An anonymous $50M gift will cover some tuition for students at University of Washington

An anonymous donation expected to exceed $50 million is helping cover tuition costs for medical laboratory science students at the University of Washington.

SEATTLE — An anonymous donation expected to exceed $50 million is helping cover tuition costs for medical laboratory science students at the University of Washington for the next half-century.

The dean of the university’s School of Medicine, Dr. Tim Dellit, made the surprise announcement Monday to about 30 grateful undergrads, who will each see two quarters’ worth of tuition covered for their senior-year clinical rotations, The Seattle Times reported.

“I’m really shocked,” said Jasmine Wertz, eyes filling with tears. “Overwhelmed. Extremely grateful.”

Students in the program are trained to perform clinical lab tests on patient samples, which are used to help diagnose, treat and prevent disease and other conditions. Their clinical rotations are so time-consuming that it’s hard to hold down part-time jobs during them.

The gift is the latest in a series of recent donations helping pay for college around the country. Last year, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York received a $1 billion donation from Ruth Gottesman, a former professor and the widow of a Wall Street investor, making tuition there free.