Sallie Mae® Graduate School Loan for Health Professions


Pay for your expenses in allied health, nursing, pharmacy, and other graduate-level health degrees

Fixed rates
3.49%
to 14.48% APRfootnote 1
Variable rates
4.79%
to 14.23% APRfootnote 1

Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount. Only the most creditworthy applicants who choose the interest repayment option may receive the lowest rate.
Apply for this loan

Your graduate health professions loan with 0% origination fee

coverage

of all your school-certified expenses like tuition, fees, books, housing, meals, travel, and even a laptop.footnote 2


92 percent

of graduate students

who’ve been approved for a graduate school loan with a cosigner were approved again when they returned with a cosigner the following year.footnote 3


48

months of deferment

during your internship and fellowshipfootnote 4

years to repay

your graduate school loan for health professionsfootnote 5 with no prepayment penalty.footnote 6 Does not include payments made during the grace period.

month grace period

to support you during your career.footnote 7

Tip for borrowers

You can apply only once for the money you need for the entire school year. Funds will be sent for each term as requested by your school.

Learn about how much to borrow

Choose the health professions loan options that work for you

Fixed rates: 3.49% - 14.48% APRfootnote 1
Lowest rate shown includes auto debit discount. Get predictable monthly payments with a rate that doesn't change over time.

Variable rates: 4.79% - 14.23% APRfootnote 1
Lowest rate shown includes auto debit discount. Your interest rate can rise or fall as the market index changes, so your graduate school loan for health professions payments may vary over time.

Pay later
Deferred repayment option: Make no payments while you're in school and in grace (6 months after leaving school)footnote 1. With this graduate school loan for health professions repayment option, you'll likely pay more for your total student loan cost, since the interest rate may be higher and unpaid interest will be added to your principal amount at the end of your grace period.

Pay a little and save
Fixed repayment option: Pay $25 every month.footnote 5 Choose the fixed repayment option and receive an interest rate that is .25 percentage points lower than the deferred repayment option.footnote 1 While your total loan cost will typically be less than with our deferred repayment option, unpaid interest will be added to your principal amount at the end of your grace period.

Pay interest and save even more
Interest repayment option: Pay your graduate school loan interest every month you're in school and in grace. Choose the interest repayment option and receive an interest rate that is .50 percentage points lower than the deferred repayment option.footnote 1 Your total loan cost will likely be lower than with the other repayment options, but your graduate school loan payments will likely be larger while you're in school and in grace.

Health professions student loan benefits

  • Returning students can save time with a streamlined application.footnote 3
  • Lower your total loan cost get a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction when you enroll in and make monthly payments by auto debit.footnote 8
  • Pay no origination fee or penalty for paying off your graduate school loan for health professions before its due date.footnote 6
  • You can apply to release your cosigner after you graduate, make 12 on-time, principal and interest payments and meet certain credit requirements.footnote 9
  • You can pay for up to all your school-certified health professions school costs with a single, established lender.footnote 2

The Sallie Mae Graduate School Loan for Health Professions vs the Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan

After you explore federal loans, you may find the Sallie Mae Graduate School Loan for Health Professions to be a good alternative to the Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan, and if you're highly qualified, you may receive a lower interest rate.footnote 10

Sallie Mae Graduate School Loan for Health Professions

Direct Grad PLUS Loanfootnote 11

No origination fee

Available for less than half-time enrollment

Offers variable interest rates

Offers fixed interest rates

6-month grace period

Deferred repayment option

Interest and fixed repayment options

Rate reduction for auto debit enrollment

Find flexibility with an internship or fellowship deferment

A deferment may help you postpone or reduce your graduate school loan for health professions payments during your internship or fellowship. It’s available in increments of 12 months, up to a total of 48 months.footnote 4

Find out about an internship or fellowship deferment

Applying is easy

  • Tell us about yourself

    We’ll need some basic information from you (and your cosigner if you’re applying with one) like your name, address, and date of birth, along with some details about your school.

  • Choose your loan option(s)

    After you’re approved, pick the repayment option and interest rate type that work best for your budget.

  • Sign and accept

    Be sure to review all loan documents so you understand your responsibilities. Once you’ve decided to borrow from us, just e-sign and accept your loan. We'll work with your school to take care of the rest. That's it!

    Apply for loan

Frequently asked questions about graduate school loans for health professions

The graduate health professions loan supports students getting advanced degrees in health-related fields such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, optometry, veterinary medicine, and more. 

The graduate health profession loan covers tuition, fees, books, and living expenses. It can also help with additional costs like equipment, lab fees, and sometimes even travel expenses for clinical rotations or conferences. The funds cannot be used for anything not included in your school's cost of attendance.

The Sallie Mae Graduate Health Professions Loan covers up to 100% of school-certified expenses. However, the costs associated with licensure and exams are usually post-enrollment and therefore wouldn’t be covered by this loan.

Eligibility criteria for graduate student loans in health professions can vary depending on the specific loan program you're applying for. But a few common criteria are:

  • Enrollment in an eligible masters or doctorate program—full-time, half-time, or less than half-time
  • U.S. citizenship or eligible non-citizen status
  • Passing a credit check

It's essential to check the specific eligibility requirements of the loan programs you're interested in, as all loans are not built the same.

Sallie Mae doesn’t have loan forgiveness programs but there may be other options for graduates who work in healthcare. You can look into federal loan forgiveness programs for federal student loans or see if your employer has any programs to help workers repay their loans.

If the expenses are included in the school’s cost of attendance, they may be covered by the Sallie Mae Graduate Loan for Health Professions. For example, if the costs of a clinical rotation or internship are part of the cost of attendance (such as a nursing clinical that is part of a class), then those costs could be covered.

Questions? Need help applying?

Call us at
877-279-7172
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See all graduate student loans

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 Graduate School Loan and Graduate School Loan for Health Professions are for graduate students at participating degree-granting schools and are subject to credit approval, identity verification, signed loan documents, and school certification. 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., apply with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident), and provide an unexpired government-issued photo ID. Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000. 

footnote 1. Advertised APRs for Graduate School Loan, MBA Loans, and Graduate School Loan for Health Professions assume a $10,000 loan with a 2-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. 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 3. Sallie Mae loans cover enrollment periods of up to 12 months. Students must apply for a new loan each school year. This approval percentage is based on students who were approved for this Sallie Mae loan product with a cosigner in the 2021/22 school year and were approved again when they returned with the same or new cosigner in 2022/23. It does not include the number of denied applications of students who were ultimately approved in 2022/23.

footnote 4. 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 5. Example of a typical transaction for a $10,000 Graduate School Loan for Health Professions with the most common fixed rate, Fixed Repayment Option, and two disbursements. For borrowers with a 27-month in-school and separation period, it works out to 14.30% fixed APR, 27 payments of $25.00, 178 payments of $172.22 and one payment of $115.59, for a total loan cost of $31,445.75. Loans that are subject to a $50 minimum principal and interest payment amount may receive a loan term that is less than 15 years. A variable APR may increase over the life of the loan. A fixed APR will not.

footnote 6. 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 7. Payments may be required during the grace period depending on the in-school repayment option selected by the student or cosigner.

footnote 8. 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 9. 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 10. Explore federal loans and compare to make sure you understand the terms and features. Private student loans that have variable rates can go up over the life of the loan. Federal student loans are required by law to provide a range of flexible repayment options, including, but not limited to, income-based repayment and income-contingent repayment plans, and loan forgiveness and deferment benefits, which other student loans are not required to provide. Federal loans generally have origination fees, but are available to students regardless of income.

footnote 11. Federal student loan information was gathered on 3/5/2024 from studentaid.ed.gov.

footnote Sallie Mae loans are made by Sallie Mae Bank. 

footnote Information advertised valid as of 12/26/2024.

footnote SALLIE MAE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. CHECK SALLIEMAE.COM FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE PRODUCT INFORMATION.