If you’ve graduated from veterinary school, you’ve likely accumulated significant student loan debt. And no wonder — four years of vet school generally costs $155,000 to $436,000, including tuition, fees, and living expenses.
It may seem challenging to pay off what you owe for vet school, but there are plans and programs that can help. Read on to learn about how to pay for vet school and what you need to know to choose the best repayment method for you.
Key Points
• Veterinary school graduates have an average student loan debt of $147,258. It can take a decade or more to repay that debt.
• Income-driven repayment plans that adjust monthly payments based on income and family size may help reduce student loan payments for some vets.
• There have been changes and court actions regarding some income-driven repayment plans. Borrowers in the blocked SAVE plan have been placed in forbearance, with no payments necessary or interest accruing.
• The Department of Education has now reopened the PAYE and ICR income-driven repayment plans for borrowers, including those in the blocked SAVE plan who are working toward student loan forgiveness.
• Student loan refinancing may offer those who qualify lower interest rates or more favorable terms, but when federal loans are refinanced, there is no access to federal benefits such as income-driven repayment or federal forgiveness.
How Long Does It Take to Pay Off Vet School Loans?
For veterinary school graduates, the average vet school debt is $147,258, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. So how long does it take to pay off that kind of vet school debt? It could take a decade or more to pay back vet student loans, depending on a number of factors, including the specific amount you need to repay and your income.
Doing a quick calculation can help you determine what your monthly loan payments would be and the time required to repay what you owe. For example, let’s say that you have a student loan amount of $147,258 with an 8.00% interest rate. If you’re on the standard repayment plan for federal student loans, which is 10 years, your payments would be $1,786.65 a month. With interest, you would end up paying $214,398 for your loans in total.
A monthly payment of almost $1,800 may be more than some vet school grads can afford. Fortunately, there are ways to lower your payments, including income-driven repayment plans, student loan forgiveness programs, and student loan refinancing.
Income Driven Repayment Plans
Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans base your federal monthly student loan payments on your income and family size. Under an IDR plan, you repay your federal student loans over 20 or 25 years, depending on the plan, and your remaining balance is forgiven at the end of the repayment period.
There are different IDR plans, including income-based repayment (IBR), income-contingent repayment (ICR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), which was formerly the REPAYE plan.
PAYE vs. REPAYE/SAVE
PAYE is a plan that was closed to new enrollment in July 2024, but reopened in mid-December 2024 to give borrowers more options to keep their payments low, according to the Department of Education (DOE). The reopened PAYE offers credit to eligible borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan, which has been blocked in court, toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and IDR plans.
Here’s how the PAYE and SAVE plans work.
• PAYE: Borrowers enrolled in the PAYE plan pay nothing on the first $22,590 of income if they are single (or $46,800 for a family of four). They make payments that are equal to 10% of their discretionary income above those amounts. (Discretionary income is defined as the difference between your annual income and 150% of the poverty guideline for your family size and state of residence.)
• SAVE (formerly REPAYE): This plan was designed to lower payments based on a small portion of an individual’s adjusted gross income (AGI). If the borrower made their full monthly payment, the government would cover the rest of the interest that accrued that month. Under SAVE, borrowers with a $12,000 principal balance or less and who made 10 years of monthly payments would receive loan forgiveness. However, as mentioned, the SAVE plan has been blocked in court and is essentially in limbo at this time, and new borrowers cannot enroll in it.
Borrowers who were already enrolled in SAVE were placed in forbearance by the DOE. While in forbearance, they don’t owe payments on their loans, nor do their loans accrue interest. However, the time borrowers spend in forbearance does not give them credit toward PSLF or satisfy the requirements of IDR plans. The newly reopened PAYE allows them to get out of forbearance, enroll in PAYE, and start making loan payments that can help them work toward PSLF and IDR.
Student Loan Forgiveness
With student loan forgiveness, an eligible borrower is forgiven from paying back a portion or all of their federal student loans, typically in exchange for working in a certain type of job. For instance, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program for federal loans forgives the remaining balance on federal Direct loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments made under a repayment plan when the borrower works for an eligible employer.
To be eligible for PSLF you must:
• Be employed by the federal, state, local, or tribal government or a nonprofit organization
• Work full-time for that agency or organization
• Repay your loans under an income-driven repayment plan
• Make a total of 120 qualifying monthly payments, as noted above
You can use the Federal Student Aid’s employer search tool to find out if your employer qualifies you for PSLF.
In addition to PSLF, there are a number of other forgiveness programs and loan repayment programs for veterinary graduates. You can locate them through the American Veterinary Association. You can also check with your state for any student loan forgiveness programs they may offer to veterinarians.
Switching Loan Repayment Plans
If you’re not happy with the loan repayment plan you’re currently enrolled in, you can change it by requesting a new plan from your loan servicer. This will usually require you to submit an application and additional information.
There are a number of repayment plans to choose from. Besides IDR plans, there are fixed federal repayment plans that base your payments on your loan balance, interest rate, and repayment period. You may qualify for one of these plans if you have Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized loans, PLUS loans, or Consolidation loans. These repayment plans include:
• Standard Repayment Plan: The standard plan requires you to pay a fixed amount over 10 years (or 10 to 30 years for Consolidation loans).
• Graduated Repayment Plan: On the graduated repayment plan, your payments are lower at first and then they increase, usually every two years. With this plan, you’ll pay off your loans within 10 years (or up to 30 years with Consolidation loans).
• Extended Repayment Plan: You must have more than $30,000 in outstanding Direct loans or more than $30,000 in FFEL Program loans to qualify for the extended repayment plan. On this plan, your payments may be fixed or graduated, and you pay them off within 25 years.
Upcoming IDR Changes to be Aware Of
There have been changes in some of the IDR plans. As discussed, a federal court issued an injunction that blocked the SAVE plan. In addition, the PAYE and ICR plans were closed by the DOE in the summer of 2024 after SAVE was introduced. However, as of December 18, the PAYE plan was reopened by the DOE, along with the ICR plan. Borrowers enrolled in SAVE who were placed in forbearance can now enroll in PAYE or ICR to earn credit toward PSLF and income-driven repayment. That means they will start making loan payments again, and the interest on their loans will begin to accrue.
Tips for Restarting Loan Payments
If you are restarting your loan payments, there are some strategies that can help you determine whether you’re on the best repayment plan for your situation and that the repayment process goes as smoothly as possible.
• First, make sure you know who your loan servicer is. This is the entity that handles your loan payments. Your account dashboard at StudentAid.gov should have this information.
• Confirm or update your contact information with your loan servicer and on your StudentAid.gov account
• Take a good look at the repayment plan you’re on and think about whether an IDR plan might be a better option for you. As mentioned, an IDR plan may lower your payments because it bases your monthly payment on your income and family size. However, it typically takes longer to repay your loans on an IDR plan.
• Consider whether student loan refinancing might help you repay your student loans. When you refinance student loans, you replace your current loans with one new loan from a private lender. Ideally, the new loan will have a lower interest rate or more favorable terms if you qualify, which may be helpful if you’re refinancing student loans to save money.
A student loan refinancing calculator can help you figure if refinancing could be financially beneficial. Just be aware that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal benefits such as income-driven repayment plans and federal student loan forgiveness.
Recommended: Student Loan Refinancing Guide
SAVE Plan Changes
If you are enrolled in the SAVE plan, which has been blocked in court, and you’re currently in forbearance, you do not have to make loan payments and interest is not accruing on your loans. The DOE says this is likely to remain the case until at least mid-2025, depending on further development by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. But if you want to earn credit toward IDR or PSLF, you can now enroll in the reopened PAYE or ICR plans and begin making loan payments.
The Takeaway
Vet school student debt can be significant, but there are plans and programs to help borrowers repay their loans. You can explore income-driven repayment plans, fixed repayment plans, and student loan refinancing to see which option makes the most sense for you.
There have been a number of changes to some of the IDR plans, including SAVE and REPAYE. If you are currently enrolled in SAVE and in forbearance, you can now enroll in the PAYE plan and start working toward IDR and PSLF credits.
Or, if you don’t need access to federal benefits and programs, you may decide that refinancing is a better choice for you. Whatever option you choose, be sure to weigh the pros and cons to make an informed decision.
Looking to lower your monthly student loan payment? Refinancing may be one way to do it — by extending your loan term, getting a lower interest rate than what you currently have, or both. (Please note that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal forgiveness and protections. Also, lengthening your loan term may mean paying more in interest over the life of the loan.) SoFi student loan refinancing offers flexible terms that fit your budget.
Photo credit: iStock/SeventyFour
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