The top 6 medical school loans for August 2024.

Medical school can be costly, but scholarships, grants, and savings may not always be sufficient. Federal student loans with low interest rates and loan forgiveness programs are often the best option. If you still require additional funding, private student loans can assist.

CNBC Select has compiled a list of the top private medical school student loans based on loan amounts, fees, repayment terms, and special offerings. Our methodology explains how we arrived at this ranking.

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Best for long repayment terms

If you prefer a longer repayment period, College Ave is ideal as it offers repayment terms from five to 20 years, resulting in lower monthly payments. However, this may result in more interest charges in the long run.

While studying, borrowers can enjoy the standout benefit of not having to make any repayments. If you choose to begin making payments while still a student, you have three options: paying the full principal and interest, interest only, or a flat $25 monthly payment to minimize accrued interest.

Best for residency programs

PNC Bank provides financial assistance to medical school students seeking funding for their residency program. The funding can be used to cover the expenses of residency interviews and relocation.

PNC Bank offers the option to apply with a co-signer, but it doesn't require one. Additionally, customers can receive a 0.50% discount for signing up for autopay.

Best for study abroad

What is Prodigy Finance for? Prodigy Finance offers student loans to students studying abroad at over 1,700 global schools in 18 countries, including medical schools. To qualify for a Prodigy Finance loan, the student must be planning to study abroad.

This lender provides a 6-month grace period for full-time students and a 3-month grace period for part-time students.

Best for multi-year financing

Citizens provides multi-year financing, eliminating the need for borrowers to reapply for financing from the same lender annually, as is typically required with the federal student loan application process. This reduces the stress of securing financing throughout med school.

Enrolling in autopay at Citizens Bank can result in a 0.25% rate reduction for borrowers. Additionally, if you already have an account with Citizens Bank, you may be eligible for an additional 0.25% off.

Best for grace period

What is the purpose of the grace period offered by Ascent for medical school loans? The deferred repayment plan allows borrowers to delay loan repayment for up to 36 months. Repayment will begin when the borrower is no longer enrolled in school at least half-time. This can be advantageous because it enables borrowers to obtain a stable source of income before beginning payments.

Borrowers who graduate and meet additional qualification criteria can receive a 1% cash back reward from Ascent. Additionally, signing up for autopay can result in a 0.25% rate discount.

Best for applying with a co-signer

If you need help qualifying for better rates on a loan and have a co-signer, Sallie Mae is an excellent option. After 12 months of on-time payments, co-signers can be released. Additionally, Sallie Mae offers medical school loans to part-time students.

Sallie Mae provides a 36-month grace period and 48 months of deferment during your residency and fellowship. Additionally, it offers a 0.25% rate discount when you choose autopay.

College Ave

College Ave is a fintech lender that provides student loans through Firstrust Bank, First Citizens Community Bank, or M.Y. Safra Bank. It offers competitive interest rates, with no application, origination, or prepayment fees. Additionally, borrowers can receive a 0.25% rate discount by linking their bank accounts and setting up autopay. College Ave also offers hardship protections such as deferment, forbearance, and grace period options. Borrowers with College Ave student loans can begin repaying while still in school.

Loan amounts

$1,000 to $150,000

Loan terms

5 to 20 years

PNC Bank

PNC Bank has around 2,300 branches and does not charge application, origination, or prepayment fees. However, there is a 5.00% or $5 late fee, whichever is lower.

Loan amounts

Up to $225,000

Loan terms

5 to 15 years

Prodigy Finance

In over a dozen countries globally, Prodigy Finance provides loans for academic pursuits. The company determines eligibility based on a borrower's future income potential and does not require a credit history.

This provider charges a processing fee of up to $100, a 5% admin fee on the loan amount, and an annual loan servicing fee for its student loan.

Loan amounts

Minimum loan amount of $10,001; borrow up to the cost of attendance

Loan terms

7 to 20 years

Citizens

Citizens is a bank that provides student loans without origination fees, application fees, disbursement fees, or prepayment penalties. Additionally, this lender offers hardship protections such as forbearance. Students have the option to start making payments while still in school to reduce their balance before graduating.

Loan amounts

The cost of the degree is either $180,000 or $350,000, as explained in this link.

Loan terms

5 to 15 years

Ascent Funding

Ascent provides private student loans and bootcamp loans for career preparation programs without charging application, origination, or disbursement fees. This lender offers both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loan options.

Loan amounts

Up to $400,000

Loan terms

5 to 15 years

Sallie Mae

Sallie Mae provides not only student loans and scholarships but also banking products such as savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs. Besides its standard medical school loan, it also offers a medical residency loan, health professions graduate loan, dental school loan, and dental residency loan.

Loan amounts

$1,000 minimum; borrow up to the cost of attendance

Medical residency and relocation loan: Borrow up to $30,000

Loan terms

20 years

Why trust CNBC Select?

Our mission at CNBC Select is to deliver top-notch service journalism and in-depth consumer advice to our readers, enabling them to make well-informed decisions when it comes to their money. Each student loan review we publish is the result of thorough reporting by our team of expert writers and editors, who possess extensive knowledge of student loan products. At CNBC Select, we maintain the highest journalistic standards and ethics, and we earn a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links. However, our content is created independently by our team, without any input from our commercial team or external third parties. To learn more about our methodology for selecting the best medical school loans, please refer to our detailed explanation.

Our methodology

We analyzed and compared private student loan funding from various sources to determine the best medical school loans. We considered only those lenders that offer competitive student loan rates.

We compared each of the companies in our article not only for their lower interest rates in the market but also for their specific features.

All of the companies on our list provide both undergraduate and graduate private student loans with variable and fixed interest rate options.
Customizable financing options: Each company offers a range of financing options that borrowers can tailor to their monthly budget and repayment timeline. Additionally, each company enables borrowers to begin repaying their student loans while still in school, which can help them save money.
Our list of companies does not impose prepayment penalties on borrowers who pay off their loans early.
Streamlined application process: We made sure companies offered a fast online application process
Autopay discounts: All of the companies listed offer an autopay interest rate discount
Each company on our list provides financial hardship protection for borrowers.
Private student loans: The aforementioned companies provide various loan sizes, ranging from a few thousand dollars to the full cost of college attendance. Each company showcases its loan sizes, and completing a preapproval process can offer borrowers insight into their interest rate and monthly payment.
We considered the minimum credit scores and income levels if such information was available.
We have a list of companies that offer customer support through phone, email, or secure online messaging. Additionally, we chose lenders with an online resource hub or advice center to assist borrowers in understanding student loans in general.

We took into account CNBC Select audience data, including demographics and engagement with our content and tools, when possible.

Fixed-rate APR guarantees that interest rate and monthly payment will remain consistent throughout the loan term, but private student loan rates and fee structures are subject to change without notice and often fluctuate based on the Fed rate.

The interest rate for a borrower is determined by their credit score, income, debt-to-income ratio, savings, payment history, and overall financial health. To obtain private student loans, lenders will perform a hard credit check and demand a comprehensive application, which may require evidence of income, identity confirmation, address proof, and more.

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