Facing mounting costs, medical schools turn to accelerated programs to attract students
As medical school costs rise, some institutions have turned to expedited three-year programs to produce physicians faster and reduce student debt — an adaptation that some schools hope will make them more competitive.
What began as an experimental model in a handful of medical schools has grown to over 30 programs in the U.S. and Canada in the last decade. Students in the programs fulfill the same requirements as their 4-year counterparts, but with fewer, shorter breaks and less time spent on securing residencies.
Dr. Lisa Strano-Paul, associate dean for Clinical Education and director of the three-year accelerated program at Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine, said the arrangement helps make the public school, which is part of the State University of New York, more attractive in a market with better-endowed private schools.
“These are typically highly competitive applicants that are accepted to more than one medical school,” she said. “Giving them the option of having this direct pathway … increases perhaps the likelihood that they will choose Stony Brook.”
The school is one of three in the region offering a three-year program, along with NYU Grossman School of Medicine, which was one of the first schools to launch a three-year track in 2013, and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. In total, there are 34 schools in the Consortium of Accelerated Medical Pathway Programs — a group of medical schools in the U.S. and Canada — that have three-year and expedited programs. Many of the accelerated programs focus on primary care, where demand is high nationwide.
Becoming a doctor is a long and arduous process, and costs have risen in recent years. Since 2014, the median cost of tuition and fees for nonresidents at private medical schools rose 44% to more than $76,000 per year, up from $53,000, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Training typically entails four years of undergraduate education, four years of medical school and three to seven years of residency, often with gap years. The accelerated program shaves off just one year, but the results can pay dividends.
For New York State residents, a year of medical school at Stony Brook costs $51,000 in tuition and fees, and $74,000 for out-of-state students. Those costs don’t include another $33,000 for expenses like room and board, books and supplies, and $5,000 for health insurance. Another selling point is the promise of an additional year of salary that comes with starting earlier.
The accelerated Stony Brook program is 133 weeks, just 14 weeks shorter than the four-year program. The program capitalizes on the shorter window by holding classes in the summer, said Strano-Paul. It also provides a directed pathway to a Stony Brook residency to students, as long as they meet the necessary criteria upon graduating. That’s an appealing prospect for students who want to circumvent one of the most high-anxiety periods of the process. In a typical program, the final year is often dedicated to applying to residencies.
“You don’t have to go through all those obstacles,” said Dr. Manan Shukla, who graduated from Stony Brook’s program this year.
But it comes with trade-offs, like less time to study for exams.
“It’s definitely very tough,” Shukla said. “You don’t have much time for vacations. My summer was spent working in the hospital.”
But the truncated program is not for everyone. Since it began in 2018, 39 students have graduated from the accelerated track into a residency, a fraction of all graduates, said Strano-Paul.
“In order to be committed to this, you have to kind of know exactly what you want to do,” she said. “The average first-year medical student often needs to explore.”
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