An anonymous donation to Texas Christian University School of Medicine in Fort Worth will fund full tuition for the class of 2024. The funds will pay for the 2022-23 school year, the 60-person class' third year of tuition at TCU.
The donation was announced June 16 during an in-person class meeting.
"It showed very much that someone believes in me, and they want me to be the best possible physician I can be and it's just very encouraging," Arsalan Ali, a second-year medical student at TCU School of Medicine, told Becker's.
The medical school has a history of similarly generous donations, starting in 2019 with the class of 2023, whose first-year tuition was funded by pharmaceutical executive, business investor and entrepreneur Paul Dorman. Mr. Ali's class has now received two donations that have each funded a full year of tuition. Before this most recent donation, their second year of medical school was also paid in full by an anonymous couple.
Dr. Erin Nelson, assistant dean of admissions at TCU School of Medicine, said the donation is extraordinary for the students awarded, but also to the entire medical school community.
"Recognizing that there are people who are willing to contribute so generously to our collective mission is really an incredible spirit and morale boost for everyone involved," Dr. Nelson told Becker's.
Dr. Nelson added that though this gift is "life-altering" for the students and families who receive it, she doesn't want to undermine the value in the smaller donations the university receives.
Mr. Ali shared a similar sentiment, and spoke of the value in receiving this type of donation.
"The average amount of debt is about $250,000 for medical students to come out and for that to get subtracted, it creates this long-term effect for all of us," Mr. Ali said.
Like Dr. Nelson, he added that he's grateful for any type of donation.
This year's donation also supports Lead On: A Campaign for TCU, a campaign effort led by the university. The anonymous family has provided several gifts to the medical school and supported scholarships and stipends for student research.