5 Best Private Loans for Medical School You Should Know About

Medical school costs a pretty penny, and let’s face it, you’ll be in school for a while. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the average cost of tuition, fees, and insurance for the academic year 2023-24 for first-year, public, non-resident students was $64,473 — not counting living expenses.

And that’s just the first year.

It’s no wonder becoming a doctor easily means having more than six figures of debt. After taking advantage of all your federal student loan repayment options, you might need to take out additional private loans to cover the rest. Here are five private loans for medical school you should know about.

1. Sallie Mae Medical School Loan

One option to consider is the Sallie Mae Medical School Loan, which offers borrowers up to 100% coverage for their funding needs. In other words, you can borrow up to the total cost of attendance. There are variable rates and fixed-rate options available, with a discount APR of 0.25% for using auto-pay. An advantage of this loan is it has a 20-year repayment term available, so you’ll have time to pay it all back. There are also no prepayment penalties.

You also have three repayment plans while in school. You can either defer, pay $25 per month while in school or make interest-only payments.

As a private lender, Sallie Mae provides a generous three-year grace period and up to four years of deferment while you’re in a residency program.

This loan has no origination fee and offers cosigner release. It advertises that you could score a lower interest rate than a Direct Grad PLUS loan, depending on eligibility and your credit check. However, federal Direct loans offer protections such as income-driven repayment and student loan forgiveness such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) that can be worth the cost.

The lender also offers a medical residency and relocation loan to help cover costs associated with being in residency.

Splash Financial

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2. Citizens Student Loan

Another option for medical school student loans is the Citizens Student Loan for medical school. There are no application, origination or disbursement fees, and you could qualify for up to 0.50% interest rate reduction. You can get a 0.25% loyalty discount if you already have an account with Citizens and can get another 0.25% discount for signing up with autopay. There are also fixed and variable interest rates available.

You can also choose from 5-, 10- or 15-year repayment terms. These loan terms will determine the size of your loan payments and aggregate costs of the life of the loan.

If you have limited credit, having a cosigner may be in order. Luckily, they provide cosigner release after three years of positive repayment. You can borrow up to $350,000 for M.D. and other health profession degrees.

Citizens

• Possible to refinance without degree
• Allows cosigners with cosigner release available after 36 months
• Fixed interest rates starting at 3.99% APR
• Variable interest rates starting at 5.34% APR

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3. Ascent Medical School Loan

Ascent medical school loans are available for a wide variety of specialties, including optometry, osteopathic, podiatric and veterinary medicine. Choose between competitive fixed- and variable-rate options with flexible in-school repayments plans, such as deferred payments for up to 48 months, $25 minimum repayment and interest-only repayment.

Ascent also offers a generous grace period depending on your situation:

• Up to 36 months after graduation
• Up to 9 months after leaving the program
• Up to 9 months after dropping below half-time enrollment status

It also provides other exclusive borrower benefits, such as 1% cashback graduation reward and a referral bonus.

Ascent

• Fixed interest rates starting at 3.69% APR
• Variable interest rates starting at 5.50% APR

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4. Medical School Loan with College Ave

College Ave offers private loans for medical school with repayment terms ranging from five to 20 years, with options for 8-, 10- and 15-year repayment (3). It also gives you flexibility to make full payments, interest-only payments or $25 flat payments while in school. However, in-school repayments aren't required. Additionally, you'll have the option to fully defer payments during residency and fellowship.

College Ave makes it easy to apply, boasting a three-minute online application with an instant credit decision.

College Ave

• Fixed interest rates starting at 3.47% APR (1)
• Variable interest rates starting at 4.99% APR (1)

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5. Earnest Medical School Loan

A medical school loan with Earnest offers competitive rates with a rate match guarantee. Choose between four repayment options while in school and ultra-flexible loan terms to help achieve your ideal monthly payment. You'll also qualify to defer payments while you complete your residency or internship.

Additionally, Earnest offers a 9-month grace period and the option to skip one payment every 12 months.

Generally, Earnest requires a minimum FICO score of 650 with at least three years of good credit history to qualify.

Earnest

• Fixed interest rates starting at 3.47% APR
• Variable interest rates starting at 4.99% APR

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What to consider before taking out private loans for medical school

If you’re looking for the best loans for med school, these three options are a good start. However, there are considerations when deciding between a private vs. federal student loan for medical school.

Private student loans don’t offer the same protections as federal student loans from the U.S. Department of Education. You won’t have as many repayment programs, including access to income-driven repayment plans, Public Service Loan Forgiveness or any other type of student loan forgiveness. Forbearance may be available but not as generous.

Pursuing a Grad PLUS loan could be better. Depending on your credit, Direct PLUS Loans may have a higher APR, but the benefits could be worthwhile. You will need to borrow a large sum of money for medical school, so having income-driven repayment or loan forgiveness programs could be a lifesaver in the future. You’ll also want to look into local, state or federal scholarships and grants to help fund medical school.

If you need medical school student loans, research types of loans and check out the interest rate, repayment term and monthly payments. You can use the above links to apply through our referral partners.

Empower yourself with information and be an informed borrower, especially if you’re taking out six figures or more in student loans. Understand all of your loan options and how fixed interest rates or variable interest rates will impact total loan costs and interest payments. Then you can start the application process. If you opt for medical student loans from a private lender, the good news is there's less of a risk to refinance the loan later, and you can obtain the lowest rates.