Loan Repayment

Students are not required to make loan repayments while enrolled for a minimum of 6 credits each semester.  Once you drop below that mark (either a leave of absence or graduation), you have 6 months before you are required to start federal student loan repayments.

Students are only given one grace period for their MD degree.

If a student uses the grace period for a leave of absence before graduation, they will not receive another grace period.  Upon graduation, the student will enter federal loan repayment the following month.

The standard default loan repayment option will calculate the cost of the loan over 10 years, and divide that amount equally by month.

• Students may elect to enter a different Income Driven Repayment plan, which bases payments on income (with the idea that their income is low/none during the leave of absence, after graduation, or during residency, and thus required monthly payments will be low).
  
  
  • Income must be certified annually, with higher payments after Residency when the now-attending physician is earning a much higher salary.
    
    
• MS4 students with loans are highly encouraged to submit a tax return for the calendar year preceding their graduation, as this makes the IDR process easier to navigate.
  
  
  • Example:  Graduating Class of 2025 (December 2024/May 2025) should file their 2024 tax returns (due April 2025).
    
    
  • Even if the student has $0 income for that tax year, filing a $0 income tax return will greatly benefit the student pursuing IDR.
    
    
  • A comprehensive email will be sent to all graduating students in the spring.
    
    
• IDR is particularly useful when combined with Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
  
  
  • Please note, that students not pursuing PSLF will end up with an extended repayment timeline when electing for IDR.  This will increase the overall cost of your loan.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact medfas@hawaii.edu.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program allows for remaining federal student loans to be forgiven after 120 qualifying payments are made when the borrower is working full-time for the government or a non-profit and has selected one of the IDR plans (please see above).

All major hospitals in Hawaiʻi qualify as nonprofits.

In addition to PSLF, there are other programs that may be available to help with loan repayment.  These programs may have service commitments to practice as an attending.

Click here to view the loan repayment options listed by our AHEC office.

Students make repayments directly to the loan servicer.  You can find your loan servicer on the Federal Student Aid website.

• Students should keep their contact information updated with the loan servicer.
  
  
• You can view your loan history on the Federal Student Aid website.