2026 Medical School
Debt Report
The most complete analysis of medical school debt in 2026. Real AAMC data for 30 schools, repayment modeling by specialty, and the full impact of the new federal loan cap — all in one free report.
$212K
National average debt
AAMC class of 2024
70%
Graduate with debt
Of all med school grads
$200K
2026 federal loan cap
New limit starting July 1
30
Schools analyzed
With real AAMC data
What's in the report
Full school-by-school data
Average debt, % with debt, and vs-national-average for all 30 schools.
Public vs private breakdown
National averages for public ($204K) and private ($228K) schools with outlier analysis.
Repayment strategy by specialty
PSLF vs aggressive payoff outcomes modeled for 16 specialties at average debt load.
2026 loan cap impact analysis
Schools where average debt exceeds the new $200K federal cap — and what it means for applicants.
Debt-to-income ratios
Which specialties leave graduates most and least leveraged relative to their debt.
Best-value schools
Schools with tuition waivers, the lowest debt loads, and highest scholarship rates.
⚠️ The 2026 Federal Loan Cap Changes Everything
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in June 2026, caps federal medical student borrowing at $200,000 total and eliminates the Grad PLUS loan program starting July 1, 2026. For students at high-cost schools, this is the biggest policy shift in medical education financing in decades.
Schools where average debt exceeds the new $200K cap:
The full report includes a detailed analysis of the loan cap's impact by school and strategies for students who may need to bridge the gap with private financing.
Data preview — all 30 schools
Sorted by average graduate debt (lowest to highest). Full analysis in the downloadable report.
| School | Avg Debt |
|---|---|
| NYU GrossmanNY | $68K |
| WashUMO | $91K |
| YaleCT | $92K |
| Johns HopkinsMD | $112K |
| Weill CornellNY | $114K |
| ColumbiaNY | $114K |
| HarvardMA | $119K |
| UCSFCA | $119K |
| BaylorTX | $127K |
| Mayo ClinicMN | $144K |
| UT SouthwesternTX | $147K |
| University of MichiganMI | $150K |
| Penn (Perelman)PA | $150K |
| DukeNC | $150K |
| UNC Chapel HillNC | $153K |
| StanfordCA | $156K |
| UC San DiegoCA | $157K |
| UVAVA | $157K |
| UCLA (Geffen)CA | $159K |
| Mount Sinai (Icahn)NY | $177K |
| EmoryGA | $183K |
| Northwestern (Feinberg)IL | $192K |
| Case WesternOH | $201K |
| PittPA | $204K |
| VanderbiltTN | $209K |
| UW MedicineWA | $210K |
| Boston UniversityMA | $224K |
| Dartmouth (Geisel)NH | $229K |
| TuftsMA | $259K |
| GeorgetownDC | $272K |
Get the full report — free
Download the complete 2026 Medical School Debt Report as a PDF. No signup required. Includes the full school-by-school data, specialty repayment analysis, and 2026 loan cap breakdown.
Data sourced from AAMC MSAR (class of 2024). Published June 2026 by MedDebt. Not financial advice.