Lesley Stahl: And that pressure isn't on your shoulders. And I think that's a more effective way of getting the goals society wants than giving everyone-- tuition free. Lesley Stahl: Really? Elaine De Leon: Yeah. I'm a cheerleader, and I'm a fundraiser. Because we really wanted to be blind in terms of the kids coming here. No doctor. But a lot of medical students, a lot of young doctors have that. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel: I think people are stressed by it. Opens in a new window. And before you knew it, the-- the audience had erupted into cheers of joy. Follow us on LinkedIn. Pass it on. This was the real-time reaction of another father. Joe Babinski: It's kinda this transition point where you go from being a potential student to a member of the medical community even if you're at the bottom rung of the ladder still. Ken Langone: You have a right to push and say, "Why didn't you make kids who could afford to pay, pay?" We award full-tuition scholarships to all current students and future matriculated students, regardless of merit or financial need, that cover the majority of the cost of attendance, provided each student maintains satisfactory academic progress in … And I think they will redouble their efforts. Lesley Stahl: How much debt did you expect you'd be taking on? We don't have enough of those doctors. Joe Babinski: And it's-- it's a pretty significant experience. They'd better be, because otherwise, those deans at Harvard and Hopkins and Stanford are likely to see the very best medical students attending NYU, for free. Ken Langone: Eleven years ago. The following tables represent tuition and additional expenses that approximate the cost of attending NYU Grossman School of Medicine for MD students enrolling in the upcoming academic year. Something dramatic. (LAUGH) So I was like, "I'm-- I'm documenting that this is happening." Joe Babinski: And they announce that they are supplying full-tuition scholarships for every student. Elaine De Leon: I borrowed $76,000 and if I were to pay that off in-- on a ten-year plan it would be $100,000 by the time I paid it off. Dr. Rafael Rivera: At first, I see students looking around at each other. Elaine De Leon: Of course you hear the, like, s-- prime specialties where you get paid the most so you hear dermatology, you hear surgery, you hear all of these things. Lesley Stahl: So the interest grows. You know, orthopedics pays well. These are great people. When you enroll in the MD degree program, a tuition charge appears on your bill along with a credit for the full-tuition scholarship that offsets this amount. *Students who choose to enroll in NYU Grossman School of Medicine health insurance will have this item added to their budgets once enrollment verification is complete. Ken Langone: Oh, I go out, and I look at somebody nice like you, and I grab you by your ankles, and I shake you. Ken Langone: "As of this very moment, the NYU school of medicine is now a tuition-free medical school. …calling her dad to give him the news, you wouldn't know she was saving just one year of tuition. As he began that journey, Joe was expecting to take on a great burden. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel: Most of us think that it really deters people from-- middle class and lower income families. One of America's most recognized and experienced broadcast journalists, Lesley Stahl has been a 60 Minutes correspondent since 1991. They do still have to pay their own room and board, but for these students, it's a gift worth more than $200,000 each. Elaine De Leon: I think just the idea that a lot of people who come from backgrounds like mine, low income, without parents who are able to afford medical school, I think that it's a huge draw. And--. Lesley Stahl: Did you think you heard them right? For the 2020-21 academic year this amounts to a scholarship of $57,476 for each student. All told, borrowers owe  $1.5  trillion, more than people owe in credit card debt or car loans. The fields that tend to pay a little less are fields like pediatrics, and general internal medicine, family medicine. Thank you for printing content from NYU Langone Health. Affordability & Financial Aid for MD Students. Joe Babinski: I-- I took a picture of the slide on my phone because I-- I didn't want them to remove it and take it away. Elaine De Leon: Already I felt like one of the luckiest medical students in the country because I am in the three-year program, I'm already decided on primary care, I'm already going into this residency program here. Sitting a few rows away, joe's parents, a municipal employee and a retired cop, had a similar "Did he just say what I think he said?" Fees for the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) are only assessed during the years when the examinations are taken. And then all of a sudden, the chants started getting louder and louder. NYU School of Medicine is proud to award all students enrolled in our MD degree program full-tuition scholarships as part of our tuition-free initiative, so that any student can pursue the dream of becoming a physician without the burden of overwhelming student debt. Elaine De Leon was in the final year of an accelerated three-year med school program, one year less than the norm.