Understanding Cost of Professional Schools
This page is designed to help you obtain a baseline understanding of expenses and empower you to make informed decisions. Cost of attendance (COA) for a given school is typically broken down into two areas: The tuition/program fees and the cost of living expenses (Average cost of housing, transportation, and food for the area).
Allopathic Medical (MD) Schools
These numbers come from AAMC’s aggregated Tuition and Student Fees Questionnaire (TSF) data for 2025–26.
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Public (in‑state):
- Yearly Median Tuition & Fees: $43,648
- Yearly Median Total Cost of Attendance (COA) including those living expenses: $75,654
- Median Four-Year Total Cost of Attendance (COA): $297,745
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Private:
- Yearly Median Tuition & fees: $74,661
- Yearly Median Total Cost of Attendance (COA) including those living expenses: $106,787
- Median Four-Year Total Cost of Attendance (COA): $408,150
Osteopathic Medical (DO) Schools
The 2022-20233 AACOM Graduating Senior Survey Summary Report is the most recent data available on cost of DO schools. 2023 graduates report an overall mean debt of $254,987. *Data is not yet public for the class of 2024 or 2025.
Dental Schools
reports that the average educational debt for dental school graduates in the Class of 2025 was $297,800. The cost of attendance for each school is available in the
Physician Assistant (PA) Schools
Unlike medical school, PA programs don’t have a single national ‘median cost of attendance’ published annually. However, based on Physician Assistant Education Program (PAEA) data, most PA programs cost roughly $90K–$110K in tuition total, with additional living expenses bringing the overall cost higher
- Average total tuition (entire PA program ~27 months)
- All programs (average): ~$98,075 (resident)
- All programs (average): ~$107,288 (non-resident)
- Average Total Tuition by Program Type
- Public (resident): ~$56,718
- Public (non-resident): ~$88,168
- Private: ~$91,639