Sallie Mae® Medical School Loan

For medical, veterinary, and podiatry students at degree-granting institutions

Competitive rates

  • Variable rates: 4.37% APR to 13.96% APRfootnote 1
  • Fixed rates: 3.19% APR to 14.98% APRfootnote 1

Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount

No origination fee and no prepayment penaltyfootnote 2

Repayment options

Pay now or later: Borrowers can choose an in-school repayment option that fits their needs or defer payments until after school.footnote 1

  • Make interest payments each month
  • Pay $25 per monthfootnote 3
  • Defer payments

Repayment term: 20-year repayment term of principal and interest paymentsfootnote 3

First interest capitalization (unpaid interest that’s added to the principal amount): For loans in good standing, unpaid interest will not capitalize until the end of the 36-month grace period.

Special features/benefits
  • Save with auto debit: There is a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction for enrolling in and making monthly payments by automatic debit.footnote 4
  • Lower the interest rate: Graduate students who elect to make monthly interest payments while in school will receive an interest rate that is 0.50 percentage points lower than those who choose to defer making payments—resulting in savings for the borrower over the life of the loan.footnote 1
  • Get free access to quarterly FICO® Credit Scores, available to borrowers and cosigners.footnote 5
  • Request a Graduated Repayment Period, which lets qualifying students make 12 monthly interest-only payments after finishing school.footnote 6
  • Request for a residency or internship deferment in 12-month increments, limited to a total of 48 months.footnote 7
  • Get death and disability loan forgiveness.footnote 8
  • Borrow up to 100% of the school-certified cost of attendance.footnote 9
  • Enjoy a streamlined application process for returning Sallie Mae® borrowers.

Last year, Students are 3.6X more likely to be approved for a Sallie Mae loan with a cosigner.footnote 10 However, applying with a creditworthy cosigner may help the borrower qualify. Borrowers may apply to release their cosigner from the loan after they graduate, make 12 on-time principal and interest payments, and meet certain credit
requirements.footnote 11 Releasing the cosigner will not adversely impact the rate on the loan.

Enrollment eligibility
  • This loan is available to students enrolled full-time, half-time, and less than half-time.

Applying is easy

It only takes about 15 minutes to apply online and get a credit result. Students can apply up to 300 days prior to the start of the enrollment period.

footnote Borrow responsibly
We encourage students and families to start with savings, grants, scholarships, and federal student loans to pay for college. Evaluate all anticipated monthly loan payments, and how much the student expects to earn in the future, before considering a private student loan.

footnote Medical School Loans are for graduate students in an M.D., D.O., D.V.M., V.M.D., or D.P.M. program at participating degree-granting schools and are subject to credit approval, identity verification, signed loan documents, and school certification. Graduate Certificate/Continuing Education coursework is not eligible. Student or cosigner must meet the age of majority in their state of residence. Students who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents must reside in the U.S., attend school in the U.S., and apply with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident). Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000.

footnote 1. Advertised APRs for Medical School Loan and Dental School Loan assume a $10,000 loan with a 4-year in-school period. Interest rates for variable rate loans may increase or decrease over the life of the loan based on changes to the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent.  Advertised variable rates are the starting range of rates and may vary outside of that range over the life of the loan. Interest is charged starting when funds are sent to the school. With the Fixed and Deferred Repayment Options, the interest rate is higher than with the Interest Repayment Option and Unpaid Interest is added to the loan’s Current Principal at the end of the grace/separation period. To receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate discount, the borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae. The discount applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. It may be suspended during forbearance or deferment.

footnote 2. Although we do not charge a penalty or fee if you prepay your loan, any prepayment will be applied as outlined in your promissory note—first to Unpaid Fees and costs, then to Unpaid Interest, and then to Current Principal. 

footnote 3. Example of a typical transaction for a $10,000 Medical School Loan with the most common fixed rate, Fixed Repayment Option, two disbursements, a 4-year in-school period, and a 36-month grace period. It works out to 9.74% fixed APR, 81 payments of $25.00, 238 payments of $153.25 and one payment of $114.28, for a total loan cost of $38,612.78. Loans that are subject to a $50 minimum principal and interest payment amount may receive a loan term that is less than 20 years. A variable APR may increase over the life of the loan. A fixed APR will not.

footnote 4. The borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae to receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction benefit. This benefit applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. It may be suspended during forbearance or deferment. 

footnote 5. Borrowers and cosigners with an available FICO® Score and a Sallie Mae-serviced loan with a current balance greater than $0, may receive their score quarterly after the first disbursement of their loan. The FICO® Score provided to you is the FICO® Score 8 based on TransUnion data. FICO® Scores and associated educational content are provided solely for your own non-commercial personal review, use and benefit. This benefit may change or end in the future. FICO® is a registered trademark of the Fair Isaac Corporation in the United States and other countries.

footnote 6. GRP allows interest-only payments for the initial 12-month period of repayment when the loan would normally begin requiring full principal and interest payments or during the 12-month period after GRP request is granted, whichever is later. At the time of GRP request, the loan must be current. The borrower may request GRP only during the six billing periods immediately preceding and the twelve billing periods immediately after the loan would normally begin requiring full principal and interest payments. GRP does not extend the loan term. If approved for GRP, the Current Amount Due that is required to be paid each month after the GRP ends will be higher than it otherwise would have been without GRP, and the total loan cost will increase.

footnote 7. To apply for this deferment, customers and an official from the internship, clerkship, fellowship, or residency program must complete and submit a deferment form to us for consideration. If approved, the loan will revert back to the same repayment option that applied during the in-school period for up to 12 months. Customers can apply for and receive a maximum of four 12-month deferment periods. Interest is charged during the deferment period and Unpaid Interest will be added to the Current Principal at the end of each deferment period, which will increase the Total Loan Cost.

footnote 8. If a student dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled and is unable to work in any capacity, their Sallie Mae student loan may be eligible to have the remaining Current Balance waived.

footnote 9. For applications submitted directly to Sallie Mae, loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less financial aid received, as certified by the school. Applications submitted to Sallie Mae through a partner website will be subject to a lower maximum loan request amount. Miscellaneous personal expenses (such as a laptop) may be included in the cost of attendance for students enrolled at least half-time. 

footnote 10. Based on a comparison of the percentage of students who were approved with a cosigner to the percentage of students who were approved without a cosigner from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.

footnote 11. Only the borrower may apply for cosigner release. To do so, they must first meet the age of majority in their state and provide proof of graduation (or completion of certification program), income, and U.S. citizenship or permanent residency (if their status has changed since they applied). In the last 12 months, the borrower can’t have been past due on any loans serviced by Sallie Mae for 30 or more days or enrolled in any hardship forbearances or modified repayment programs. In addition, the borrower must have paid ahead or made 12 on-time principal and interest payments on each loan requested for release. The loan can’t be past due when the cosigner release application is processed. The borrower must also demonstrate the ability to assume full responsibility of the loan(s) individually and pass a credit review when the cosigner release application is processed that demonstrates a satisfactory credit history including but not limited to no: bankruptcy, foreclosure, student loan(s) in default or 90-day delinquencies in the last 24 months. Requirements are subject to change. 

footnote SALLIE MAE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE.

footnote Information advertised valid as of 7/3/2025.

footnote Sallie Mae loans are made by Sallie Mae Bank. 

footnote The Sallie Mae partner referenced is not the creditor for these loans and is compensated by Sallie Mae for the referral of loan customers.