When Brenda Abreu Molnar, MD’24, started planning for medical school, she had a clear advantage: her older sister, Diana, had already navigated the journey, graduating from FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in 2017. She warned Brenda to brace herself for medical education costs she might not expect.
It’s not just tuition, which can be expensive – most people already know that. It’s also the extra expenses like housing, food, and travel for things like hospital rotations. Brenda, 29, says applying for residencies and out-of town rotations can cost thousands of dollars. There were added costs for her when she took a gap year to do research and enhance her chances of landing a highly competitive dermatology residency. Between her third and fourth years of medical school, Brenda moved to Chicago to work with a renowned dermatologist on a study of a rare genetic skin disease. Stipends for such work are typically modest and insufficient to cover living in a new city.
Medical school costs take a financial and mental toll
“There’s a lot of information you have to study, and financial insecurity occupies brain space and mental well-being,” says Brenda. “When you’re studying medicine and balancing your finances, it’s challenging.”
Aspiring doctors often face a daunting reality: accumulating over $200,000 in debt, a substantial portion coming not from tuition fees but lesser-known expenses. Recognizing this challenge, the College of Medicine is seeking donors to establish funds to ease the financial burden on medical students, ensuring they can pursue their education without sinking into deep debt.
At FIU, in-state tuition for medical students is $32,000 a year. After factoring in cost of living in South Florida and other expenses, the total attendance cost is about $77,000 annually. Out-of-state students are looking at spending over $100,000 a year.
Medical school costs are a particular challenge for students from low-income communities. Cristina Arabatzis, director of admissions and financial aid, says about a third of FIU medical students qualify for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program (FAP), which covers some of the costs of applying to medical school. FAP eligibility is based on poverty guidelines and is an indicator of how many students need financial aid to afford a medical education.
Most medical students at FIU (about 88 percent) take out loans, Arabatzis said. However, federal loans have a $224,000 borrowing limit regularly exceeded by students, especially those like Brenda, who take gap years to gain added experience.
Studying and living in Miami
Miami is a vibrant city home to large immigrant communities from Latin America and the Caribbean. The Class of 2027 is a microcosm of this diverse community, with students representing 19 countries.
A quarter of FIU medical school students are the first generation in their families to attend higher education. So, they’re often navigating a financial world that’s entirely new, including not being able to financially help their families until after graduation.
The rigors of medical school don’t allow students to juggle a side job, which can tax the student and their families. “I often meet with students who ask if they can take on a job on the side to help support their families,” Arabatzis said. “I know their heart is in the right place, but this is medical school. This is a different ballgame.”
Many of these students worked while getting their undergrad degrees. Some, like Brenda, put off medical school for a while, working a few years after college to improve their finances before taking the leap into medical school.
Arabatzis handles recruitment, admission, and financial aid and often meets with potential students to determine how FIU can attract the best talent by targeting scholarships. Then, she regularly meets with current students trying to manage their debt. Often, that’s figuring out how to handle a financial crisis.
“Life happens, so we have hardship funds…for what we call social determinants of education,” Arabatzis said. “Financial stress is hard to deal with, even more so in medical school.”
A critical debt burden for students is Miami’s high cost of living. “We want to attract the best and brightest from our community regardless of their financial circumstances. The reality is that the cost of living in South Florida is higher than the national average while the median household income in Miami-Dade County is about $67,000 a year,” said Naomi Nixon, associate dean for Development. “Clearly, this is a challenge we must confront.”
A vision for student academic support
The average medical school debt tops $200,000, a hefty load to bear for a young doctor starting their career. With a repayment timeline of over 20 years, they’ll be paying the equivalent of an extra mortgage payment to make headway on the loan.
As the chief fundraiser at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, one of Nixon’s top priorities is to dramatically increase the funding available for student support. This past year, the College created a new fund to support students like Brenda, who are seeking to spend a gap year doing research, which can be critical to matching in a competitive residency program following graduation.
“Each year, a handful of students apply for these opportunities, but for many, the cost makes it unattainable,” says Nixon, who aims to double the number of full-tuition scholarships over the next few years. “If we can do this, we can significantly reduce student indebtedness at the College. With the vision and generosity of our community, this should be within our reach.”
Nixon firmly believes that by helping medical students achieve their dreams, we enhance the quality and capacity of our health care system, and the entire community benefits. “This will yield big dividends for all -- from the growing number of corporations relocating their workforces to Miami as well as individuals who hope to raise families and retire here.”
To support future doctors and help grow South Florida’s health care workforce, contact Naomi Nixon at nnixon@fiu.edu