Loan Resources and Debt Management

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans are available for graduate and professional students and eligibility is not based on financial need. This loan does accrue interest while you are in medical school. Repayment begins six months after graduation OR if you drop below half-time status (less than 6 credits/quarter) while in medical school. The maximum amount below applies specifically to medical students and is higher than the standard amount for other graduate students.

• Interest Rate for 2024-25: 8.08%
• Origination Fee for 2023-24: 1.057%
• Maximum annual amount: $40,500 (3 quarters); $47,167 (4 quarters)
• Grace Period: 6 months
• Loan Servicer: Varies
• Example of MPN

The Federal Direct Graduate Plus Loan loan is available to graduate or professional students to help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid. Eligibility is not based on financial need, however, students must complete a credit check. If you have an adverse credit history, you may need to meet additional requirements in order to qualify.

• Interest Rate for 2024-25: 9.08%
• Origination Fee for 2023-24: 4.228%
• Maximum yearly amount: Up to cost of attendance
• Grace Period: Technically none, but loans taken out during medical school will automatically have payments delayed until any unsubsidized loans come due.
• Loan Servicer: Varies
• Example of MPN

The Loan for Disadvantaged Students (LDS) program is for disadvantaged students as defined by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). SOM Financial Aid will contact eligible students directly.

• Interest Rate: 5%
• Maximum amount: Varies based on availability
• Grace Period: 12 months
• Loan Servicer: Heartland ECSI

The Primary Care Loan (PCL) loan is also administered by the Department of Education for full-time students pursuing a doctoral degree in allopathic or osteopathic medicine. Students who receive this loan are required to enter and complete residency training in primary care within four years after they graduate and practice primary care for ten years or until they pay off the loan in full, whichever occurs first. SOM Financial Aid will contact eligible students directly.

• Interest Rate: 5%
• Maximum yearly amount: Varies based on availability
• Grace Period: 12 months
• Loan Servicer: Heartland ECSI

Please view this webpage for PCL FAQs.

The School of Medicine Loan is very limited but may be used at the discretion of the SOM Financial Aid office under special circumstances. SOM Financial Aid will contact eligible students directly.

• Interest Rate: 5%
• Maximum amount: Varies based on availability
• Grace Period: 12 months
• Loan Servicer: Heartland ECSI

University of Washington Short-Term Loans are available for all currently enrolled students. These emergency funds are typically available in 2-4 business days.

These short term loans can especially be helpful for medical students during their clinical years as clinical students receive their financial aid disbursement the Friday before their first clerkship of the quarter. For students who are starting clerkships partway through the quarter, these short term loans are an option to help cover your expenses until you receive your aid.

Here’s an example schedule detailing when a short term may be helpful:

To apply, please complete the application through MyUW and under Personal Services, select “Short-Term Loan Application.”

• Origination Fees: $30
• Interest Rate: 0%
• Maximum Amount: $3,200
• Repayment: Due by the next quarter, or whenever additional financial aid funds arrive on account (whichever comes first)

For more information, please visit this webpage.

Costs related to residency interviews and ERAS may be eligible for additional Graduate Plus loans and should be utilized before private loans. These include:

• ERAS and SF Match application fees
• Residency interview travel costs:
  • Plane flights
  • Hotel rooms
  • Taxis or Lyft/Uber rides (financial aid usually cannot cover car rentals)

To add these costs to your loans, submit a Revision Request including receipts.

If you’ve maxed out your Graduate Plus loans, private loans are also available to cover both residency interview costs and residency relocation costs during your fourth year. These loans can be taken out prior to starting interviews. They are not certified by the school, except to verify that you are graduating, and the loan funds are sent directly to you. If you apply for one of these loans make sure you select the Residency loan and not an Alternative loan. Below is a partial list of lenders that offer private loans to cover residency interview and residency relocation costs:

• Discover
• Citizen’s Bank
• PNC
• Sallie Mae
• Physician Loans

There are state grants available to Washington residents of a variable amount for each year of medical school. Students must be receiving financial aid and demonstrate financial need to be eligible for the grant and will automatically be considered when awards are processed.

If you are a Washington student and did not receive the state grant on your award, you may update your status if you reported an income on the FAFSA and will no longer have that income during your enrollment in medical school.

To update your status, you will need to complete a Change in Financial Situation – Student form. It is updated annually in March for the next academic year. The 2023-24 academic year form can be found on this webpage under Graduate Forms, Revisions, select “Change in Financial Situation-Student”.

The state grant amount changes each year but for 2023-24, eligible students received $4500/year.

Students may receive up to their cost of attendance in federal aid. Unfortunately, we are limited regarding in providing additional funds beyond this amount. Our office recommends creating a personal budget to help manage expenses. If you’d like assistance creating or managing your budget, please book an appointment with a Financial Aid counselor.

Certain eligible expenses can be added to the cost of attendance and will often require additional paperwork. Health insurance premiums and non-elective medical costs not covered by insurance, vision, and dental can be added if students submit a Revision Request. Whether or not students are eligible for additional expenses, please contact SOM Financial Aid if you are struggling financially.

Students are not required to accept their full aid package. We strongly encourage students to only borrow the amount they need to pay for living expenses during medical school. Prior to receiving your quarterly disbursement, please email somfao@uw.edu if you’d like to reduce your aid.

You can also return and repay aid after receiving your quarterly disbursement. However, this needs to be done within 30 days of receiving the disbursement so as not to accrue interest.

In May, the Department of Education announces the interest rates for all federal student loans for the following academic year. Our office will send a message to all student listservs notifying you of the change.

Depending on whether interest rates go up or down, there are different strategies you should employ to decrease your overall debt:

• If the interest rate goes up, it is in your best interest to borrow more money in the current academic year, as it becomes more “expensive” in July.
• If the interest rate goes down, it is in your best interest (if possible) to wait to borrow more money in the next academic year as it will become “cheaper” in July.

COVID-19 Update: Interest rates are currently at their lowest point in many years. If you have not borrowed the full amount you are eligible for in the 2020-21 academic year and plan on borrowing money during future academic years, it is strongly advised that you borrow the full amount in 2020-21 during Spring Quarter to take advantage of the low-interest rates. Please contact SOM Financial Aid with any additional questions.

AAMC FIRST (Financial Information Resources, Services, Tools) should be your most used resource throughout medical school. The AAMC FIRST website offers a full range of resources for applicants, current medical school students and residents. Their goal is to help medical school borrowers expand their financial literacy, make smart decisions about student loans, and manage their student debt wisely. They also have a library of video resources and offer monthly webinars.

The Med Loans Organizer & Calculator (MLOC) “was developed to assist medical students and residents with managing their education debt. The MLOC provides a secure location to organize and track student loans while also displaying possible repayment plans and costs based on the borrower’s student loan debt.”

As a fourth-year student, you’ll review your MLOC during your One-on-One SOMFAO Exit Interview with a Finacial Aid counselor. Our office strongly recommends students update MLOC at least once a year starting in your second year.  

Federal Student Aid is the Department of Education’s central database for student aid. The loan management system receives data from schools, guaranty agencies, the Direct Loan program, and other Department of Education programs. It provides a centralized, integrated view of Title IV loans and federal grants so that recipients can access and inquire about their loan and/or grant data.