest, at $31,663.
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Meanwhile, the No. 1 ranked medical school for research, Harvard University, charged $57,485 in tuition and fees, placing it among the most expensive schools.
Below is a list of the 10 medical schools with the lowest tuition and fees for the 2015-2016 school year. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.
| School (name) (state) | Tuition and fees (2015-2016) | U.S. News research rank | U.S. News primary care rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor College of Medicine (TX) | $31,663 | 20 | 9 (tie) |
| Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (PA) | $32,985 | RNP* | 71 (tie) |
| University of Pikeville (KY) | $41,320 | RNP | RNP |
| University of Miami (Miller) | $42,626 | 44 (tie) | 84 (tie) |
| Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine–Virginia, Carolinas, and Auburn | $43,250 | RNP | RNP |
| Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (MO) | $43,513 | RNP | 78 (tie) |
| Lincoln Memorial University (DeBusk) (TN) | $46,528 | RNP | RNP |
| Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (NY) | $48,340 | RNP | RNP |
| Hofstra University (NY) | $48,500 | 82 (tie) | RNP |
| Mayo Medical School (MN) | $49,900 | 24 | 32 (tie) |
* RNP denotes an institution that is ranked in the bottom one-fourth of all medical schools. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it.
Note: While Baylor College of Medicine, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine are private programs, these schools offer different rates for in-state and out-of-state students. The programs’ in-state tuition rates are lower than the out-of-state rates provided in this article.
Don’t see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News Medical School Compass to find information on medical school tuition, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
U.S. News surveyed 170 medical schools for our 2015 survey of research and primary care programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Medical Schools rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News’ rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The tuition data above are correct as of March 29, 2016.
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10 Most Affordable Private Medical Schools originally appeared on usnews.com
