Federal and Private Loans

Federal Loans

Medical students may be offered loans as part of their award package, which are processed by our office. The following lists eligible loan programs and links to required documents:

Private Alternative Loans

Private alternative loans, also refereed to as commercial loans, are availble through private banks and lending insitutions borrowed to assist with educational expenses not covered by other sources of financial aid. Students should carefully review loan terms and considder how private student loan will affect their credit before borrowing. It is strongly recommended that students utilize all federal student loan eligibility prior to seeking a private alternative loan.

Annual alternative loan amounts are limited to a student's total cost of attendance less other financial aid received. Students must be enrolled and be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident or provide a U.S. cosigner. Alternative loans carry either a variable or fixed interest rate. Interest rates are determined by the lending institution and may change as often as every 30 days and may have no interest rate cap. Alternative loan approval is based upon the student's credit history. Credit history may also affect the interest rate. Each alternative loan lender has their own credit criteria, application process, and maximum lifetime borrowing limits.  You may review and compare our lender list via ELMSelect.

Those students who intend to apply for a private alternative loan or to have a Student Accounts Hold lifted for advance registration must start the application process at least four weeks prior to the date on which they are scheduled to register for the upcoming semester. Several steps must be completed before the lender will provide the Office of Financial Aid with the loan certification request. You may also apply for private loans to cover past due balances, terms vary by lender. No action will be taken to release a ‘hold" until we have received the funds from your lender.

When you apply for an alternative loan, please be sure to follow the instructions from your lender carefully and use our school code 001444-00. These instructions will guide you step-by-step through the process. Please also see our Code of Conduct. .

When you apply to the lenders, you will need to select the loan period based on your year in school and term(s) requested as follows:

  • Year in School  Fall 2026 Spring 2027
    M1 class of 2030 August 3, 2026–December 18, 2026  January 4, 2027- May 21, 2027
    M2 class of 2029 August 3, 2026–December 16, 2026 January 4, 2027 - June 27, 2027
    M3 class of 2028 June 29, 2026–December 18, 2026 January 4, 2027 - June 27, 2027
    M4 class of 2027 July 6, 2026–December 18, 2026 January 4, 2027 - June 27, 2027

Once you have secured the loan, please complete the Private Loan Processing Form. This form is required for each new loan request, a reduction prior to disbursing and when returning loan proceeds to the lender. At this time we are unable to return loans already credited to your account, and you must make a payment back to the lender directly. 

When we receive the certification we will approve the loan based on your cost of attendance and set the disbursement date based on the start of each term. For request after the start of the term, there will be a delay of up to at least 3 days before the loan funds will be disbursed to the university to be credited to your account based on the borrowers' right to cancel timeframe. It is ideal to apply at least 4 weeks prior to the start of the term to allow time for processing. 

We recognize that some students need private loans, especially students who are not eligible for Federal Direct Loans.   If you have a question about the terms of a private loan, or you do not understand what your lender is asking on an application, please contact the SMHS Office of Financial Aid. We are happy to assist you in understanding this information.