The researchers surveyed more than 2,300 medical students enrolled in 111 accredited medical schools during the 2010-11 academic year. Overall, 62 percent of medical students said they anticipated more than $150,000 in debt upon completing medical school. But a much higher percentage of African-American students reported anticipated debt above $150,000, at 77.3, compared to white students, at 65 percent. Meanwhile, a lower rate of Hispanic or Latino and Asian students anticipated debt in excess of $150,000, at 57.2 percent and 50.2 percent respectively.
"The cost of American medical education has increased substantially over the past decade," the report says. "Given racial/ethnic inequalities in access to financial resources, it is plausible that increases in student debt burden resulting from these increases in cost may not be borne equally."
