Trouble Picking which Degree to Go For! - Any advice?

[Jonathan Whatley]

I posted the numbers.

You posted numbers for students who entered US MD schools, but then seemed to generalize that nearly anyone who dedicates the time and effort needed will complete that degree or any other given degree.

High attrition rates in the physician pipeline are hiding in plain sight in the high attrition of pre-meds who are discouraged and don't apply, the high attrition of pre-meds who apply but aren’t admitted to any med school, the high attrition of students at international medical schools prior to graduation, and the high attrition of international medical graduates who apply but aren’t admitted to any residency located or accepted here.

Their attrition numbers are a HUGE deal and they do whatever they can to mitigate them.

US MD school is nice work if you can get in.

Aside factors I listed and cheating/lack of effort, what other reasons/instances are there?

The analogy of drinking from a firehose is often made to describe medical school, law school, and other programs with a lot of complex content in a short time. MIT's admissions department uses the analogy for its own undergraduate program.

Sometimes the learning processes this requires exceed the current capacity even of smart, dedicated, and previously successful students, and the resources to develop their capacity aren't available quickly enough.