Spartanburg, SC – Students starting their first year of medical school this July face new federal professional student loan borrowing limits totaling $200,000 over the four years it takes to earn their degrees. Leaders at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) took steps to help their students meet the funding gap that will occur on July 1 as a result of the federal law taking effect.
VCOM, the second largest medical school in the country, is a non-profit, private 501(c)3 charitable organization founded in 2003 for the purpose of addressing the doctor shortage that is expected to reach 86,000 by 2036. Its leaders collaborated with South Carolina Student Loan Corp. (SCSLC), another non-profit organization with more than 50 years of student lending experience, to provide input into the development of an innovative solution to support the funding needs of the next generation of doctors.
“We serve more than 2,500 medical students across our campuses in four states. Our students come from all walks of life but have a common desire to serve their communities as physicians,” said Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, DO, president of VCOM. “We don’t want the cost of medical school to be a barrier to their dreams or to tackling the national health care shortage.”
This challenge also created an opportunity for innovation, which brought VCOM and SCSLC together.
“We are invested in addressing the workforce needs in the medical profession while supporting the outcomes of our borrowers, so we were eager to collaborate with VCOM to find a solution to meet the funding dilemma facing some of our future doctors,” said Ray Jones, SCSLC’s Chief Product Officer. “We want students to fulfill their aspirations through responsible borrowing. Our goal is to meet them where they are and find ways to get them to where they want to be.”
As a non-profit, SCSLC can offer better terms to incoming medical students because they don’t have to satisfy investors. SCSLC can keep its interest rates low, with professional graduate student loan interest rates starting at 3%, not exceeding 13%, compared with traditional lenders whose interest rates can reach 17%. VCOM students can be approved for loans with a FICO score of 600 or higher, which is 40-70 points lower than other lenders. This is possible because VCOM graduates have an exceptional repayment history, with a federal non-repayment rate of less than 1%.
Other benefits for VCOM borrowers include 5,10, and 15-year repayment terms; cosigner options; a 6-month grace period; and up to 48-months of deferred payments during residency.
In administering and overseeing student financial aid, VCOM provides its students with information to support sound borrowing decisions across the full range of available financing options. Recent changes in loan availability underscore the importance of understanding the distinctions, benefits, and trade-offs between Direct Unsubsidized federal loans and private education loans. Students retain the right to select the lender or lenders that best meet their needs and are encouraged to compare offerings from multiple sources to determine the most appropriate approach to financing their medical education.
The Professional Graduate Loan is not being offered or made by VCOM, but by SCSLC.
To learn more about the VCOM/SCSLC medical student loan program, visit: http://www.scstudentloan.org/