Medical School A’int Cheap

The Student Doctor Network, a non-profit educational website, announced earlier this month the results of its second annual user survey, which covers the impacts of student debt and the future of health care.  Polling its membership of current and future health care providers including physicians, dentists, pharmacists and psychologists, the Student Doctor Network asked its members a number of questions based upon each respondent's educational level, while covering a variety of topics important to pre-health students (undergraduates), health professional students, and health professionals.  

Among the key findings of the survey:

• For undergraduates and those with bachelors’ degrees, 55.4% of respondents reported graduating with debt.
• Of those with undergraduate debt: 39.4% had debt less than $20,000, 35.2% had debt ranging from $20,000 to $40,000, and approximately 25% had undergraduate debt in excess of $40,000.
• Of those with graduate debt: approximately 2/3 had graduate debt in excess of $100,000, 1/2 with debt in excess of $150,000, and more than 1/3 with debt in excess of $200,000.
• The impact of undergraduate and graduate debt significantly affected respondents' decisions on where to live, which graduate schools to attend, what specialties they choose, whether they sought to purchase a home, and when to have children.
• Among MD/DO graduate students and graduates, 57% indicated that debt was a factor in their specialty choice.
• More than 1/3 of medical students and physicians indicated that they felt the educational value they received for the money they spent for their doctoral degree was average or below.

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