All you optometrists: No, you don't need to have your eyes examined. You really do have that much student debt — a median payment of $1,369 a month, or nearly 15 percent of income.
A new report by the online loan marketplace Credible.com, looked at which degrees lead to the most debt. It analyzed the student debt portfolio of 91,000 borrowers who have requested rates to refinance their graduate school arrears.
The findings could help people brace for the financial undertaking of schooling beyond their undergraduate education.
"There's not a lot of data on the return on investment of a degree," said Stephen Dash, founder and CEO of Credible.com. "If you're a prospective student, this is one of the factors you should be considering."
Of course, this shouldn't be the only factor.
"If everyone chose a degree based on the return on investment, then we'd have a lot of MBAs and not a lot of doctors," Dash joked.
Here are some of the graduate degrees that lead to big debt, according to Credible.com:
1) Optometry
Monthly debt-to-income ratio: 14.9 percent
Median monthly loan payment: $1,369
Median annual income: $110,000
2)Â Veterinary
Monthly debt-to-income ratio: 12.6 percent
Median monthly loan payment: $891
Median annual income: $85,000
3) Physician Assistant
Monthly debt-to-income ratio: 11.6 percent
Median monthly loan payment: $964
Median annual income: $100,000
4)Â DentistryÂ
Monthly debt-to-income ratio: 11.5 percent
Median monthly loan payment: $1,434
Median annual income: $150,000
5) Pharmacy
Monthly debt-to-income ratio: 10.9 percent
Median monthly loan payment: $1,092
Median annual income: $120,000
