- Bachelor's degree, in-state public university
- Roughly $11,000 to $16,000 a year in tuition and fees
- Medical school, four years
- Commonly $40,000 to $70,000 a year all in, less at a public school in your own state
- Admission test, applications and interviews
- $3,000 to $8,000 over an application cycle
- Licensing exams
- $695, $695 and $955 for the three steps of the national licensing exam
Roughly, all in
$200,000 to $360,000
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is a community college start, a bachelor's degree finished at a public university in your own state, and a medical school in your own state at the cheaper end of $40,000 a year. The high end is four full years of undergraduate study at $16,000 a year plus a medical school nearer $70,000 a year all in. Both include $3,000 to $8,000 for the admission test, applications and interviews, and $695, $695 and $955 for the three steps of the national licensing exam. Most graduates borrow and finish with large debts, but the residency and fellowship years count toward the ten years of qualifying payments for loan forgiveness if you train at a nonprofit hospital, which matters more here than almost anywhere because the training is so long.
Most graduates borrow, and the debt is large. Fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) every year. If you train and then work at a nonprofit hospital or a university cancer center, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program counts your residency and fellowship years toward the ten years of qualifying payments, which is worth an enormous amount to oncologists specifically because the training is so long.