Why do WVSOM graduates have the most debt

[swiftjab]

---

Members do not see this ad.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankings...ate-schools/top-medical-schools/debt-rankings

US News says their graduates have the 2nd most indebtedness. However WVSOM costs 50k per year while the average private MD costs 51k per year (Columbia costs 57k per year). Are WVSOM students poorer than other med schools so that they have to take more debt or are there some hidden cost that I don't know about?

 

[samac]

Because they budget for $80,000 a year for OOS students. Just take what you need.

 

[swiftjab]

Because they budget for $80,000 a year for OOS students. Just take what you need.

They budget 30,000 for the cost of living? Is it really that expensive to live in WV?

 

[DrMaximus]

I've heard it's much easier to get financial assistance from a lot of the MD schools as well. I'm not sure if that's accurate or not, though.

 

[samac]

They budget 30,000 for the cost of living? Is it really that expensive to live in WV?

I really don't think it does cost that much. I considered going there and apartments were like $400-$500 vs where I'm living being $700-$800, so I would see the COA being lower, plus the $10000 cheaper tuition.

I've heard it's much easier to get financial assistance from a lot of the MD schools as well. I'm not sure if that's accurate or not, though.

Don't believe so. Federal loans are federal loans.

I admittedly don't know much about WVSOM, but isn't that the school that likes Appalachian students? I think that for the most part average debt is a little bit the actual cost of attendance, but mostly reflects how wealthy the students going to the school are. So if they are recruiting rural students, those students are likely to be paying for med school entirely on their own

DO schools tend to be a little more expensive than MD programs and I think they have more lower-income students since lower income students tend to have lower GPAs.

Top med schools have a lot of funds for financial aid + the vast majority of students likely come from very wealthy backgrounds, which deflates their average debt

DO schools are more expensive than MD, but it's quite a lot more than other DO programs.

 

[DrMaximus]

Don't believe so. Federal loans are federal loans.

I don't mean federal aid. I mean scholarships and awards from the school itself as well as private scholarships. I have a few friends in private MD schools and they all have some form of this.

 

[user3]

according to AACOM CIB, ATSU-SOMA had the highest reported average debt: $300,099

http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/cib/2016_cib.pdf?sfvrsn=12

AZCOM (288k) and CCOM (270k) were the next highest.