Here’s What It Actually Costs to Attend University of Illinois College of Medicine

The University of Illinois College of Medicine is a seemingly affordable program until you dig into the details. You already know you’ll be taking on debt to make your dream of becoming a doctor come true. We want to make sure that when you apply to UIC medical school, you know how much it’s going to actually cost you.

UIC’s tuition for residents is relatively affordable as far as medical schools go. It’s the non-resident tuition that can carry a heftier price tag of almost $500,000. Here’s what you need to know about the program’s costs.

A look at the University of Illinois College of Medicine

The University of Illinois College of Medicine (UIC) has four campus locations around the state. When you apply, you can specify two campus preferences, but the school places you on a specific campus. The campus locations are in:

• Chicago
• Peoria
• Rockford
• Urbana

Each campus offers unique access to medical facilities for certain specialties. The Chicago campus is the largest of the four, boasting major growth for the fifth straight year and opening two new buildings in 2019. There are approximately 1,317 students enrolled in UIC medical school according to U.S. News and World Report. UIC stands out for having one of the most diverse student populations within medical schools across the U.S.

In addition to the traditional Doctor of Medicine (MD) program, the school also has the following specialty programs:

• Rural Medical Education Program (RMED)
• Global Medical Education Program (GMED)
• Urban Medicine (UMED)
• Innovation Medicine (IMED)
• Clinician Executive Medicine (CEMED)
• Innovation in Rural Global Medicine (IRGmed)

After completing your MD degree or another specialty degree, you then complete the Graduate Medical Education (GME) program in the form of a residency. UIC sponsors a number of residency slots and strives to make them available to its MD graduates.

What is UIC medical school tuition?

UIC landed eighth for the Wall Street Journal “Best Values” list of U.S. universities for 2020. For UIC medical school grads, this might not ring true, though.

University of Illinois College of Medicine has two very different ranges for cost.

UIC medical school is going to look much more affordable if you’re a resident than if you’re a non-resident. Full-time MD students take 12 credit hours or more. The UIC website lists the tuition per semester:

• In-state tuition is $15,453 each term.
• Out-of-state tuition is $31,179 each term.

These numbers might seem good for a medical school; however, the program takes four years to complete and consists of 11 semesters.

The cost of tuition and fees for UIC medical school also vary by campus. Below is the breakdown based on location.

Tuition and Fees Only for UIC Medical School

Campus location	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Total
Chicago (In State)	$52,419	$52,419	$52,419	$35,625	$192,883
Chicago (Out of State)	$99,597	$99,597	$99,597	$67,078	$365,869
Peoria/Rockford (In State)	$51,951	$51,951	$51,951	$35,276	$191,129
Peoria/Rockford (Out of State)	$99,129	$99,129	$99,129	$66,728	$364,115

Year 4 is significantly cheaper because it doesn’t include summer courses. Instead, you’ll be starting your residency work.

The costs don’t stop with just tuition and fees, however. There are a number of tests and cost-of-living expenses associated with medical school, too. These costs combined with tuition and fees give the total cost of attendance for the program. UIC does include Grad PLUS loan origination fees and Stafford Loan origination fees in its totals, which is helpful in calculating costs.

Below are UIC’s projections for the total cost to complete the MD program.

Total Cost of Attendance for UIC Medical School

Campus location	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Total
Chicago (In State)	$79,637	$80,267	$81,557	$56,176	$297,637
Chicago (Out of State)	$126,815	$127,445	$128,735	$87,628	$470,623
Peoria/Rockford (In State)	$77,821	$78,451	$79,741	$54,826	$290,839
Peoria/Rockford (Out of State)	$124,999	$125,629	$126,919	$86,278	$463,825

The total is based on 2019-2020 fees and rates. Rates and fees are subject to change. How these rates change over time can dramatically change the actual cost of the UIC medical school tuition.

Invisible costs: inflation and interest

Tuition and fees can change at any time prior to each semester. And they only seem to increase over time. This means you need to factor in tuition inflation over your time in school. You’ll also want to include the cost-of-living inflation over a period of four years.

Let’s say your tuition increases by an average of 3% each year. By Year 3 of medical school as an in-state student in Chicago, you’ll need to be paying an additional $3,192 in tuition.

This is true for cost of living as well. In the four-year projection, UIC lists housing and food as $14,000 per year. Landlords don’t typically lower rent over time. Your rent will most likely increase. The four-year projection for UIC medical school is really estimated based on now, not on the future.

Don’t forget about the interest that accrues on your student loans while in school. The interest rate for unsubsidized loans is 6.08% and the PLUS loan rate is at 7.08%**. When you’re in school, you’ll be charged interest on all of your loans, so they will be growing too.

For example, if take out the max of $20,500 in unsubsidized loans for the first year, by Year 4 it will have accrued $4985.60 in interest. That’s only on one portion of your loans you’ll be taking out for medical school.

These extra costs and calculations are examples of why the initial UIC medical school debt projections won’t seem entirely accurate.

**Rates as of October 2019

How much debt will UIC medical school students take on?

U.S. News and World Report shows an average of $233,258 student loan debt for medical students graduating in 2018. This number actually seems reasonable when looking at the estimated cost of tuition for an in-state student. But if you’re an out-of-state student where the program costs almost $500,000 with inflation and interest, that number doesn’t match up.

That’s because the average debt reported still accounts for people who received significant financial help like:

• Spouse or family financial contributions
• Income
• Scholarships and grants

When the lowest numbers are included to get the average, it can give the impression that the school is more affordable than it truly is.

When you’re looking at UIC medical school costs, consider:

• How much you can contribute
• If your cost of living matches up with the school’s numbers
• How much aid you’re offered, not counting loans
• How much you’ll need to take out in loans

Once you have these numbers you can estimate the overall debt for Year 1 and then add on inflation and interest.

Does it make financial sense to attend the University of Illinois College of Medicine?

If you’re not a resident in Illinois, it doesn’t really make financial sense to attend the university. The estimated costs not including inflation or interest are already high. Check out our list of cheapest medical schools to begin searching for more affordable alternatives.

If you’re a resident in Illinois, the school isn’t one of the cheapest, but considering the physician salary and job outlook, you could attend and strategize your debt payoff. In a nutshell, you’ll need to follow one of these plans:

• Refinance your student loans and aggressively pay them off after grad school.
• Pursue a loan forgiveness program like Public Service Loan Forgiveness or an income-driven repayment plan.

To dig deeper into these strategies, check out what our student loan consultant, Rob Berman, says about paying off medical school loans.

Whatever medical school you choose to attend, you need to have a student loan plan in place. You also should understand the costs that increase over time. That way you can focus on caring for others' health and not get blindsided by your student loan debt.