Med school students face 'huge' debts

As orientation week for new students begins at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Sudbury, some may find they're disoriented by the prospect of more financial debt.

First year tuition is currently pegged at $21,000 — and climbing — but the total for their four years could be much more.

Student Zsolt Toth said he looks forward to his time at medical school, but added he knows it will come at a price.

“I think it's huge and it certainly is stressful,” he said.



“I've been lucky enough to work for seven years and pay off all my debts. I only have my mortgage left, but now I'm starting off that debt growth again."

Tuition for medical school is like a whole new mortgage for students, according to the financial aid officer at NOSM, who said it costs students anywhere from $200,000 to $250,000 to complete the four-year program.

"It's definitely not what people might think of the money that's out there and how they're established and everything else,” Bryan Stamm said.

“For new physicians coming out, there's a lot of steps and hurdles that they come through financially before they can get on that positive side of things."

Stamm said the university, community and province offer a number of bursaries to cover tuition costs, however students inevitably have to take out a line of credit to help defray costs.

Once their residency is over, Stamm said it takes students an average of five years to begin repaying their debts.

-  CBC News