Medical Student Loans
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
(IN 20 MINUTES OR LESS)
MARGARET BAXTON, M.ED.
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL AID
UVA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Types of
Loans
During undergrad
and medical
school, you may
have borrowed a
variety of loans.
 Federal Student Loans
 Subsidized
 Unsubsidized
 Graduate PLUS
 Other: Perkins, PCL, LDS, HPSL
 Consolidation
 Private Student Loans
 Private education loans (from a bank)
 Institutional loans (from your school)
 Other Private Debt
 Bank loans
 Personal loans
 Credit card debt
 Residency/relocation loans
Locating
your Loans
It is your
responsibility to
make sure your
loan servicer is
able to contact you.
Make sure your
contact
information is
up-to-date!
You should have received
statements from all of your loan
providers, even if you elected to
go into deferment or forbearance.
If you’re unsure:
 Ask your financial aid office
 Federal Loans: nslds.ed.gov
 Private loans: check your credit
report
Get – and Stay - Organized
 Create a folder (paper or electronic) for each loan
servicer, keep all correspondence/communication.

Try the AAMC’s FIRST loan organizer.
 Get a username and password for each servicer’s website.
 OPEN YOUR MAIL.
 Put reminders on your calendar – payments,
deferment/forbearance forms, etc.
 Respond to any requests for payment, even if you think
they’re mistaken.
 Motley Fool Debt Workbook:
g.foolcdn.com/art/seminars/downloads/debtworkbook.pdf
Options
during
Residency
For your federal
loans, you may
choose to begin
repayment, or not.
 Internship/Residency
Forbearance

No payments are due, interest accrues
 Repayment
 Standard repayment: 10 years
 Extended repayment: up to 25/30
years

For private loans,
contact your loan
servicer.

Use www.finaid.org to compare
Income-Based Repayment: based on
your income and family size
Internship/Residency Forbearance
 Available for federal subsidized, unsubsidized,
GradPLUS, and consolidation loans (not Perkins)
 Good for 12 months at a time, must fill out the right form
and have it signed
 Mandatory – lender may not refuse
 Check your account online to make sure forbearance is
applied correctly
 Beware accruing interest

Set aside money each month in an emergency fund, then pay
your interest before it capitalizes if you don’t have an
emergency
Income-Based Repayment
 Payment equal to 15% (will change to 10% in 2014) of
income that exceeds 150% of poverty line
 Financial benefits:

Your IBR payment may not even cover the accruing interest.
Any amount of interest accrued on subsidized loans that is not
paid by the IBR payment will be covered by the Department of
Education for up to 3 consecutive years


If 1/4 of your loans are subsidized, then 1/4 of your payment will go to
the sub loan
The unpaid interest on your unsubsidized loan will not
capitalize for as long as you are in IBR.
Income-Based Repayment
Annual
Income
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
$40,000
$45,000
$50,000
$55,000
$60,000
$65,000
$70,000
1
$0
$0
$47
$109
$172
$234
$297
$359
$422
$484
$547
$609
$672
2
$0
$0
$0
$39
$102
$164
$227
$289
$352
$414
$477
$539
$602
Family Size
3
4
5
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$32
$0
$0
$94
$24
$0
$157
$87
$16
$219
$149
$79
$282
$212
$141
$344
$274
$204
$407
$337
$266
$469
$399
$329
$532
$462
$391
6
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$9
$71
$134
$196
$259
$321
7
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$1
$64
$126
$189
$251
After
Residency
 Fellowship: Federal loans are
eligible for the Graduate
Fellowship Deferment

No payments are due, no interest
accrues on subsidized loans
 Loan Repayment Programs
 Options during financial difficulty
 Loan Repayment
Loan Repayment Programs
(aka, getting someone else to pay your loans)
 NIH: www.lrp.nih.gov

$70,000 for 2+ years of biomedical or behavioral research in one of
five research areas -- clinical; pediatric; health disparities;
contraception and infertility; and clinical research for individuals
from disadvantaged backgrounds
 NHSC: nhsc.hrsa.gov/loanrepayment
 Military:



www.goarmy.com/amedd
www.navy.com/healthcare/physicians
www.afit.edu/adhplrp
 Indian Health Service:
www.ihs.gov/JobsCareerDevelop/DHPS/LRP
 State programs: www.aamc.org/stloan
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
 Must have Direct Loans (can consolidate)
 Must make 120 monthly payments under qualifying
plan (IBR)
 Must work in public service during those 120 months

Most non-profits count
 Remaining debt after 10 years will be forgiven
 Good option if you can pay during residency and
plan to have a low income for 5+ years
 No program to “join” – just apply at end of 10 years
Options During Financial Difficulty
Federal loans:
 Economic Hardship Deferment
 Unemployment Deferment
 General Forbearance (up to 3 years)

Call and ask BEFORE you are late on a payment
 Forgiveness upon death or total permanent disability
Private loans:
 Ask your servicer
Loan Repayment
Three general approaches:
 Fast & Furious

If you’re making $250,000 and can live on $75,000, then
you’ll have (after taxes) about $100,000/year to throw at your
loans
 Standard Repayment
 Sign up for the 10-year repayment, maybe pay extra when you
can
 Slow and Steady (pays the most)
 Take as long as possible to repay, to keep your monthly
payment low
 May be a decent option if your interest rates are fixed and low
Loan Repayment - Tips
 Remember to sign up for auto-debit
 You’ll never get a late fee, and there may be incentives
 Balance your checkbook!
 Two methods: highest-rate vs snowball repayment
 The interest you pay is tax-deductible, but maybe
only while you’re in residency

Higher education tax benefits: www.irs.gov/publications/p970
Full
Deduction
Partial
Deduction
No
Deduction
Single
$60,000 or less
$60,000 to
$75,000
$75,000 or
more
Married
filing
jointly
$120,000 or
less
$120,000 to
$150,000
$150,000 or
more
 AAMC’s FIRST for Residents:
Resources
www.aamc.org/programs/first/residents
 Department of Ed Ombudsman
www.ombudsman.ed.gov
877-557-2575
 www.annualcreditreport.com
 www.donotcall.gov
 1-888-5OPTOUT
www.optoutprescreen.com
UVA School of Medicine
Financial Aid Office
CLAUDE MOORE MEDICAL EDUCATION
BUILDING, ROOM 1140
(434) 924-0033
DENNIS SNYDER (A-H): DLS7D
MARGARET BAXTON (I-R): MED7Q
NANCY ZIMMER (S-Z): NLB3W