Page 9 - School of Medicine and Dentistry | University of Rochester Medical Center

We are one of the most competitive medical schools in the nation,
accepting approximately five percent of applicants.

To remain one of the nation’s leading and most selective medical schools, we must continue to attract exceptional students.
As our nation becomes more diverse, we need to attract the most gifted students from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures,
who bring their varied interests and life experiences to their practice of medicine.

Debt is a major issue for medical students. Nearly 90 percent of students borrow money to attend, and their average debt at
graduation is more than $150,000. It is critical that we make certain that the young men and women who meet our high standards
are not deterred from choosing Rochester due to financial constraints. On top of this staggering debt, there’s an additional cost we all
pay. To offset their loans, many students choose one of the higher-paying specialties so they can pay down their debt more quickly.
The result is the formation of gaps in high quality health care in many areas of medicine.

Need- and merit-based scholarships are critically important to the future success of the School of Medicine and Dentistry and
its students. Your generosity will ensure that we can compete for the top students by offering them options that alleviate their
significant financial burden.

In 1972, three Rochester families—grateful patients of
Marvin Hoffman, M.D. ’45, ’50M (Res)—were looking
to provide money for a worthy cause and created a
scholarship to help deserving students in the School
of Medicine and Dentistry. Forty years later, the
Dr. Marvin J. Hoffman Medical School Fund, which
was seeded with $100,000, has grown substantially
to $1.6 million, thanks to Dr. Hoffman, wife Nancy
Yanes-Hoffman ’50, ’68 (MA), and his friends and
grateful patients. Every year, six students receive
scholarships that are renewable for four years.

Tina Jensen (Class of 2014) dreamed of attending
the School. When Tina (pictured front row with
the Hoffmans and other 2013 scholarship
recipients) learned that she would receive a
Hoffman Scholarship, she knew the fund would
make the critical difference in her ability to
attend the School. “The Hoffmans are wonderful
people who are truly invested in the lives of their
scholars,” said Tina. “They really shaped the course
of my educational life.” Dr. Hoffman, now a clinical
professor emeritus of medicine, is proud of the
importance of his scholarship. “We need to ensure
we get the best and brightest to our medical school,
regardless of need.”

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