Veterinary Interns and Residents Webinar Presented by the VIN Foundation

Veterinary Interns and Residents -- Do you know the best way to handle your student loans? Hint: It’s NOT deferment!

Conventional wisdom in the medical training community is to defer loans while pursuing internships and/or residencies. However, income-driven repayment (IDR) is often a much better option for veterinarians pursuing advanced education who carry federal student debt.

Join Dr. Tony Bartels (a leading authority on U.S. veterinary student debt) for this special Climbing Mt. Debt session to see if you are doing all you can as an intern or resident to save money and reduce your student debt stress from here on out starting today.

Choosing the right student loan repayment strategy for your situation can save you a ton of time, money, and stress -- a concept VIN Foundation calls Repay Wiser.

In this webinar Tony demystifies the most difficult aspects of loan repayment for interns and residents:

1) What’s the “best” way to repay your student loans?
2) What is your debt to income ratio now?
3) What is your debt to income ratio after your training?
4) Will your internship/residency count towards PSLF?
5) How do you know when to adjust your repayment strategy?

Join Tony Bartels, DVM, MBA to learn the steps you need to take now during your internship(s) and residency years to save time, money, and stress on your student loans!

Time: Jun 23, 2021 05:00 PM in Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Register HERE!

Class of 2020 Student Loan Playbook - VIN Webinar

ATTENTION VETERINARY CLASS OF 2020 -- Get the answers you need to get your loan repayment plan started. Save time, money, and stress learning from our mistakes.

Do you have student loans? Are you confused about how or when to get your repayment plan started? What’s the “best” strategy for paying your student loans now that you’ve graduated veterinary school? Does COVID-19 impact any of those plans?

If you have or know someone who has the same questions, VIN & VIN Foundation have answers!

Register now for the third annual New Veterinary Graduate Student Loan Playbook webinar to learn why and how a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan can jumpstart your student loan repayment plan ASAP to save you time and money.

On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 8:00 PM EDT, join Tony Bartels, DVM, MBA, to learn why ending your grace period early and starting your repayment plan ASAP is more beneficial than waiting. Learn more and register here!

USDA accepting applications for veterinary loan repayment program

A federal notice has gone out requesting applications for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP), which will provide up to $25,000 of student loan debt relief per year for a minimum of three-years service in designated shortage areas across the United States.

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), which is running the program, also released maps of state- and federally-designated shortage areas on its website, along with eligibility requirements, FAQs and application forms.

Applications will be accepted until June 30, with awards being offered by September 30.

Dr. Kevin Dajka, director of the Membership and Field Services Division at the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), says the VMLRP is a great opportunity for recent veterinary school graduates to pay off a substantial portion of their student debt, while providing a much-needed boost to critically underserved areas of veterinary medicine.

"Graduates coming out of veterinary school are carrying about $130,000 in educational debt," said Dr. Dajka. "The VMLRP will help ease this financial burden for a number of veterinarians, while encouraging them to practice in areas of the country and profession that are in desperate need of veterinary help, such as rural America and food supply veterinary medicine."

AVMA leaders, who have spent the better part of the last decade championing this program and its funding, are thrilled that federal debt relief will soon be made available for veterinarians working, or willing to work, in underserved areas.

"This is the culmination of years of effort by America's veterinarians and by the USDA to get this program launched," said Dr. W. Ron DeHaven, CEO of the AVMA. "The AVMA is committed to continue working with NIFA to ensure the program is successfully implemented, and we will continue to advocate for annual funding for this program and to make the program tax exempt."

For more information, contact Michael San Filippo, AVMA media relations assistant, at 847-285-6687 (office), 847-732-6194 (cell).