Pharmacists graduate from college with a well-earned degree, but also with a lot of student loan debt. According to the latest data from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the average student loan debt for pharmacy school graduates is $170,444.
Fortunately, there are a variety of loan forgiveness programs for pharmacists. Depending on where you work and the type of service commitment you’re able to make, you could qualify for partial or even full pharmacist loan forgiveness.
Read on to learn about the student loan forgiveness programs for pharmacists — plus other ways to help repay your loans if you don’t qualify for pharmacist student loan forgiveness.
Key Points
• The average student loan debt for pharmacy school graduates is $170,444.
• Pharmacists may qualify for a loan forgiveness program or a loan repayment program to help with their loan debt in exchange for working in designated areas for a certain number of years.
• The State Loan Repayment Program provides up to $25,000 annually in loan repayment for qualifying pharmacists who serve in shortage areas.
• The National Health Service Corps offers up to $75,000 in loan repayment for eligible pharmacists treating substance use or opioid use disorders in underserved areas.
• Pharmacists may also consider income-driven repayment plans or student loan refinancing to help manage their student loan debt.
Can Pharmacists Get Loan Forgiveness?
It may sound too good to be true, but there is such a thing as pharmacist loan forgiveness. Many of the loan forgiveness programs for pharmacists are available at the federal level; others are offered by states. And while some programs pertain only to federal student loans, others also cover private student loans.
Recommended: Student Loan Refinancing Guide
6 Student Loan Forgiveness Programs for Pharmacists
Here are some of the top student loan forgiveness programs for pharmacists, along with their eligibility requirements.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program forgives the remaining balance on federal Direct loans, which include Direct Subsidized loans, Direct Unsubsidized loans, Direct PLUS loans (but not Parent PLUS loans), and Direct Consolidation loans.
Qualifying borrowers can get PSLF after making the equivalent of 120 qualifying monthly payments under an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan while working full-time in public service for an eligible employer such as a federal, state, local, tribal, or military government organization or a qualifying nonprofit.
If you are a pharmacist working for one of these organizations and have eligible loans, you may qualify for PSLF. To apply, sign up for an IDR plan at StudentAid.gov if you are not already enrolled in one. Then certify your employment — there is a form your employer needs to fill out — and submit it electronically. The PSLF Help Tool can assist you through the process.
Next, you’ll need to make 120 qualifying payments under the IDR plan. Once you do that, you can submit your application for forgiveness.
State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP)
Through the State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP), the Health Resources and Services Administration provides grants each year to states for loan repayment programs for primary care providers, including pharmacists, who work in shortage areas. The loan repayment is up to $25,000 per year and covers qualifying federal and private student loans.
To be eligible, an individual must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national, have a health license or certificate in the state in which they are working, and be currently employed full-time at an eligible site. Check with your state for more information and detailed requirements.
NHSC Loan Repayment Programs
The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) has a variety of different loan repayment programs for health care providers who work at specified health sites, typically in underserved communities, for a certain period of time.
For pharmacists, the programs available include:
• the NHSC Substance Use Disorder Loan Repayment Program, which provides up to $75,000 in loan repayment for medical professionals, including pharmacists, who treat substance use or opioid use disorders and work full-time for three years at an NHSC-approved treatment facility in an underserved community,
and
• the NHSC Rural Community Loan Repayment Program, which offers up to $100,000 in loan repayment for medical professionals who treat substance use or opioid use disorders in a rural, underserved community full-time for three years.
In addition to the requirements mentioned above, to be eligible for either program, applicants must be U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals and have the appropriate professional health license or certificate.
National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Programs
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) loan repayment programs are designed to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical and biobehavioral research careers. Because of the high cost of education, these individuals often leave research to go into private industry or practice.
The NIH loan repayment program may help health professionals, including pharmacists, by repaying up to $50,000 in qualified education debt in exchange for either extramural (not employed by NIH) or intramural (employed by NIH) status.
To be eligible, you must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or permanent resident with a qualifying degree, and have total qualified educational debt equal to or in excess of 20% of your institutional base salary. You must also meet qualified research requirements and research funding requirements, depending on whether you have an extramural or intramural position.
Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program
The Indian Health Service (IHS) Loan Repayment Program can help qualifying individuals, including pharmacists, repay their health profession education loans for up to $50,000 in exchange for a two-year service commitment in health facilities that serve American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
You may qualify if you:
• Are a U.S. citizen
• Are registered for Selective Service (if you are a male)
• Have a health profession degree or are in your final year
• Have a pharmacy license
• Commit to practice at an Indian health facility
You must also begin service on or before September 30 for two continuous years of practice. You can extend your contract annually until your student debt has been paid off.
Health Resources and Services Administration Faculty Loan Repayment Program
Individuals who come from a disadvantaged background, have an eligible health professions degree or certificate, including a pharmacy degree or certificate, or are a faculty member at an approved health professions school with a contract for two years or more working full- or part-time may qualify for loan repayment through the Health Resources and Services Administrative faculty loan program.
If you are eligible, you could receive up to $40,000 in loan repayment assistance for qualifying educational loans, plus funding to offset the tax burden of the award.
What to Do If You Don’t Qualify for Pharmacist Student Loan Forgiveness
If you don’t qualify for pharmacist student loan forgiveness, there are still ways to make repaying your student loans easier. Below are two options to consider.
Income-Driven Repayment
Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans base your monthly student loan payment amount on your income and family size, which can help lower your payments. The remaining balance will be forgiven by the end of your repayment period, which is either 20 or 25 years, depending on the plan.
The federal government offers the following types of income-driven repayment plans:
• Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan: Under the IBR plan, a borrower’s monthly payments are generally equal to 15% of their discretionary income.
• Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan: SAVE is designed to lower your payments based on income and family size. If your monthly payment isn’t enough to cover the accrued monthly interest, the government will cover it for you, preventing your balance from growing due to unpaid interest.
Under SAVE, borrowers with a $12,000 principal balance or less and who made 10 years of monthly payments, would receive loan forgiveness. However, 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 and owe no payments and their interest does not accrue.
• Pay As You Earn (PAYE) repayment plan: With PAYE, payments are generally equal to 10% of your discretionary income. While the PAYE plan was closed to new enrollment in July 2024, it was reopened to new enrollment in mid-December 2024. It also offers credit to eligible borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and IDR plans once they get out of forbearance and enroll in PAYE.
• Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan: The ICR plan offers monthly payments that are either the lesser of what you would pay on a repayment plan with fixed monthly payments over the course of 12 years, adjusted based on your income, or 20% of your discretionary income. ICR was also closed in July 2024, but was reopened to new enrollment in December 2024.
You can apply for one of these income-driven repayment plans online through your loan servicer or by submitting a paper form. You can select the IDR plan you’d like or ask your servicer to choose a plan for you based on the lowest monthly payment possible.
Refinancing
If an IDR plan isn’t right for you, you may want to explore refinancing student loans to save money. When you refinance student loans you replace your old loans with one new loan from a private lender. Ideally, your new loan would have a lower interest rate or more favorable loan terms.
With student loan refinancing, you can refinance federal student loans, private student loans, or both. However, be aware that when you refinance federal loans, they become ineligible for federal benefits like income-based repayment plans and forgiveness.
A student loan refinancing calculator can help you determine if refinancing makes sense financially for your situation.
The Takeaway
Pharmacists who are struggling to repay their student loans may be eligible for any one of a number of different student loan forgiveness programs or loan repayment programs to help them tackle their debt.
And those aren’t the only options for potential relief: Borrowers who don’t qualify for these programs can consider income-driven repayment plans or student loan refinancing to help manage their student loan payments.
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.
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