The right loan for physician assistant students

Prepare for your medical career with confidence

With a Sallie Mae® Gradute School Loan for Health Professions you can get the money you need to help earn a PA degree and prepare for your career in medicine.

Fixed rates
4.99%
to 14.48% APRfootnote 1
Variable rates
6.87%
to 16.47% 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.
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Benefits
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Planning a career as a physician assistant?
You’re covered.

With a Sallie Mae Graduate School Loan for Health Professions, you can get the money you need to pay for your physician assistant school program. Cover everything from tuition to housing to travel, and even your training materials, equipment, and test fees if they are included in your school's cost of attendance.footnote 2 There's no origination fee or prepayment penalty,footnote 3 and you can repay with the option that works best for you.

Find the type of interest rate that’s
best for you

Your interest rate is the amount you’re charged for borrowing money. It’s based on factors like your borrowing/repayment history, how long you’ve had credit, and your amount of debt.

With a Graduate Student Loan for Health Professions, you can choose an interest rate type that’s variable or fixed.

Line graph of a fixed interest rate over time shows how the interest rate does not change month-to-month
Fixed Rates
4.99% - 14.48% APRfootnote 1

Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount.

How it works
Your interest rate does not change over time.

This might be right for you if
You want a predictable monthly payment to make budgeting easier.

Keep in mind
You may pay less for your loan because a fixed rate may be less than a starting variable interest rate.

Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount.

How it works
Your interest rate does not change over time.

This might be right for you if
You want a predictable monthly payment to make budgeting easier.

Keep in mind
You may pay less for your loan because a fixed rate may be less than a starting variable interest rate.

Show MoreLess
Line graph of a variable interest rate over time shows how the interest rate may go up or down as the loan’s index changes month-to-month
Variable Rates
6.87% - 16.47% APRfootnote 1

Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount.

How it works
Your interest rate may go up or down as the loan’s index changes.

For more information about the index of your loan, refer to your promissory note. Changes in the financial markets may cause the index to rise or fall.

This might be right for you if
You're ok with uncertainty with predicting your monthly payments.

Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount.

How it works
Your interest rate may go up or down as the loan’s index changes.

For more information about the index of your loan, refer to your promissory note. Changes in the financial markets may cause the index to rise or fall.

This might be right for you if
You're ok with uncertainty with predicting your monthly payments.

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What are your repayment options?

You can start paying back your loan while you’re in school to save money or wait until you’re finished.footnote 1 You can also choose to pay off your loan early to reduce the total loan cost—there are no penalties for early repayment.footnote 3

Pay more during school, save more

How the interest repayment option works:

You pay interest each month while in school and during your 6-month grace period to lower your loan cost.footnote 1

Your grace period is the amount of time after you’re no longer enrolled in school and before principal and interest payments begin.


This may be right for you if
You want to reduce your interest rate as much as possible and can afford to pay more each month.

Keep in mind
Your loan payments will likely be larger while you're in school and in your grace period than with our fixed or deferred options.

Pay some during school, save some

How the fixed repayment option works:

You pay $25 a monthfootnote 4 while in school and during your 6-month grace period to lower your loan cost.footnote 1

Your grace period is the amount of time after you’re no longer enrolled in school and before principal and interest payments begin.


This may be right for you if
You want to reduce your total loan cost and can afford to pay $25footnote 4 every month.

Keep in mind 
Your interest rate will be less than with our deferred option, but the unpaid interest will be added to your principal amount at the end of your grace period.

Pay everything after you finish school

How the deferred repayment option works:

You don’t make your first payment until both your time at school and 6-month grace period have ended.footnote 1

Your grace period is the amount of time after you’re no longer enrolled in school and before principal and interest payments begin.


This may be right for you if
You don't want to make payments while you’re in school.

Keep in mind 
You’re likely to pay more for the total cost of the loan compared to the other repayment options and the unpaid interest will be added to your principal amount at the end of your grace period.

How to apply

It’s easy, just follow these steps:

  • 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 & accept

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

    Apply For Loan
Male and female nurse and physician assistant reviewing patient prescription

FAQs on loans for physician assistant students

Private student loans are credit-based, which means we will check your credit when you submit your application. Last year, graduate borrowers were 2 times more likely than undergraduates to be approved on their own.footnote 5

You can apply just once a year with a single credit check and funds are sent for each term directly to your school. You can cancel future disbursements as needed with no penalty. Interest isn't charged on funds until they are sent to your school, so you can relax, knowing you've got the funds when you need them.

It takes about 10 minutes to apply and get a credit decision. After you’re approved, you choose your loan rate type and repayment options, accept your loan disclosure, e-sign and provide any other requested information, and the loan is certified by your school. We send (disburse) the funds directly to the school. This process can take as few as 10 business days from application to disbursement.

Whether you study online or on campus, you can borrow to cover the costs at a participating institution, even if you're not a full- or half-time student. The loan's flexibility makes it a good choice for many situations:

  • Attending school full-time, half-time, or less than half-time
  • Online or on-campus classes
  • Winter or summer classes
  • Study abroad
  • Professional certification courses
  • A U.S. citizen or permanent resident enrolled in a school in a foreign country
  • Students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, including DACA students, residing in and attending school in the U.S. (with a cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident)

With the Graduate School Loan for Health Professions, you can select from three repayment options. While in school, you can choose to make monthly interest payments or fixed $25 payments,footnote 4—or you can choose to defer payments until after school.footnote 1 The repayment option you choose applies during school and for six months after you leave school (your grace period). After that, you begin to make principal and interest payments.

When you apply, we look at your history of borrowing money and paying it back on time. Lenders want to know how responsible you are with credit before approving your student loan application.

You and your cosigner will want to have your school information, amount needed (remember, you can use it to pay for school-certified expenses for the entire year) as well as your cosigner’s financial and employment information. You or your cosigner may start the application, however, should your cosigner not be with you, we can send along an email with a link to their section of the application so they can fill it in later.

Get in touch!

Need assistance? We’re here to help. 


1-877-279-7172

Not sure if this is the right student loan for you?

Learn about the different student loans we offer.

All private student loans

footnote Borrow responsibly
We encourage students and families to start with savings, grants, scholarships, and federal student loans to pay for college. Students and families should 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 may be subjected 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. Although we do not charge you a penalty or fee if you prepay your loan, any prepayment will be applied as provided in your promissory note: first to Unpaid Fees and costs, then to Unpaid Interest, and then to Current Principal.

footnote 4. 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 5. Based on a comparison of the percentage of graduate students who were approved without a cosigner to the percentage of undergraduate students who were approved without a cosigner from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023.

footnote Sallie Mae loans are made by Sallie Mae Bank.

footnote Information advertised valid as of 4/25/2024.

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.