Sunday, December 21, 2008

New Doctors Awash in Debt - NYTimes.com

Almost one-quarter of U.S. medical students now graduate from medical school with $200,000 or more in debt, an expense that limits entry to the profession, The New England Journal of Medicine said on Thursday.

The median cost of attending a year of medical school, including all fees, is now $62,243 at private schools and $44,390 for state residents at public schools.

Most of the $2.5 billion in financial assistance available to medical students comes in the form of non-subsidized loans. Few top schools have the resources to discount tuition for students from lower-income families, according to Dr. Robert Steinbrook, a national correspondent for the journal.

The steep costs may discourage low-income students from going to medical school, and sway graduates toward higher-earning specialties like radiology and away from lower-paying ones like primary care, Dr. Steinbrook said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/health/19cost.html