Money Talks: A 2025 DPT Student Loan Survey

What happens when the best of the best are drowning in debt? 

Our scholars are excellent in every sense of the word. They’re engaged in school, they lead student organizations, volunteer in their communities, and contribute to—or sometimes even drive—new research. Many of our scholars achieve industry recognition, and several have won prestigious scholarships outside of Rizing Tide. They’re some of the best upcoming DPTs and leaders that the workforce has to offer—but they’re treading water in an ocean of student loan debt. 

At the end of 2025, we surveyed our scholars about their student loans—and the results were grim. Even the most ambitious and accomplished DPT students are entering the workforce under immense pressure. Their loans are high, their stress is significant, and they’re willing to delay or fully compromise their career goals to pay down their debts. Here’s what we found: 

A Snapshot of the Student Loan Debt Crisis

Four in ten Rizing Tide scholars will graduate with $100,000 or more in student loan debt.

Keeping in step with previous years’ data, 41.2% of the scholars we surveyed will graduate with $100,000 or more in student loan debt. That’s after they’ve chipped away at tuition with scholarships, grants, or their own funds. Even more alarmingly, 11.8% of our scholars will graduate from a private university with at least $200,000 of student loan debt. 

58.8% of scholars are shouldering the cost of their education without any familial support. 

More than half of our scholars are paying for their degree entirely on their own—either by seeking grants and scholarships or by paying out of pocket. But even familial support isn’t taking DPT students very far. Of those who’re receiving financial help from loved ones, a vast majority (92.9%) said the help only “slightly reduces” their financial burden.

64.7% of students estimate that it will take at least ten years to pay off their loans. 

Nearly two in three students approximate that they’ll make student loan payments until at least 2036, ten years from now. A smaller number of students (23.5%) believe it will take them at least 15 years to pay off their loans—and even fewer (14.6%) believe their loans will stick around for 20 years. Here’s the rub: these estimations might be a little optimistic. These students are responsible for an immense range of student loan debt, from as little as $15,000 up to $280,000.

What would it take to pay off $100,000? 

Hold onto your hats; we’re about to do some math. On average, it takes all students (not just DPTs) 20 years to pay down $39,075 of student loan debt. Why? Because students are paying—on average—$531 every month at the current 6.39% federal loan interest rate. 

So, what does that mean for DPT students with six figures of student loans? Well, in order to pay off $100,000 in loans in 10 years at that same interest rate, new grad DPTs need to pay about $1,100 per month. Check the calculations yourself.

The Burden of Loans

61.8% of DPT students are working part- or full-time while in school.

Physical therapy school is notoriously demanding, yet roughly six in ten of our scholars are working while taking classes. This is a huge increase from our 2023 survey when only 38.5% of students worked while in school. 

The students aren’t working for fun money, either. Of the scholars who reported working in the 2025 survey, 52.4% are funneling their earnings toward the cost of their education. 

91.4% of scholars report that student loans have increased their stress.

Given the amount of debt these DPT students shoulder—and that most of them are working while in school—it’s no surprise that they’re stressed to the max. Nine in 10 scholars are experiencing increased stress due to their loans, and 44.1% of them report that their stress has “increased significantly.”

The Effects on Career Planning

91.2% of scholars say they will look—or have already looked—for an employer that has a student loan payback program.

Money talks—and upon graduation, these DPT students plan to look for employers who can help them pay down their debt. 52.9% of scholars report that a loan repayment program would “greatly” influence their decision to accept a job.

Salary and loan repayment options aren’t the only perks scholars look for in a job. 

Student loans are top-of-mind for our scholars, so when we asked them what they plan to look for in an employer, salary topped the list. However, a high salary isn’t the only thing they’re looking for—and loan payback plans lose to other perks. 

1. Salary

2. Health Benefits

3. Mentorship

4. Loan Repayment Options

5. Diverse Workforce

5. Flexible Work Schedule

6. Diverse Patient Population

7. Internal Growth Paths

8. 401k Matching

Scholars are willing to delay or compromise their career goals in order to pay off their debts. 

Fresh out of school, most scholars plan to attack their loans at full force—no matter the cost. They plan to set aside their short-term happiness and long-term goals, all in the name of building financial stability. Here are some of the comments they made when asked how they anticipate student debt will influence their career or long-term professional goals:

• “After graduation, I plan on taking the job that offers me the greatest salary, even if I am miserable. After I pay them off, I’ll try to switch to a career/specialty I actually want to work in long-term.”
• “It will strongly deter me from pursuing a residency or fellowship since I don’t know how I would be able to afford it.”
• “Due to the accumulation of my student loans, I know that I will be looking for forgiveness opportunities which will require 10 years of federal work. This will affect my ability to launch my own practice and initiative as quickly as I would like.”
• “I have considered home health or travel PT for the first few years to help me pay loans off quicker. My fear is that I will take not-so-good jobs for higher pay or student loan repayment instead of focusing on mentorship and actually gaining meaningful clinical experiences as a new grad.”
• “I think I need to find a high-paying job to pay off debt before I can think about getting something for myself that I enjoy. I feel like I will be paying student debt until I pass.”
• “I will definitely look for other sources of revenue while working.”
• “I may not have as much flexibility to pursue alternate career paths due to the need to pay off my student loan debt.”

For most DPT students and new grads, there’s one thing on the mind: loans. This isn’t an easy problem to solve; it’ll take time to advocate for lower education costs. Until that day, it’s critical for clinic owners and hiring managers to understand the financial reality facing fresh DPTs, because it’s key to understanding their mindset. Fresh DPTs aren’t money hungry—they’re afraid of their debt and are willing to sacrifice almost anything to get rid of it. Knowing that, we can find the best way to support them in the early stages of their careers and encourage them to practice physical therapy for a very long time.