Why is the reported average indebtedness of medical school graduates so low?

[LuluLovesMe]

I posted this previously in the wrong section so I'm reposting it here.

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

For example NYU grads have an average indebtedness of 160k while the estimated cost of attendance is nearly 320k (and even more with interest!!)

Does the average med student who goes to NYU really have 160k in savings or from family support?

These low numbers hold true for almost all medical schools.

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[68PGunner]

It's not surprising considering that the majority of medical students come from privileged backgrounds in some manner.

 

[FootballFoot]

I think privates are pretty generous with scholarships.

 

[PugsAndHugs]

It's not surprising considering that the majority of medical students come from privileged backgrounds in some manner.

Lol?

 

[neekzg]

Lol?

Perhaps not the majority, but a sizeable chunk have parents that can afford to pay for some or most of their education. This probably offsets the average indebtedness of the other proportion of students receiving loans.

 

[LuluLovesMe]

I think privates are pretty generous with scholarships.

Surely the average NYU student can't be getting 160k in scholarships or even 80k

 

[phuynh94]

It happens. Med school admissions has never been a level playing field, though there have been attempts to move it in that directions. A good chunk of applicants who are able to check off the shadowing, MCAT prep classes, clinical experiences either have the connections or money to do so. One of my friends literally grew up in a family of doctors, and he and his 2 siblings are all getting their professional/graduate education paid for. (As in, parents are perfectly okay dropping $150K+ in tuition per year, as well as living expenses.)

And then we have the institutional grants and scholarships, which can be amazingly generous.

 

[LizzyM]

You might be amazed at how many applicants I see whose family incomes are $500,000+.

 

[MaxPlancker]

I think the biggest factor is generous financial aid and/or scholarships. Also, some partake in programs like Military so that can have a decent impact.

 

[Hitmann]

....

 

[68PGunner]

Lol?

As in 51% of your matriculant class. Someone needs to subsidize the generous aids offered by some of these schools. There's no free lunch.

 

[ortnakas]

Skewed by the people whose debt is $0 (be it from family money, scholarships or HPSP). If you looked at average indebtedness of people who actually have debt, it would be much higher.

 

[LizzyM]

As in 51% of your matriculant class. Someone needs to subsidize the generous aids offered by some of these schools. There's no free lunch.

Alumni are hit up for donations to help recruit the next generation. If you are fortunate enough to receive aid, be kind enough to pay it forward.

 

[LuluLovesMe]

Skewed by the people whose debt is $0 (be it from family money, scholarships or HPSP). If you looked at average indebtedness of people who actually have debt, it would be much higher.

No this is actually "Average indebtedness of 2014 graduates who incurred medical school debt"

 

[alpinism]

You'd be surprised.

My med school class had an average parental income of $260,000/yr.

Probably 2/3 of my classmates had parents who were either physicians or lawyers.

 

[Mansamusa]

I know a girl at NYU med who complained about how expensive med school was and how her parents were only able to pay for everything but tuition -_- So she'll have like $215Kish in debt. Parental contribution helps a lot.

Those numbers also don't include undergrad debt

 

[LuluLovesMe]

I guess I'm just shocked at how much socioeconomic factors play into med school admissions. I knew they have an impact, but not as much as these numbers seem to suggest.

Notice how DO schools on average tend to have higher indebtedness yet their costs of attendance are on par with private MD schools.

 

[TheRhymenocerous]

I guess I'm just shocked at how much socioeconomic factors play into med school admissions. I knew they have an impact, but not as much as these numbers seem to suggest.

Notice how DO schools on average tend to have higher indebtedness yet their costs of attendance are on par with private MD schools.

I would imagine that's because DO schools have less financial aid, not because MD schools select for students with money.

 

[Mansamusa]

I would imagine that's because DO schools have less financial aid, not because MD schools select for students with money.

I do think the fact that SES background influences college sucess plays into it. DO schools have lower stats and I'm willing to bet that they are more economically diverse than private MD schools

 

[LizzyM]

I would imagine that's because DO schools have less financial aid, not because MD schools select for students with money.

MD schools select for students with higher scores which is correlated with money.

 

[Goro]

Even at my school, you'd be surprised how many students drive better cars than the Faculty!

You might be amazed at how many applicants I see whose family incomes are $500,000+.

 

[Lucca]

According to this 2008 report from the AAMC around of 60% of US medical students come from families in the top quintile of US household incomes (that means 100k+ $/annum). This is up from 50% in 2000. The median household income of a US medical student is 100k. This is up from 50k in 1987. The median household income in the US is 50k.

https://www.aamc.org/download/102338/data/aibvol8no1.pdf

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I guess I'm just shocked at how much socioeconomic factors play into med school admissions. I knew they have an impact, but not as much as these numbers seem to suggest.

Notice how DO schools on average tend to have higher indebtedness yet their costs of attendance are on par with private MD schools.

Just an idea on the bolded, DO schools also tend to have a larger number of their class who are non-traditional students. For people with families and such the COL would be much higher than just a single student, which could potentially drive the average debt higher because they have to take out more loan money

 

[Mansamusa]

Just an idea on the bolded, DO schools also tend to have a larger number of their class who are non-traditional students. For people with families and such the COL would be much higher than just a single student, which could potentially drive the average debt higher because they have to take out more loan money

http://www.aacom.org/reports-programs-initiatives/aacom-reports/applicants

The average age of DO students is 25 with a median age of 24, so I don't think DO students are generally too much other than the MD student

(That link is about applicants but if you search "osteopathic matriculant data" you will find the pdf that lists the same age mean and median. I just can't link that pdf here from my phone)