The PAEA student report 4 showed an increase in median educational loans for end of program students to $105,000; this is up from $100,000 in the PAEA student report 3.

The Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) is an organization that represents PA education programs. They have created the PAEA Student Report 4 from two surveys. The Matriculating Student Survey collects data on students entering PA programs, and the End of Program Survey gathers information from graduating PA students. The data from this report was gathered in 2019 and released in 2020. The report includes a variety of information on PA student education, including student finances.

As with previous years, the majority of PA students relied on student loans to fund their education. 74.1% of matriculating students answered yes to taking out education loans. As students finished, this number increased to 84.5% for students that were graduating.

Although most PA students relied on student loans to pay for their education, some received other sources. 15.4% of matriculating students received grants, scholarships, and/or stipends, excluding loans, for their graduate PA education. As with the student loans, this number increased for graduating students, with 27.6% of graduating students reporting they received these awards.

Even though there are options to receive other types of money for PA education, the amounts are much less than the total cost of a PA program. The median amount of grants, scholarships, or stipends for matriculating students was $8,000, and for students that were graduating, it was only $4,200. 

The cost of PA education continues to increase, and so does the number of student loans PA students need. Besides student loans, there are other ways of financing your PA education, but most of these won’t cover the total cost. If you’re planning on attending PA school, create a plan on how you’re going to pay for it and factor in how much you’ll need in student loans. Also, come up with a plan on how you’ll pay off your student loans once you have graduated. 

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