Students at a prominent medical school in New York will no longer have to worry about as much debt after it received a $1 billion (£790,000) donation.
A former professor, Dr Ruth Gottesman, donated the huge sum to Albert Einstein College of Medicine on behalf of her late Wall Street investor husband. It is thought to be one of the biggest donations made to a school in the US.
The school, which charges around £50,000 a year for tuition, has scrapped rising student fees to help prospective medics study without incurring large debts.
“The donation will free up and lift our students, enabling them to pursue projects and ideas that might otherwise be prohibitive," said Dr Yaron Yomer, university dean.
Dr Gottesman, 93, started working at the university in 1968. Her late husband, David "Sandy" Gottesman died in 2022.
Dr Gottesman’s husband reportedly left her a large portfolio of stocks. He urged her to do what she felt was right with them. She decided to donate the sum to the school to pay for all future tuition.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is in the Bronx, one of the poorest regions in New York City. The BBC said that around 60 per cent of first-year students were women, and 45 per cent of its students were Asian, Hispanic or black.
"I am very thankful to my late husband, Sandy, for leaving these funds in my care, and l feel blessed to be given the great privilege of making this gift to such a worthy cause,” Dr Gottesman said.
Student debt is a massive issue for US students because the cost of attending college has risen considerably in the last few decades.
Forbes said the average student loan in New York was around $37,196.72 (£29,314). However, the fees for medical school are even higher.
Most medical students in the US are thought to have amassed more than $200,000 (£158,000) in debt.
There are some subsidies and support programmes to help students pay off their loans. President Joe Biden previously announced a student debt relief programme.
However, most people will likely be paying off these student loans for over three decades into their medical careers.
