Anonymous couple donates $3.6M to cover Texas class’ 2nd-year medical school tuition

FORT WORTH, Texas — An entire class of students at the Texas Christian University and University of North Texas Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Fort Worth has one less thing to worry about after an anonymous couple’s generous donation.

The donors gave $3.6 million, or roughly $60,000 per student in the 60-member Class of 2024, stipulating it pay for the students’ second year of medical school tuition. Those students entered the program in July 2020, KDFW reported.

“Because of (the couple) you will have your tuition for this next year paid, so I congratulate you on that. I am so wicked happy for you in this regard,” Stuart Flynn, the medical school’s dean, told the students during a Zoom meeting Friday.

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TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini Jr. called the gift life-changing because the average medical school student graduates with more than $250,000 worth of debt, KDFW reported.

“Medical school is challenging enough. This gift will alleviate some of the burden of debt as our students focus on learning and leading in providing capable and compassionate patient care. I am so grateful for this extraordinary gift to these future physicians,” he said.

Sam Sayed, a class member from Arlington, Texas, said he was “overcome” with emotion following the announcement.

“When you invest in young, budding physicians, this is a win for the community. It’s a win for the school and, really, it’s a win for humanity as a whole,” Sayed told KXAS. “And so to the donors, thank you so much. We appreciate it.”

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According to the TV station, the program has a history of generous benefactors, after pharmaceutical executive Paul Dorman paid the first-year tuition in 2019 for the program’s inaugural class of 60 students.

“There’s not enough words to convey the gratitude we feel for a gift like this,” Class of 2024 student Danielle Sader of Carrollton, Texas, told KXAS. “We hope we do them justice in the future by being the best physicians we can possibly be.”

Cox Media Group