I say this with partial ignorance though. I don't know that particular field. Generally, the number of drop outs at grad school is notoriously quite high across the entire spectrum. How much has the needle moved given what feels like a coin flip shot of completing an advanced study in all respective fields?

There's more graduates than ever before too. It will trend sharply down over the next few years, not necessarily because of the loss grants from the US government, but because of the birth glut that has been looming since 2008.