Currently, there are millions of professional working-class people that have applied for various types of student loans. Student loans are most common in western countries such as the United Kingdom and The United States of America. Student loans are offered for multiple types of degrees. However, some student loans are tailored for specific industries such as healthcare or finance. Let us discuss, How do I Apply For the Health Professions Student Loan?
The contents of this article will focus on providing an answer on how you can apply for a health professions student loan in America. There are a few steps you must go through as a checklist before you can apply for a healthcare professional student loan. The healthcare student loan is unique as it is solely offered by the health resources and services administration. The loan also comes with a larger grace period and interest that is paid for.
How can I be eligible for the loan?
The health professions student loan requires that the applicant must be an American citizen or hold a permanent residency to qualify, as well as prove the need for financial aid. You can prove that you require financial support by applying for a federal student support application. This application will possess detail that the federal government will look through and calculate how much money is generated in your family on a monthly or yearly basis.
Currently, there are four healthcare professional loans that you can choose from. These four options will be explained in further detail below.
Types of healthcare profession loans:
- Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) – This loan is available for students wanting to complete a degree in pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, and veterinary medicine.
- Nursing School Loan (NSL) – This loan is available to students studying full-time or part-time nursing programs that result in either a diploma or a degree.
- Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS) – This loan is available for full-time students wanting to pursue a doctorate in either dentistry, osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, optometry, or allopathic medicine.
- Primary care loans (PCL) – this loan is obtainable to full-time students wanting to study a doctorate in osteopathic or allopathic medicine. In addition, the student must agree to work in this field for ten years until they can pay back the loan.
What steps do I need to take to apply for the healthcare profession student loan?
- There are currently three steps that you need to take as a student to be eligible for the loan. Firstly, you need to make sure that you apply the application for federal student aid. This will allow the officials to compute how much or if you require any sort of financial support.
- The second step is to sit back and wait for an official response. If your student loan is approved, your chosen school will issue you with a letter of financial award. This will be automatically credited to your application. Please do note that you must accept all other free forms of student financial support that are offered before you can make an application for federal tuition support.
What are the major differences between a normal and a healthcare loan?
As all healthcare loans are currently provided by the health resources and services administration, the normal loans are given by the ministry of education. As a result, there are many differences between these two types of loans. Firstly, the healthcare loan has a fixed interest rate of 5%. In addition, the grace period for paying back the loan is two years instead of just one year for the normal loan.
Furthermore, unlike normal loans where you must pay the interest before the grace period is officially over, healthcare loans are allowed to be paid off until the grace period is over. It is interesting to note that not all schools participate in this healthcare loan service, as before the loan is issued, the school must apply with the federal government and meet the criteria such as having a 5% default rate on pre-existing loans.
In conclusion, being able to qualify for a health professions student loan is easier than you might think. If you are a prospective medical student wanting to apply for a loan, you first must check with the type of loan you are eligible for, and the four options have been briefly described for you above. You then need to apply for a free application for federal student aid and wait for a result to be communicated to you.
As mentioned above, do make sure that you accept all kinds of free financial support offered to you before you apply for the application, as not doing this will result in a negative outcome from the federal government.
The following section of this article will contain FAQs on anything related to obtaining a student healthcare loan.
FAQs:
- Is it possible to obtain a healthcare loan from a private organization?
Yes, there is a possibility to qualify for a private healthcare loan. However, these loans are not regulated by the federal government but can offer much better advantages than the normal healthcare professions loan. Some of the benefits include deferment options during residency as well as lower interest rates.
- What are the main loan repayment terms for the federal government?
Currently, the federal government asks all students to begin paying back the loan within one year of being full-time students. In addition, the loan has a fixed interest rate of 5%, and the payback period is within ten years. Furthermore, the student shall receive an email from college admin services regarding the repayment of the loan.
The federal government urges all students to pay back their loans before the due date as this will enable the student to pay a lesser interest fee over time.
- Who can I contact if I would like my loan reduced or canceled?
Please do contact the financial aid and scholarship office so that you can open a case regarding your loan and how you can modify it. This service is only applicable for a federal graduate loan, HPSL loan, or an unsubsidized federal loan.
