Graduate Students

The primary source of funding for graduate students at SOM is the federal loan programs. Students may borrow from the Federal Direct Subsidized loan or Federal Grad Plus loan programs to cover educational expenses. (Refer to the Know Your Loan section on the Home page for detailed information on each loan program).

Students must complete the FAFSA application each year to determine loan eligibility.

As such, loans have to be repaid, so what are your Loan Repayment Options Students have several loan repayment plans that they may choose from. Each plan offers the student several options for repaying their loans.

Understand your loan repayment options to help you make informed decisions based on your career and life situation.

You have the option to change your repayment plan each year. If no plan is chosen, you will automatically be placed in the Standard Repayment Plan by your servicer.

You can get estimates of your monthly payments for each repayment plan. You must have a FSA ID to login to the Repayment Estimator . If you do not have an FSA ID, you may create one on this site.

Did you know?

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans are eligible for a six-month grace period that generally begins on the day after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment. Federal Direct PLUS Loans qualify for a six-month post-enrollment deferment after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment. You’re not required to make payments during the grace period or the six-month post-enrollment deferment period.

You can make payments during your grace period to prevent interest from accruing and reduce the amount of interest that may be capitalized when you enter repayment. If you took out a private student loan, you may have to begin making payments while you’re still in school. Contact the lender of your private student loan immediately to arrange payment.

How interest accrues

Direct Loans are “simple daily interest” loans. This means that interest accrues daily. The amount of interest that accrues per day is calculated by dividing the interest rate on your loan (as a decimal) by the number of days in a year, and then multiplying that by the outstanding principal balance of the loan.

For example, on a $10,000 Direct Unsubsidized Loan with a 6.8% interest rate, the amount of interest that accrues per day while the loan has an outstanding balance of $10,000 is $1.86, calculated as follows:
(0.068 / 365) X $10,000 = $1.86

What if I want to pay off my loan early?

You may prepay all or part of your federal student loan(s) at any time without a penalty. If you intend any additional funds you send your servicer to be used to pay down your principal, you must instruct your loan servicer of your intention or the servicer will apply the funds to future scheduled payments.

Where do I send my payments?

In the Direct Loan Program, each loan you obtain is assigned to a federal loan servicer who handles payments and other administrative functions. The Department will make every effort to assign all your Direct Loans to a single servicer. In most cases, you will send your payment to your loan servicer. If you do not know who your loan servicer is, visit the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) .

How do I change my repayment plan?

Contact your loan servicer to select or change your repayment plan. Your loan servicer can explain which repayment plans are available to you. However, if you do not select a repayment plan, your loan servicer will place you on the Standard Repayment Plan with fixed payments over a maximum of 10 years.

Remember! Choose the repayment plan that’s right for you.

You can select and change your repayment plan at any time. Contact your loan servicer to find out what repayment plans are available to you.

Other Resources:

• NIH Loan Repayment Program
• NHSA Students to Service Loan Repayment Program
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Medical Students

AAMC provides a Financial Wellness program to help answer many of your questions through medical school and beyond. The program will help you to:

• Measure your financial health and get personalized recommendations.
• Complete online courses on topics relevant to your life.
• Assess your risk of identity theft, calculate the cost of borrowing, create financial goals and a spending plan, track your expenses, and much more.

If you have a question, an AAMC expert is available to answer your questions through their secure messaging system.

Using the Medloans Organizer and Calculator (MLOC) , developed especially for medical school students, is a tool to help with managing and organizing your loans, calculating your loan repayment terms through residency, and comparing your loan repayment options.

Using their tools under aamc.org/first , you will find a list of financial aid resources and tools to help you.