Which Medical School is Actually Affordable?
Harvard graduates carry less debt than Tufts. NYU is the cheapest in the country. And several prestigious private schools beat public flagships on affordability. Here's the full ranked list — sorted by what actually matters: how much you'll owe at graduation.
Source: AAMC MSAR 2024 · Average debt among indebted graduates
The Numbers That Might Surprise You
NYU Grossman
Georgetown
All indebted grads
avg gap
All 30 Schools Ranked by Graduate Debt
Monthly payment assumes standard 10-year repayment at 7.05% federal rate, starting after residency. Click any school to see full debt analysis and PSLF vs. aggressive payoff scenarios.
| # | School | Type | Avg Debt | vs National | Monthly Pmt | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NYU GrossmanFull Aid | Private | $67,572 | −$144,769 | $786/mo | Excellent |
| 2 | WashU | Private | $90,880 | −$121,461 | $1,058/mo | Excellent |
| 3 | Yale | Private | $91,965 | −$120,376 | $1,070/mo | Excellent |
| 4 | Johns Hopkins | Private | $111,516 | −$100,825 | $1,298/mo | Excellent |
| 5 | Weill Cornell | Private | $113,941 | −$98,400 | $1,326/mo | Excellent |
| 6 | Columbia | Private | $114,362 | −$97,979 | $1,331/mo | Excellent |
| 7 | Harvard | Private | $118,957 | −$93,384 | $1,384/mo | Excellent |
| 8 | UCSF | Public | $118,963 | −$93,378 | $1,384/mo | Excellent |
| 9 | Baylor | Private | $126,655 | −$85,686 | $1,474/mo | Good |
| 10 | Mayo Clinic | Private | $144,152 | −$68,189 | $1,677/mo | Good |
| 11 | UT Southwestern | Public | $147,223 | −$65,118 | $1,713/mo | Good |
| 12 | University of Michigan | Public | $149,735 | −$62,606 | $1,742/mo | Good |
| 13 | Penn (Perelman) | Private | $150,137 | −$62,204 | $1,747/mo | Good |
| 14 | Duke | Private | $150,488 | −$61,853 | $1,751/mo | Good |
| 15 | UNC Chapel Hill | Public | $153,379 | −$58,962 | $1,785/mo | Good |
| 16 | Stanford | Private | $156,377 | −$55,964 | $1,820/mo | Good |
| 17 | UC San Diego | Public | $157,479 | −$54,862 | $1,833/mo | Good |
| 18 | UVA | Public | $157,498 | −$54,843 | $1,833/mo | Good |
| 19 | UCLA (Geffen) | Public | $158,804 | −$53,537 | $1,848/mo | Good |
| 20 | Mount Sinai (Icahn) | Private | $177,369 | −$34,972 | $2,064/mo | Average |
| 21 | Emory | Private | $182,564 | −$29,777 | $2,124/mo | Average |
| 22 | Northwestern (Feinberg) | Private | $191,658 | −$20,683 | $2,230/mo | Average |
| 23 | Case Western | Private | $201,487 | −$10,854 | $2,345/mo | Average |
| 24 | Pitt | Private | $204,240 | −$8,101 | $2,377/mo | Average |
| 25 | Vanderbilt | Private | $209,382 | −$2,959 | $2,437/mo | Average |
| 26 | UW Medicine | Public | $210,254 | −$2,087 | $2,447/mo | High |
| 27 | Boston University | Private | $223,652 | +$11,311 | $2,603/mo | High |
| 28 | Dartmouth (Geisel) | Private | $228,585 | +$16,244 | $2,660/mo | High |
| 29 | Tufts | Private | $258,933 | +$46,592 | $3,013/mo | High |
| 30 | Georgetown | Private | $271,816 | +$59,475 | $3,163/mo | High |
What This Means for Your Specialty
Raw debt numbers only tell half the story. A $270K debt burden for a neurosurgeon making $780K/year is very different from $270K for a pediatrician making $220K/year. The table below shows how the same debt load translates into debt-to-income pressure by specialty.
| Specialty | Attending Salary | Debt @ Natl Avg | Debt-to-Income | Debt @ NYU ($68K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neurosurgery | $780K | $212K | 27% | 9% |
| Orthopedic Surgery | $590K | $212K | 36% | 11% |
| Radiology | $490K | $212K | 43% | 14% |
| Anesthesiology | $410K | $212K | 52% | 16% |
| Internal Medicine | $264K | $212K | 80% | 26% |
| Family Medicine | $255K | $212K | 83% | 26% |
| Pediatrics | $230K | $212K | 92% | 29% |
Debt-to-income = total debt ÷ first-year attending salary. Under 50% is manageable on any repayment plan; over 100% is where PSLF becomes critical. Salary data: Marit Health 2026.
Public vs. Private: The Real Cost Difference
The average gap between public and private is only $6K — far less than most applicants expect. And that gap shrinks to near zero when comparing elite private schools to mid-tier publics. The better question isn't "public or private?" — it's "which specific school has the best aid for my financial situation?"
Now Model What This Means for Your Loans
Rankings show you the raw debt. The MedDebt Calculator shows you what happens next — PSLF vs. aggressive payoff vs. refinancing, modeled around your specialty, residency length, and income.
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