Trouble Picking which Degree to Go For! - Any advice?

[dfrecore]

Only 80% or so of students in 4-yr med school programs graduate.  So while it's the majority, plenty of people don't graduate, or don't pass their boards.  So 20% of those with a LOT of student debt are not making $300k a year and able to pay off their debt.

It's true that in US MD schools, about 80 to 85% of students in 4-year programs graduate in 4 years. But 96% of entrants will have graduated within 6 years. The difference is students who decelerated or took a break. (Graduation Rates and Attrition Rates of U.S. Medical Students, AAMC Student Records System, October 2022). About 97% of US MD graduates begin residency training the year they graduate. (Addressing the Increasing Number of Unmatched Medical Students, AMA Council on Medical Education, 2021).

Attrition is much higher among US students in international medical schools.

The 96% in 6 years number is going to include anyone who did not pass and had to retake a year, thus increasing the cost by at least 25% in what they would have paid.  I stand by what I said though - there are going to be many who this does not work out for, enough to say that telling everyone "it will be fine, don't worry about the cost, you'll get a high-paying job when you graduate and be able to pay off your loans" is not a great idea for many people.  Because if that were the case, then no one would complain about loans - they'd just easily pay them all off.