General How is medical student debt measured?

[Raryn]

The schools I've been looking into have been publishing figures around the $200k mark for the median medical student debt. However, their programs have an estimated cost of attendance of $80-90k/year -> at least $300k over four years. Is my math incorrect, or do enough medical students have savings/scholarships/parental support to significantly pull down the median indebtedness?

The median 4-year cost of attendance in 2016 was $250k, while the median debt was $190k. It's gone up a bit since then, with the median debt cracking $200k last year, but has actually gone up significantly slower than the cost of attendance.

Why are the numbers different? Well, again in 2016, 27% reported zero debt, with that number rising over the prior 6 years (it was only 16% in 2010). Who are these people with zero debt?

1) People whose parents pay for school or who have significant preexisting assets and pay for it themselves

2) MD/PhDs

3) Military grads (HPSP or graduates of USUHS)

4) People with full scholarships (Cleveland Clinic, new NYU policy for full classes, otherwise a handful of students at most schools)

That (a quarter of students having no debt) alone probable explains most of the difference. There's also a significant proportion of folks who go to cheaper schools (look at the Texans...) and another significant proportion whose families help out with some (but not all) the expenses of medical school, leading them to have less debt (but not zero).

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