Pay for Medical School with Loans for Graduate Students
Medical School Loan Options
Medical school can consist of many years of graduate coursework, resulting in ever increasing tuition, books, and other living expenses. Becoming a doctor is financially rewarding, but getting there requires help from lenders. Considering the high costs, your credit score and creditworthiness of the cosigner are put into close view.
Before going into the demanding coursework of medical school, be sure it is the profession you really want. Dropping out halfway and having to repay hefty loans can become a monthly nightmare.
Private Medical School Loans
There exist a healthy number of lenders for medical university costs. Sallie Mae has their own specific programs such as MEDLOANS and MedDent-EXCEL.
Other companies in which to compare offers include The Access Group, AAMC MEDLOANS, Citibank, MEDPreferred, MEDFUNDS, TERI, Key Education Resources, IHELP, and MEDInvest. It seems you'll have to spend some time on the phone comparing each company to find the right loan amount and interest rate depending on your current financial status.
Federal Medical School Loans
As with any graduate loan program, federal Stafford and Perkins Loans are available. You should always look into federal programs before seeing what the private lenders have to offer. Federal loans are set up to help the community, not just to profit like private entities. Sometimes you may have to use both federal and private sources for funding.
An example would be using your own credit with a federal Stafford Loan then using yourself and a cosigner to back your private loan to cover the remaining costs that were not covered completely by the federal government. Covering all costs and being financially carefree can make focusing on the tough medical schooling much easier.
Requirements for Medical University Funding
The requirements are generally the same as any other type of student loan; being at least 18 years of age, good credit and/or cosigner credit, attending an accredited school, etc. However, graduate loans tend to have a higher interest rate than undergraduate loans. Higher maximum loan limits drive up interest rates.