Federal medical loans
Before seeking out a private loan source, the first port of call for the majority of medical students are one of the available federal loan programs.
The largest medical loan programs are best known by their abbreviated names of FFELP (Federal Family Educational Loan Program) and FDLP (William D Ford Federal Direct Loan Program).
FFELP medical loans can be applied for at many private banks, through credit unions and dedicated educational finance companies. You may find your school will endorse a specific source for your medical loan, but you are at liberty to apply for your medical student loans from any institution, it is ALWAYS prudent to shop around before entering into any financial agreements!
Dedicated FFELP loans are very attractive for medical students for many reasons, including lower interest rates in comparison to many other loan types, interest repayments that may be funded by the federal government during your time in education, you may even be able to defer loan repayments until in employment, longer repayment periods and the possibility of more flexible credit status requirements.
FDLP medical loans are the less common of these two options, but many schools do participate in these programs. With FDLP medical loans the terms are generally very similar to FFELP loans, however you’re actually borrowing from the US Dept of Education rather than private institutions.