Janet Lorin writing for Bloomberg:

The median education debt for 2012 medical-school graduates was $170,000, including loans taken out for undergraduate studies and excluding interest. That compares with an average $13,469 in 1978…[or] about $48,000 in today’s dollars.

Educational debt, where med school debt is but one type, is a problem we need to face now. This year, due to the sequestration, all subsidized loans (i.e.—the government pays the interest while in school) for graduate students was cut. This means that medical students in their first year are being charged interest from the day the loan is dispersed. Should medical students start taking part-time jobs or work-study assistance?

We (medical students) understand loans are part of the deal, but the deal has gotten so bad that it is becoming untenable.