I'm incredibly lucky, in that my father paid almost all of my veterinary school expenses and I was also able to hold a good-paying PT job during school. I graduated with only a small amount of credit card debt (less than $15,000) and no student loans. If I would have had to take out $200k in loans, I really don't think I would do it. I want to have a family and enjoy a life outside of work, and being a vet who is paying student loans is really not conducive to that.
I'm a 2006 grad, currently making $105k working for a large corporate veterinary practice.... which is substantially above average for vets with my level of experience. (Average for small animal vets with 5-9 years of experience is $85k, according to AVMA 2011 statistics.) I'm lucky to be paid so well, but it's because I work my tail off... pay in the veterinary world is based on how much revenue you produce, and I work harder (see more patients) than many more-experienced veterinarians.
In other words, I'm incredibly lucky and in a much better situation (with regard to salary and debt) than most vets who are 5 years out of school. I guess you could say that my finances are kind of a "best case scenario."
With my current income, I currently take home $5200/month after taxes/health insurance/disability insurance/HSA contribution/3% IRA contribution/etc. I put an additional $300/month into a ROTH IRA, donate $300/month to charity, pay approx $600/month in tuition for my grad student husband, and live off the rest (~ $4000/month) This provides a really nice lifestyle for my husband and myself, allowing us to own a home, do a good bit of "fun stuff" in our free time, and contribute a good bit to other savings. I can't see myself keeping up this frantic pace at work for more than 5-10 years, so I'm really trying to save aggressively right now... the whole 'making hay while the sun shines' philosophy, I guess.
If I had $200k in student loans, though, my loan payments would eat up nearly half my income... and although I COULD live on half my income, it would certainly decrease the likelihood of me being able to own a home, own a car, raise a family, save for retirement, etc. I've recently started mentoring a new grad at work, and it saddens me to hear of how much debt he and his girlfriend are starting to pay off right now. He's stressed about loan payments on his $75k starting salary... I can only imagine how difficult it would be to pay loans if you had a lower-paying first job ($55-60k seems to be a pretty typical offer in this market) or were one of the unlucky new grads unable to find full-time work.
Not sure how helpful that is, but I figured a range of stats might be helpful. Hopefully others will also chime in.
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