Med School Debt per student - Not including people with zero debt

[Maxprime]

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Does anyone have any data on how much debt the avg. med student graduates with, given that they have debt? The AMA stat I saw earlier today was something like 11% of people don't have any debt when they graduate (may have read that incorrectly). That suggests to me that the average indebted student actually has $150k in debt.

 

[mshheaddoc]

Obviously it varies since some have scholarships as well as cost of living is different throughout the US, but the AAMC states that the avg public med school student had about $130,000 in debt I believe. So if you incorporate the fact that some students aren't paying for med school (scholarship or others are paying it) then I think $150,000 is probably average for the public education. That's on the low end of most students I know.

 

[braluk]

Oy I'll be graduating with more than $200,000 in debt. Lets hope my recent investment in stocks will pay off. I have virtually no loans from college, about 20-25K from grad school. And I project nearly 250,000 from med school (hopefully I can cut this down to 200K) 😱 making my grand total to be nearly $250-$300K in debt. 220K if I can fulfill my goal. Lets hope that attending salary will help.

 

[braluk]

I also cannot imagine how much someone would owe if they also had to take out huge loans in college and went to an expensive med school. Heres to hoping that the government taking control of office in 2008 wont screw doctors over

 

[Captain Fantastic]

Our financial aid person has a nice chart showing the student debt load of recent graduates (from the past two years). One person had zero debt, a couple had <$30K, the bulk were around $130K, and a couple had > $250K. You might contact your financial aid office and see what they have.

 

[LifetimeDoc]

Unless you get scholarships or have rich parents, the rule of thumb I use is (at least in Florida)...

In-State Public School: $45k/year
In-State Private School: $55k/year
Out-State School: $65k+/year

That's allopathic schools. Osteopathic schools tend to cost more, or carribean allopathic schools cost more too.

Each school is of course different, and unless you again have scholarships or rich parents, I'd expect to borrow the entire maximum budget put out by the school (add a few thousand to those published in books). The amount goes up by a thousand or two each year.

So in my case at a public school in-state, $45k times 4 years is $180k (minus a minuscule $1k scholarship, won't even factor that in). By the time you factor in interest paid over time, It'll cost around double that or $360k. Basically another mortgage on top of whatever mortgage you get for a house after residency.

 

[yadayadadude]

The number that often gets bandied about for average medical student debt is ~$130K. This number is from an AAMC survey of 2006 graduates, and is quite outdated -- the class of 2006 entered medical school in 2002. The same survery reported that the debt owed by the class of 2006 increased 8.5% over the previous year. So, if we assume that debt burden increases at 8.5% a year, the class that entered medical school this fall (class of 2011) may have an average debt burden of around $195K -- and that includes students with minimal or no debt (MD/PhDs, military, parents, etc.). The same report also said that the 13% of students had no debt. So if that same proportion has remained constant, the average debt of students in the class of 2011 with debt may be more like $225K. Sound more familiar?

In any case, none of this really matter at all -- what matters is how much debt YOU have/will have. Everyone's situation is so different.

 

[MattD]

I'll have around 160k in STUDENT debt when i graduate.

 

[njbmd]

It's the amount of debt and the interest rate + the time that you are supposed to be paying your debt back. If you owe $250K at 6% interest and they wipe out deferment during residency, you are toast. Many people look at physicians as the "fat cats" and believe that everyone drives a Benz and lives in a 12,000 sq ft house on top of the hill. That certainly doesn't apply to most people coming out of school in the next 5 years or during residency unless you had those things going into residency.

The debt service and the rising interest rates plus elimination of deferment during residency can quickly put you into a hole that you can't get out of. Costs of medical school are not going down but interest rates on the loans that most folks take out is controlled by Congress.

It's a good idea to know which committee in Congress deals with these loans and what legislation is out there.

 

[OncHeme2B]

I've seen one student over $400,000 in debt from medical school. HOLY CRAP! Yep, four hundred thousand. He had loans in college and graduate school even before coming to med school. All that combined was around half a million total $$. However he is going to become a neurosurgeon, so I guess it will get paid off 🙂

 

[mjl1717]

Does anyone have any data on how much debt the avg. med student graduates with, given that they have debt? The AMA stat I saw earlier today was something like 11% of people don't have any debt when they graduate (may have read that incorrectly). That suggests to me that the average indebted student actually has $150k in debt.

Geez, many times do we have to talk about this topic.. I look at it almost as the loan (a quarter of a million) that last forever... Ill admit I use "denial" with this one..👎

 

[OncHeme2B]

I've seen one student over $400,000 in debt from medical school. HOLY CRAP! Yep, four hundred thousand. He had loans in college and graduate school even before coming to med school. All that combined was around half a million total $$. However he is going to become a neurosurgeon, so I guess it will get paid off 🙂

I should mention not all of us with $400,000 loans get paid off. Some do not finish medical school or earn enough to ever pay it back. This guy got lucky =)

 

[NonTradMed]

I have a friend in med school who, despite paying in-state tuition, is probably going to come out a quarter of a million in debt. She's doing primary care but she's doing the underserved thing so her scholarship debt will be wiped.

I've noticed that, at least at my med school, alot of students come from well off families and don't know how to truly "live like a student". I think this only exacerbates the debt problem since those impulse buys can and do add up in the end.

 

[Law2Doc]

That suggests to me that the average indebted student actually has $150k in debt.

That was the figure quoted by some med schools when some of us started. I've got to think it's even a bit higher now.

 

[OncHeme2B]

Yeah...its WAY higher than that if you count in college and grad school loans before coming to med school...which most people have (if you're taking loans)

 

[kassy]

Actually, osteopathic schools are the same. They aren't more expensive. It just that the avg osteopathic school has costs more than the average allopathic school since a greater % of osteopathic schools are private schools compared to allopathic.

Unless you get scholarships or have rich parents, the rule of thumb I use is (at least in Florida)...

In-State Public School: $45k/year
In-State Private School: $55k/year
Out-State School: $65k+/year

That's allopathic schools. Osteopathic schools tend to cost more, or carribean allopathic schools cost more too.

Each school is of course different, and unless you again have scholarships or rich parents, I'd expect to borrow the entire maximum budget put out by the school (add a few thousand to those published in books). The amount goes up by a thousand or two each year.

So in my case at a public school in-state, $45k times 4 years is $180k (minus a minuscule $1k scholarship, won't even factor that in). By the time you factor in interest paid over time, It'll cost around double that or $360k. Basically another mortgage on top of whatever mortgage you get for a house after residency.

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

I'm always very suspicious about the mean debt numbers that get published - they're old before they get printed and I've rarely seen a figure published for only students who actually have debt.

I think I'm typical for Oklahoma, which is a low-cost state. I held on to the house that I own during medical school and had to borrow extra for that - but that was offset by a fair number of generous scholarships. I'll graduate $180K in the hole (no educational debt prior to med school).

 

[ZagDoc]

In-state tuition here and I'll be $170,000 in the hole by the end. I just crossed into the 6 figures realm of debt this term... Had a little catecholamine surge after I first noticed it. That extra zero on the loan statement makes a BIG difference for some reason.

 

[turkeyjerky]

Actually, osteopathic schools are the same. They aren't more expensive. It just that the avg osteopathic school has costs more than the average allopathic school since a greater % of osteopathic schools are private schools compared to allopathic.

Thank you for correcting that misconception--it was surely worth bumping a 20 month old thread for.

 

[immanuel11421]

Seriously, with the healthcare reform, will doctors be able to pay off the debts and still live somewhat 'decent'. What I mean is that if I owe 280k, would I at least make 150k after the reform?
What did people do if they can't get into high paid competative residency but they are seriously in debt and not in good enough physical condition to join military to pay their debt off? And how 'fit' u really have to be to join the military as a physician?

 

[phospho]

Thank you for correcting that misconception--it was surely worth bumping a 20 month old thread for.

 

[ChiDO]

Easily 200-300k.

 

[slight365]

I'm also wondering how long it takes the average student to pay back debt. That could reveal, when plotted properly, such things as their own personal responsibility, in terms of willing to pay back loans as soon as possible, at the expense of living quality, for instance, or large start up costs, income levels, and various other factors.

When I was younger, it was like 150k. Now we're up to 300k. How? Unfortunately, higher ed in the US became too much of a business that went unregulated. Even the state and community colleges are rapidly becoming out of reach for many. From loan agencies to food service companies to book sellers, professors on the take with required material and equipment, and so on. The government will do quite well reigning things in, but that is massively harder to do than it is to propose it.

I got in on the German system by learning German, and even many of the classes were paid for by the government, in fact, and then applying to med school after taking my exam. Now I have nearly free studies at an internationally ranked school.

 

[meister]

If you enjoy misery, use this loan calculator to see how long it'll take you to pay off your debt and how much it'll cost you.

 

[Momentum70]

Lovely, according to that calculator I need to make 300K/yr to not suffer hardship, dont think residency is gonna cover that next year.

 

[bhar03]

Just made this spreadsheet today. Its for dental school but Med/Dental school is similar in cost. Just plug in the costs for your schooling a presto. Hope this can help without being too confusing.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=8721080#post8721080

 

[cpants]

Oy I'll be graduating with more than $200,000 in debt. Lets hope my recent investment in stocks will pay off. I have virtually no loans from college, about 20-25K from grad school. And I project nearly 250,000 from med school (hopefully I can cut this down to 200K) 😱 making my grand total to be nearly $250-$300K in debt. 220K if I can fulfill my goal. Lets hope that attending salary will help.

I know this is an old post, but why on Earth are you investing in stocks with that kind of debt load? You are borrowing money to buy stock. That investment will need to bring in 6% a year just for you to break even. Anyway, judging by what happened in the economy over the last 2 years you won't be using those investment profits to pay down your debt.