For current high school students, the thought of college can be scary. Deciding what to major in, where to apply, and the cost of attending a four-year university can be intimidating for most 17-year- olds.

Contrarily, some students may know exactly where they are headed after they trade in their Riverview cap and gown for college textbooks, however those considering studying to become a doctor can be overwhelmed by the exponentially high cost of attending medical school in the twenty-first century.

New York University is a private college nestled around Washington Square Park in the Greenwich Village area of New York City, and its optimal location and variety of majors interest students from around the world each college application season.

The NYU School of Medicine costs have skyrocketed over the past few years, and the school administration has implemented a free tuition policy for all admitted graduate students starting this fall of 2018 and continuing for the following years. Free tuition grants students of all socioeconomic backgrounds the opportunity to study at one of the most prestigious research and medical schools in the world, contributing to the birth of a new era of world class doctors.

“NYU introducing free medical school is a great opportunity to change the world we live in by filling it with more doctors, allowing them to study without worrying about thousands of dollars of debt in their futures,” said Giavanna Soloman, Riverview graduate and current NYU freshman.

For first-generation college students and low-income families, this program would allow them to learn in a world-class university, an opportunity that would have never been an option before with the exponentially high tuition cost. However, Soloman elaborates on her claim by discussing how the minimization of fees would result in NYU becoming even more competitive, making it more difficult for students to be accepted.

“The medical field is already a very competitive profession as it is,” the Riverview graduate said. “NYU will definitely take more time in selecting students that they want to invest their money on,” she explained, meaning students will have present anomalous applications in order to win over admissions officers in the upcoming years.

Current Riverview teacher and NYU alumnus Dr. Don Baeszler studied dance and film while attending the prestigious university and believes that this new program will give students of all socioeconomic backgrounds an equal opportunity to get a worldclass education in the greatest city in the world.

“NYU is known as elitist, so it allows them to have an everyman approach when selecting students for admissions to the Medical School,” said Baeszler.

In the twenty-first century colleges are becoming increasingly expensive, however NYU is a university ahead of its time, aiming to help students in achieving their dreams and receiving an exemplary education at little to no cost at all.