Seventy-seven percent of medical students and 74% of residents reported carrying debt from medical school, compared with 30% of practicing physicians, according to Medscape’s “Medical School Debt-Management Report 2026.”
The report, published Oct. 16, is based on an online survey of 500 U.S. respondents including 125 medical students, 125 residents and 250 physicians. The survey was conducted March 6 to April 16, 2026. The margin of error is 4.38% for all respondents, 6.20% for physicians and 8.77% each for students and residents.
Note: Some totals do not equal 100% because of rounding.
Here are eight things to know from the report:
- About three-quarters of students and residents reported at least some debt from medical school alone, not including loans for other degrees. Thirty percent of physicians reported carrying med school debt.
- Two-thirds of respondents with existing or anticipated med school debt said it exceeds $150,000. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, 59% of 2025 graduates owed $200,000 or more on education loans in total, including undergraduate debt.
- Among medical students in the survey, more than four in 10 entered med school with additional education-related debt. For med students, the median debt for 2025 grads entering med school was $28,000 among borrowers.
- About three-quarters of students applied for aid that was not a loan, and 96% said limiting how much they had to borrow was their primary goal. Among students who applied for grants, scholarships or fellowships, 60% were successful, and 63% of those students received $10,000 or less. The median cost of attendance is $297,745 for public schools and $408,150 for private schools.
- Direct unsubsidized loans for graduate and professional students disbursed between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027, carry an interest rate above 8%. Among borrowers who deferred their loans during school, 48% said they paid them down as much as possible beforehand.
- Among residents, 62% made at least partial payments on their med school loans on a regular basis, and 58% said they had at least researched forbearance or deferment.
- Income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness were the most commonly named assistance programs among physicians paying down med school debt, at 57% and 30%, respectively. Younger physicians were more likely to use them: 66% of physicians ages 28 to 34 used an income-driven plan, compared with 36% of those 50 or older, and 48% of that younger group used Public Service Loan Forgiveness, compared with 9% of those 50 or older.
- Among physicians, 42% reported making extra payments toward med school loans and 30% said they had refinanced.
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