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Endowed Scholarship InitiativeThe Gift of Opportunity |
Scholarship: A Prescription for Unhealthy Debt
The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry trains national leaders in medicine, science, and dentistry. We set our selection criteria to the highest standards, the first step in the development of outstanding students and academic leaders. It is critical that we make certain that young men and women meeting our criteria are not deterred by financial constraints, by endowing both need-based and merit-based scholarships to ensure the future success of our students and our School.
By building the scholarship base, we are better able to continually hire and retain premier faculty and offer valuable programs such as basic and clinical biomedical research initiatives, international health projects, and community health initiatives. Our innovative curriculum, mentoring environment, and vast array of biomedical research opportunities make Rochester very attractive to students from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures who have diverse interests and life experiences. All of these strengths make Rochester a top choice for top students and increase the need for alumni and friends to give back to the School. It is a priority to allow exceptional students to attend the School undeterred from staggering medical costs.
The enormous debt carried by the vast majority of our students and the requirement for us to continue our need-blind admissions policy is illustrative of the critical necessity for funding need-based financial aid. In the Class of 2004, 92 percent of our 105 students became borrowers to attend medical school. Their average debt for medical school alone was $130,905, just below the national private school median of $135,000. Such debt is an overwhelming burden.
Recruitment of the most gifted students will only be enhanced by significant new scholarship funding so that the School remains competitive in its offerings of financial assistance. Scholarships facilitate the very best having the opportunity to benefit from the Rochester learning experience, whether students are pursuing a career in medical practice, scientific research, or both. Merit scholarships have been awarded to a limited extent in the past, but with your help, we will continue to develop a strong and specific program of merit-based scholarships.
Thanks to our generous friends and alumni who recognize the value of supporting medical education. We encourage you to consider how you can help carry the Rochester tradition well into the 21st century with an endowed scholarship fund for our medical students, graduate students, or residents. You can build a true legacy, individually or as a class, by endowing these scholarships.
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Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D. |
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David Guzick, M.D., Ph.D. |
Freedom to Choose
In 2004, the median public and private school debt for a medical graduate hit $115,000, according to the American Association of Medical Colleges, a five-fold increase in the past two decades. With a standard 10-year repayment plan, the graduate ultimately will spend more than another $100,000 in interest, making the total repayment more than $200,000. Almost 30 percent of graduates have debt exceeding $150,000; 82 percent have some level of debt. It is projected that by the year 2030, loan repayments could consume 50 percent of after-tax income for young physicians.
The question is: does all this debt impact choice of medical school and choice of career paths? According to Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., former President of the Association of American Medical Colleges, the answer is yes. In the May 2005 AAMC Reporter, he wrote: "As things currently stand, even with debt levels as high as they are, hardboiled economic analysis shows that the M.D. degree is still a good investment. The anticipated lifetime earnings of a physician provide a better return on educational investments than just about any other career choice a student could make. But try to convince prospective medical school applicants from lower socio-economic groups of that. Understandably wary of taking on any debt, let alone debt of these magnitudes, academically accomplished, but economically challenged students (especially those from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups) list the cost of medical education as the principal reason for NOT considering a career as a physician."
Many alumni over the years have chosen to endow a scholarship fund in their own name or in honor of someone who has touched their lives or their professional careers. Some excellent examples include:
The William C. Manchester Memorial Scholarship
Robert and Janet Scala Merit Scholarship
The Glenn and Howard Axelrod Family Scholarship
The Ernest Field Merit Scholarship
Dean Brenda Lee Scholarship
Alumni Tuition Free Program
The William C. Manchester Memorial Scholarship
In 1986, Robert Manchester (M.D. '32) and his sister funded a scholarship in honor of their father, to assist students in financial need. Dr. Manchester believed in the importance of education and the need to give back. Dr. Manchester made a commitment to the fund by establishing a charitable gift annuity which provided him not only an income tax deduction but a steady stream of income. "I think it's a wonderful way not only to do good with your money, but also ensure having a sound income during retirement," he said. "It certainly worked out very well for me."
Robert and Janet Scala Merit Scholarship
Robert Scala (Ph.D. '58) recognizes the importance of a medical education. In fact, he finds it so valuable that he and his wife have established the Robert and Janet Scala Merit Scholarship through a generous gift."The cost of medical education is significant," said Scala, President of the School of Medicine and Dentistry Alumni Council. "A merit scholarship rewards an academically deserving applicant and demonstrates our school's commitment to helping worthy students." Merit scholarships and the students who earn them also benefit the Medical School.
"The ability to attract outstanding students based on their academic quality regardless of need will help raise the level of incoming students," Scala said. "That allows the school to offer a more challenging curriculum, which means the school not only turns out good practicing physicians, but also leaders. Rochester has that reputation and we need to make sure it keeps that reputation."
Scala, a native of Utica, New York, who now lives in Tucson, Arizona, attended Hamilton College on a scholarship. He had planned to be a physician, but chose a career in toxicology. And he knows he made the right choice.
"I had a very rewarding career in toxicology," said Scala, "I was mentored by top quality people who gave me a desire to give back, to help others to get an education."
He and his wife, Janet Eddy Scala (SON '55) previously established a scholarship at the University of Rochester School of Nursing. They have a provision in their wills to add to the fund. "We both had a tremendous education at Rochester that opened doors for us," Robert Scala said. "Helping build a scholarship program that enables the school to attract students of the best quality strikes a very responsive chord with us."
The Glenn and Howard Axelrod Family Scholarship
Howard Axelrod graduated from the University of Rochester River Campus in 1944 and completed a master's degree in 1949. When he came to the School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1973 he was married and had two children. With a young family to support while going to medical school full time, Howard was grateful for the financial support that the medical school offered him. When it was time for his son Glenn to go to college, Howard was proud to see him choose the University of Rochester. Glenn completed his undergraduate degree in 1973, his medical training at the School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1977, and his orthopaedics residency in 1982. Glenn is now practicing in Syracuse, New York. It's only fitting that the father and son have teamed up to support other students by establishing a family scholarship — The Glenn and Howard Axelrod Family Scholarship.
The Ernest Field Merit Scholarship
The Ernest Field Merit Scholarship was funded by Dr. Robert Newman (M '62). Dr. Newman established the scholarship fund to honor his uncle, Dr. Ernest Field, who was a physician in Rochester and the driving force behind Dr. Newman's decisions to become a physician and apply to Rochester for medical school. Unfortunately, Dr. Field passed away shortly after Dr. Newman began medical school. Dr. Newman believes that merit scholarships are important to attract the best and brightest students to Rochester, many of whom stay and practice in the region.
Dean Brenda Lee Scholarship
The Class of 2005 members of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) started a new tradition by establishing a scholarship fund in honor of Dean Brenda Lee. The class donated the first $1,000 towards the Dean Brenda Lee Scholarship. The SNMA is an organization that focuses on the needs of minority medical students and medically underserved populations. They chose to honor Dean Lee because she has been instrumental in the growth and success of students at the School of Medicine and Dentistry. They believe it is important that her legacy of advocacy, mentorship and community improvement endures. Therefore, the Dean Brenda Lee Scholarship will be awarded annually to an individual from a historically underrepresented minority background who has worked to improve the Rochester community through community service and/or mentorship.
How You Can Help
In recent years, many students have been trained in Rochester thanks to the generosity of alumni and other friends of the Medical School. These students are deeply grateful for the opportunities opened to them through scholarship funding. If you are interested in establishing a merit or need-based scholarship, please contact the School of Medicine and Dentistry's Development Office at 1-800-333-4428. Scholarships can be established by individuals, families or classes.
To make a gift please click here.
