Federal Loan Repayment
Before you leave medical school, you are required to participate in Exit Counseling where you and your Financial Aid Counselor will review your rights and responsibilities toward your student loan obligation. You will also be presented with the various types of repayment plans available to you. Typically, repayment would begin after a 6 month grace period which would proceed any deferment or forbearance options. Below is a brief overview of those options.
- Monthly payments are a fixed amount for the entire repayment term.
- Payment amounts are determined based on the total amount borrowed.
- Standard repayment term is 10 years (see Extended Repayment).
- Total amount repaid is less than both the Graduated and Income Sensitive Plans.
- Payments begin smaller (but are never below the monthly accrued interest amount) and increase over the repayment period.
- Standard repayment term is 10 years (see Extended Repayment).
- May be a good option if you expect your salary to increase over time.
- Repayment totals are generally larger than what the standard would have been.
- Payment amounts are adjusted annually based upon your monthly gross income.
- Monthly payment amounts will not be less than monthly accrued interest.
- Interest only payments are available for up to five years.
- Standard repayment term is 10 years (see Extended Repayment).
- Repayment totals are generally larger than what the standard would have been.
Income Based Repayment Plan (IBR)
- Payment amounts are adjusted annually based upon your adjusted gross income and family size.
- Initial payments may be smaller than other repayment plans.
- May have loan forgiveness options.
Extended Repayment-
- Must have borrowed $30,000 or more in student loans.
- Maximum repayment term of 25 years.
- Payments can be either standard or graduated.
- Must have borrowed student loans after October of 1998.
- If you are considering consolidation, please visit the consolidation page for more information on this repayment option.
Repayment Strategies-
You can develop repayment strategies so that you can minimize the total amount of interest paid over the life of the loans. You do not have to use the same repayment plan on every loan in your portfolio.
For example, you may choose to use a Graduated Plan for loans with a lower interest rate while choosing the Standard Plan for loans with a higher interest rate. This would allow you to pay the minimum on the lower interest rate loans, and put more money toward the higher interest rate loans.
Another example, may be to combine an interest payment and participation in a Loan Repayment Program. This combination provides you with a lower monthly payment requirement and makes large lump sum payments to your outstanding loan principal, lowering your overall loan obligations.
Find an option that works best for you, and create a strategy for repayment. It will allow you to repay your student loan obligation and allow you to reach your other financial goals. To help you build a strategy for repayment, use the following link to estimate your monthly repayment amounts: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/
If you would like to discuss your repayment options and get an in depth projection of your student loans, contact our office at 314-977-9840 or by email at sfp@slu.edu to schedule a personal appointment.
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