There are three unique points to consider about educational loans as opposed to consumer loans:
1. Payments on educational loans are usually not due until after graduation or until the student stops attending. Therefore, a student can delay making payments on the loan while they are in school.
2. Many educational loans do not require a credit check or cosigners. However, providing a co-signer might improve your interest rate and other terms on a loan.
3. Many educational loans may qualify for loan repayment and forgiveness programs that are specifically available to allopathic medicine students. A searchable list of state programs can be found at the AAMC web site. The federal government also has many of these programs such as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness and the National Health Service Corps.
For statistical information about medical student loan debt, please visit http://www.aamc.org/programs/first/debtfactcard.pdf.