Medical students from low income families end up with £13,000 more debt than well off peers

Medical students coming from low income families, end up in more debt than those from well off backgrounds.

The debt for poorer students is £13,000 more than their well off peers.

Applications from low income brackets have also dropped during the last twelve months from 14 per cent to 11 per cent of applications.

The findings, published on the British Medical Journal website, found the average medical student is already graduating with around £24,000 debt.

For low income students, their total debts come to a staggering £37,588.

Whilst 44 per cent of medical students are generally relying on financial assistance from family, students from lower income families face having to take on more credit cards and bank loans.

Co-Chair of the BMA’s Medical Student Committee and a medical student from Brighton Elly Pilavachi, said: “Ministers are running the risk of restricting access to medicine to those with the ability to pay rather than the talent to succeed. As someone from a modest background who is struggling under the current fee regime I would have thought twice about going to medical school if I had to cope with the predicted £70,000 worth of debt that many medical students could face under the new fee regime from next year.”