College Student Loan News and Info

Confronted with every increasing tuition bills and promissory notes, the realm of indebtedness to the physician in training is huge.  Medical student loan debt has been increasing at an alarming rate over the past decade.  While medical students have always had problems with high debt, today’s generation of physicians have seen their debt become unmanageable.

Medical Student Loan Debt is considered a social justice issue.  In order for medicine to really be able to provide for the needs of our complex society, it has to match the diversity found in our complex society.  The cost of medical education and subsequent debt makes accessing medical education prohibitive for quality students of color and/or of working class background.

The latest statistics on medical student loan debt are staggering.  According to a recent report published by the American Association of Medical Colleges (2006), it is estimated that over 86% of graduates carry educational debt.  The median debt burden for graduates of public medical institutions has risen to over $119,000 while private school graduates have increased to nearly $150,000.

41% of students with educational debt report principle in excess of $150,000 and a significant minority reports debt as high as $350,000.  Medical student loan debt is 4.5 times as high in 2003 as it was in 1984, growing well beyond the consumer price index.

While there are many causes for the growing debt burden, the most significant cause is the massive increase in tuition costs across the country’s medical institutions.  Over the past twenty years, median medical school tuition and fees have increased by 165% in private schools and by 312% in public schools.  From 2002 to 2003, students saw some of the largest tuition increases in history.

Private school tuition increased by 5.7% while public school tuition increased by 17.7%.  With the recent down turn in the economy and the result of tightening of federal and state budgets, funding for medical student loans has been compromised, particularly for public schools.  This has provoked an array of responses including the rescinding of scholarships, record increases in tuition as well as the institution of midyear and retroactive tuition hikes.