The growing debt is a concern but shouldn't be much of a concern for students. What we might find in the future is an increase in class size, reduction in staff and increased tuition. The new interim dean is aware of the challenges that the school faces and will hopefully be able to manage the school better while maintaining the school's high rankings and the public's confidence.
I'm not a student at UW, but I interviewed there, was waitlisted, and am so glad I didn't attend. I was in state and thought I would save money since it's a public school and I would qualify for in state tuition. Boy, was I completely wrong. I know a D3 who had to pay $129k for her first year at UW and is expecting to graduate with $565k in debt when she graduates once you factor in the accrued interest that builds from day 1 of loan disbursement. The massive debt the dental school faces would absolutely scare me if I were a student applying there, and a current student for that matter. How do you honestly expect UW to raise enough capital to pay off that debt? I guarantee a lot of it will come from increasing tuition. Here are the annual resident tuition costs (just tuition, no supplies, living costs, additional fees, etc.) for the last 10 years at UW:
20k, 22k, 25k, 28k, 31k, 36k, 40k, 47k, 55k, 59k, 61k
Non-resident tuition increased from 48k to 95k in those 10 years.
UW does have a solid reputation, but there are other schools, including private schools, that are cheaper and may provide a better clinical experience than what you can get at UW.
