Freshman Samuel Woo was considering studying cardiology to pay off his college debt, until it was announced this week that a generous donation will eliminate tuition payments at his New York City college.
Now, without the fear of suffocating debt, the 23-year-old student, the son of South Korean immigrants, said Tuesday that he can fulfill his dream of providing medical care to people living on the streets.
“It was definitely very emotional and it changes a lot,” said Woo, who was working as a tutor and at a coffee shop to cover his expenses.
Ruth Gottesman, a former professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the widow of a Wall Street investor, announced Monday that she will donate $1 billion to the school in the Bronx. The donation means that fourth-year students immediately receive free tuition, and everyone else will benefit in the fall.
Another freshman, Jade Andrade, whose parents emigrated from the Philippines to rural Virginia, had a similar reaction.
“Enormous relief washed over me and everyone around me in the auditorium,” Andrade said.
The two students expressed hope that Gottesman’s generous gift would open the door to more low-income students from immigrant families who otherwise would not have been able to afford a career in medicine.
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine logo is seen on a campus building, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. Medical school will be free for all students thanks to the million-dollar donation from a former professor.
The donation is notable not only for its size—possibly the largest to any medical school in the United States, according to Montefiore Einstein, the organization that hosts the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Montefiore Health system—but also because the school It is located in one of the most impoverished areas of the city and state of New York.
“There are people here in the Bronx who are low-income, first-generation students who really want to be doctors and want to practice medicine here, but they can’t have the opportunity, whether it’s financial reasons or lack of resources,” Woo said . “I hope that free tuition will help alleviate some of the pressure for those students and encourage them to think about medicine as a possibly acceptable field.”
Shocked students and teachers stood, clapped and cheered, some in tears, after Gottesman, 93, announced his donation. The professor has had a relationship with the center for 55 years and is the president of the board.
Faculty representatives said they hoped free tuition would attract a diverse group of applicants, although they have no plans to change their admissions policy. The donation should last in perpetuity, since the interest earned means the total sum will continue to grow. All students will have free registration.
The school’s tuition now costs $63,000 a year, leaving graduate students with huge debts that can take years to pay back. The Education Data Initiative notes that on average, medical graduates leave school with $202,453 in debt.
Gottesman thanked her late husband, David “Sandy” Gottesman, for leaving her the financial means to make the donation. David Gottesman created the Wall Street investment house First Manhattan and was on the board of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s firm. He died in 2022 at age 96.
“I feel blessed to have had the great privilege of making this gift to such a worthy cause,” said Gottesman, a pioneer in the field of learning disabilities.
Woo said he had called his mother immediately after the announcement.
“I think he asked me a lot of questions because that’s what immigrant parents do,” she said. “But later, when I clarified that I am no longer going to pay tuition, she was very happy.”
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