Residency Loans

To qualify for a Discover Residency Loan, you must:

• Have graduated from medical school within the past 12 months, or be enrolled in your final year of study in a graduate health professions program.
• Be a US citizen, permanent resident, or international student (International students require a cosigner who is a US Citizen or permanent resident).
• Be 16 years or older at the time you apply.
• Pass a credit check.

• You can borrow up to $18,000 for Allopathy, Dentistry, Optometry, Osteopathy, Pharmacy, Podiatry, or Veterinary Medicine programs. Aggregate loan limits apply.
• You can borrow up to $5,000 for Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, or Physician Assistant programs. Aggregate loan limits apply.
• The minimum amount is $1,000 for each loan.
• We will send funds directly to you via check or electronic deposit to your bank account.

Private student loans are credit based. Students with no credit history or a low credit score may find it difficult to qualify for a private student loan on their own. Students may have the option to apply for a Discover student loan with a creditworthy cosigner. By applying with a creditworthy cosigner, you may improve your likelihood for approval and may receive a lower interest rate on your residency loan.

• A fixed interest rate is set at the time of application and does not change during the life of the loan unless you are no longer eligible for one or more discounts.
• A variable interest rate may change quarterly during the life of the loan if the rate index changes. This may cause the monthly payment to increase, the number of payments to increase, or both.

The variable rate for student loan applications received on or after November 14, 2021, is based on the 3-Month CME Term SOFR index. 3-Month CME Term SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate) is a rate index based on what the market expects rates to be over the next three-month time period. You can find more information on 3-Month CME Term SOFR at CME Group.

Get a 0.25% interest rate reduction while enrolled in automatic payments. To enroll, log in to your secure account or call us at 1‑800‑STUDENT.
Auto Debit Reward Policy

If you are in school at least half-time, on active military duty, serving a public service organization, or in a medical residency, you may qualify for a deferment. A deferment period is a period of time when a borrower is not required to make any payments. During deferment, interest will continue to accrue. At the end of a deferment period, any unpaid interest will be added to your principal balance. This may increase the amount of your monthly payments and the total cost of your loan(s).
Deferment options

A repayment period is the period of time during which scheduled payments are required to be made to repay the principal balance and interest on a loan. Your repayment period is 20 years after the deferment period ends.

APR examples

• In-School Interest-Only - Required to make interest-only monthly payments while you are in school and during your grace period to lower your overall loan cost and receive a 0.35% interest rate discount. You must still be attending school at least half-time at the time you submit your application to be eligible for the interest-only repayment option and discount.
• In-School Fixed - Required to make $25 fixed, monthly payments while you are in school and during your grace period to lower your overall loan cost. You must still be attending school at least half-time at the time you submit your application to be eligible for the fixed monthly repayment option.
• Deferred - Monthly payments are not required until 9 months after you graduate or your enrollment drops below half-time.

You can make payments anytime to help reduce the overall cost of your residency loan and there is never a penalty for prepaying. If you're not receiving monthly billing statements, we will send you quarterly statements showing you how much interest is accruing and how to make optional payments while you are in school.

APR examples

If you are experiencing financial difficulties and you are unable to make your student loan payments, we have options to help. To learn more about your repayment assistance options and determine if you qualify, please call our Repayment Assistance Department at 1-800-STUDENT.