Table 1. Sample Characteristics and Descriptive Statistics of Medical School Financing Plans.
| Characteristic | Matriculants, No. (%) | Financing plan, %a | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family or personal | Loans | Scholarship | Service | ||||||
| Mean (SD) | Median (IQR) | Mean (SD) | Median (IQR) | Mean (SD) | Median (IQR) | Mean (SD) | Median (IQR) | ||
| All | 29 725 | 22.06 (32.14) | 5 (0-30) | 56.57 (38.02) | 70 (10-90) | 16.01 (26.84) | 1 (0-20) | 4.61 (19.26) | 0 (0-0) |
| MSQ yearb | |||||||||
| 2017 | 10 938 (36.8) | 22.94 (32.73) | 7 (0-30) | 56.68 (38.01) | 70 (15-90) | 14.78 (25.67) | 0 (0-20) | 4.71 (19.33) | 0 (0-0) |
| 2018 | 9442 (31.8) | 21.32 (31.52) | 5 (0-25) | 57.32 (37.60) | 70 (20-90) | 16.07 (26.68) | 1 (0-20) | 4.57 (19.28) | 0 (0-0) |
| 2019 | 9345 (31.4) | 21.78 (32.04) | 5 (0-30) | 55.69 (38.43) | 70 (10-90) | 17.41 (28.22) | 1 (0-20) | 4.53 (19.18) | 0 (0-0) |
| Race/ethnicityc | |||||||||
| Non-Hispanic | |||||||||
| White | 16 461 (55.4) | 21.35 (31.33) | 5 (0-27) | 59.84 (37.83) | 75 (25-93) | 12.66 (24.15) | 0 (0-11) | 5.37 (21.03) | 0 (0-0) |
| Black | 1931 (6.5) | 6.63 (15.67) | 0 (0-6) | 56.67 (35.40) | 66 (25-90) | 31.51 (32.76) | 20 (0-50) | 4.64 (18.45) | 0 (0-0) |
| Asian | 6330 (21.3) | 32.69 (36.81) | 15 (0-60) | 48.66 (38.48) | 50 (0-85) | 15.47 (26.56) | 0 (0-20) | 2.41 (13.52) | 0 (0-0) |
| Hispanic (any race) | 3217 (10.8) | 13.63 (25.70) | 0 (0-12) | 57.72 (36.50) | 70 (25-90) | 23.54 (30.06) | 10 (0-40) | 4.48 (18.60) | 0 (0-0) |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 233 (0.8) | 11.78 (23.93) | 0 (0-10) | 48.52 (39.19) | 50 (0-89) | 25.79 (32.09) | 10 (0-40) | 13.44 (31.7) | 0 (0-0) |
| Other or multiple | 1553 (5.2) | 24.44 (34.07) | 6 (0-35) | 52.81 (39.02) | 65 (0-90) | 17.44 (28.54) | 1 (0-20) | 4.40 (18.5) | 0 (0-0) |
| Household income groupd | |||||||||
| 96%-100% (top 5%) | 7233 (24.3) | 43.21 (39.72) | 30 (4-90) | 42.12 (39.62) | 40 (0-80) | 11.01 (24.06) | 0 (0-10) | 2.96 (15.62) | 0 (0-0) |
| 81%-95% | 8133 (27.4) | 21.73 (30.25) | 10 (0-30) | 58.24 (37.49) | 70 (20-90) | 14.28 (25.97) | 0 (0-15) | 5.03 (20.34) | 0 (0-0) |
| 61%-80% | 7112 (23.9) | 14.77 (24.98) | 5 (0-18) | 62.95 (36.03) | 77 (35-94) | 16.17 (26.43) | 3 (0-20) | 5.42 (20.88) | 0 (0-0) |
| 41%-60% | 3468 (11.7) | 9.26 (18.76) | 0 (0-10) | 63.74 (34.92) | 75 (40-94) | 20.92 (28.47) | 10 (0-30) | 5.27 (20.42) | 0 (0-0) |
| 0%-40% (bottom 40%) | 3779 (12.7) | 7.73 (18.11) | 0 (0-9) | 62.06 (34.93) | 75 (35-90) | 24.53 (29.96) | 10 (0-40) | 4.73 (18.76) | 0 (0-0) |
| Sex | |||||||||
| Men | 14 135 (47.6) | 21.36 (31.79) | 5 (0-25) | 56.45 (38.23) | 70 (15-90) | 16.35 (27.30) | 1 (0-20) | 5.07 (20.45) | 0 (0-0) |
| Women | 15 590 (52.4) | 22.69 (32.45) | 5 (0-30) | 56.68 (37.83) | 70 (20-90) | 15.70 (26.40) | 1 (0-20) | 4.19 (18.11) | 0 (0-0) |
| Age category, y | |||||||||
| <23 | 10 144 (34.1) | 25.31 (33.87) | 10 (0-40) | 53.06 (38.77) | 63 (0-90) | 16.57 (27.41) | 1 (0-20) | 4.41 (19.16) | 0 (0-0) |
| 23-25 | 15 078 (50.7) | 21.56 (31.81) | 5 (0-27) | 57.84 (37.57) | 70 (20-90) | 15.81 (26.83) | 0 (0-20) | 4.14 (18.19) | 0 (0-0) |
| 26-28 | 3053 (10.3) | 17.59 (29.36) | 2 (0-20) | 61.09 (36.91) | 75 (29-93) | 15.17 (25.43) | 1 (0-20) | 5.09 (19.64) | 0 (0-0) |
| >28 | 1450 (4.9) | 13.94 (25.11) | 0 (0-20) | 58.40 (37.74) | 70 (20-92) | 16.03 (25.63) | 2 (0-20) | 9.94 (27.52) | 0 (0-0) |
| School ownership | |||||||||
| Public | 18 271 (61.5) | 20.79 (31.18) | 5 (0-25) | 59.89 (37.79) | 75 (25-92) | 13.10 (23.96) | 0 (0-15) | 5.45 (21.03) | 0 (0-0) |
| Private | 11 454 (38.5) | 24.07 (33.51) | 8 (0-35) | 51.27 (37.79) | 59 (5-87) | 20.66 (30.29) | 5 (0-30) | 3.27 (15.95) | 0 (0-0) |
| Underserved area planse | |||||||||
| Yes | 9230 (31.1) | 16.53 (27.85) | 2 (0-20) | 59.15 (36.43) | 70 (25-90) | 18.06 (27.18) | 5 (0-25) | 5.72 (20.47) | 0 (0-0) |
| No | 4801 (16.2) | 26.66 (35.17) | 10 (0-45) | 50.94 (39.92) | 60 (0-90) | 16.66 (29.24) | 0 (0-20) | 4.72 (20.27) | 0 (0-0) |
| Undecided | 15 694 (52.8) | 23.90 (33.08) | 10 (0-34) | 56.78 (38.16) | 70 (15-90) | 14.61 (25.76) | 0 (0-18) | 3.93 (18.15) | 0 (0-0) |
Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; MSQ, Matriculating Student Questionnaire.
Financing category definitions: family-personal includes the responses “money from parents, guardians, or other relatives,” “personal income and savings,” and “money earned by spouse or partner.” Each year, 77% to 78% of this category was “money from parents, guardians, or other relatives,” 18% to 19% was “personal income and savings,” and 3% to 4% was “money earned by spouse or partner.” Service includes the responses “scholarships or awards with a service commitment (NHSC, military, etc)” and “work-study program.” Each year, 91% to 93% was “scholarships or awards with a service commitment (NHSC, military, etc.)” and 7% to 9% was “work-study program.” Loans includes the response “loans.” Scholarship includes the response “scholarships or awards.”
Starting in 2018, respondents were given an option to enter “unknown”; therefore, fewer participants reported parental income starting in 2018.
Non-Hispanic Black includes individuals identifying as Black or African American, African, African American, Afro-Caribbean, and other Black or African American; non-Hispanic Asian includes Bangladeshi, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Pakistani, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, and other Asian; Hispanic includes Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin, Argentinean, Colombian, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano/Chicana, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, and other Hispanic, alone or combined with any racial identity; American Indian or Alaska Native includes American Indian and Alaska Native, alone or in combination; and other or multiple includes students identifying as more than 1 of the racial/ethnic categories, as well as Native Hawaiian, other Pacific Islander, Guamanian, Samoan, unknown, and other.
Census household income group percentile limits in current dollars: 40%: $45 600 (2017), $47 218 (2018), $50 000 (2019); 60%: $74 869 (2017), $77 150 (2018), $79 542 (2019); 80%: $121 018 (2017), $126 603 (2018), $130 000 (2019); 95%: $225 251 (2017), $244 088 (2018), $248 728 (2019). Limits from 2016, 2017, and 2018, as students were asked to estimate combined gross parental income for last year.
Questionnaire language: “Do you plan to work primarily in an underserved area?”