Financial Aid for Family Medicine Residents
Medical students - click here
Family physicians - click here
If you have been paying for your medical school education with loans, you have most likely accumulated a large debt you will need to repay. AAMC, Federal Student Aid (FSA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other organizations offer valuable information on repaying, consolidating, and deferring your loans. AAMC has a range of materials on debt management, options available to you when managing your debt, financial resources and tools, debt and loan repayment data, and the Layman's Guide to Educational Debt Management for Residents.
Commissioned Corps and U.S. Civil Service Loan Repayment Options: AAMC offers a chart of various loan repayment options, eligibility requirements, available funds, and other key information for residents in military residency programs, medical school graduates interested in public service work, and residents interested in a service career. To find out more about this option and obtain additional resources, click here.
Loan Forgiveness Program: public service work may qualify you for a loan forgiveness program which was established by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007.
Health Professions Education Foundation Loan Repayment Program: available to aspiring health professionals who agree to practice in a medically underserved area for up to four years.
NHSC Loan Repayment Program: the NHSC offers $50,000 in loan repayment funds to family physicians who agree to serve two years in a NHSC-approved community-based site in a high-need Health Professional Shortage Area. Recipients are eligible to apply for additional years of support after completing the required two years of service.
Loan Repayment Timetable: this chart is for comparison purposes only, but may be used to compare repayment deadlines for various loans. You may also explore AAMC's assumptions for selected loan repayment estimates.
You may be able to combine your existing loans into one consolidated loan. AAMC and FSA are valuable sources of information on loan consolidation to determine if this option is right for you.
Loan Consolidation Primer: outlines the benefits of consolidation, available programs, the steps needed to consolidate, and eligibility criteria.
Consolidating Your Loans: get quick facts about pros and cons of loan consolidation and the repayment timelines.
Federal Direct Consolidation Loans, Information Center: additional information and application resources on direct consolidation.
Postponing Loan Repayment During Residency: based on certain circumstances, you may be able to postpone your loan payments. There are various options available to you, and AAMC compiled these options in this document.
Postponing Repayment: Student Loan Borrower Assistance offers detailed information on grace periods, deferments, and forbearance.
Economic Hardship Deferment FAQs: if you have additional questions about loan deferment, check out AAMC's comprehensive guide of most frequently asked questions.
Effective July 1, 2009, a new Stafford and Consolidation loan repayment option is available to those with federal student loans. The Income-Based Repayment (IBR) option serves as a "safety net" to ensure that all federal loan borrowers have access to a repayment plan that's sensitive to their ability to pay these loans. The IBR program sets a payment cap of 15% based on the income and family size of an eligible individual. IBRinfo, an independent non-profit source of IBR information, and Federal Student Aid offer a variety of facts on the program and the eligibility chart. If you want to check your eligibility for the IBR and estimate your loan payments, click here to access SallieMae's calculator, or plug in your income and the amount of student loans you owe here. Contact your lender directly to find out more about IBR and to apply. Don't remember who is servicing your federal loans? Find this information in the National Student Loan Data System database. If you are a Direct Loan borrower, get the information on applying for IBR here. Additional information on the IBR plan is available here.
More information is available here.
You must demonstrate "partial financial hardship" to be eligible for IBR. Below is a quick example of how to calculate your loans and eligibility for IBR:
Row 1: Total of the following Student Loans:
a. Stafford Loans: $_________
b. Graduate PLUS: $_________
c. Consolidation Loans:* $_________
Row 2: Total monthly payment for all loans in Row 1 times 12 (standard 10-year schedule):
$_________
Row 3: Your adjusted gross income (AGI) for the most recent year:
$_________
Row 4: Amount of AGI that exceeds 150% of the poverty line: row 3 - $15,600 =
$_________
Row 5: 15% of amount that AGI exceeds 150% of the poverty line in Row 4:
$_________
Row 6: If the number in Row 5 is less than in Row 2, you are eligible for IBR.
Row 7: If you are eligible for IBR, divide row 5 by 12 to get your monthly payment.
*Excludes those that paid off Parent PLUS loans (but may include Perkins and Health Professions Student Loans)
Click here to download a worksheet.
Featured Webinars:
Equal Justice Works is hosting the following free webinars:
Monday, October 5, 9:00 am-10:15 am (PST): Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Loan Repayment Assistance Programs from A to Z (includes information on IBR).
Tuesday, October 6, 9:00 am-10:15 am (PST): Counseling Students and Graduates about Income-Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Download a podcast and a presentation on "Getting Your Student Loans Forgiven: How Government and Nonprofit Employees Can Earn Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Click here for more information on the webinars.
IBR in the News
Help is on the Way for Student Loans, ABC News
New Plan Ties Reduced College Loan Payments to Income, The New York Times
Here's what Money Talks News reports about IBR: http://www.moneytalksnews.com/2009/08/17/new-program-lowers-student-loan-payments/.
More information can be found on the following Web sites:
AAFP: www.aafp.org
AAMC: www.aamc.org
FTC: www.ftc.gov
U.S. Department of Education: www.ed.gov
Sallie Mae: www.salliemae.com
Medical School Loans: www.medicalschoolloans.com
FAFSA: www.fafsa.ed.gov
Federal Direct Consolidation Loans Information Center: www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov
SLBA project, department of the National Consumer Law Center: www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org
PBK NCA: www.pbknca.org
California Student Aid Commission: www.csac.ca.gov and www.calgrants.org
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development: www.oshpd.ca.gov
College Scholarships and Grants: www.collegescholarships.org
NHSC, US Department of Health and Human Services: www.nhsc.hrsa.gov
Health Resources and Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services: www.hrsa.gov
IBRInfo: www.ibrinfo.org
Equal Justice Works: www.equaljusticeworks.org
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