BUSINESS OF PRACTICE: STRENGTHENING THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR PRACTICE Advanced Training/Graduate Students
The common “old sage” advice for DVMs in graduate or specialty training programs was to enter loan deferment during the training program due to low income. Deferment allows the borrower to com- pletely avoid making payments and borrowers can indeed qualify under the economic hardship clause to do so, but there are consequences to this choice. Unsubsidized and private loans will continue to ac- cumulate interest in the deferment period and this accrued interest will be capitalized when the bor- rower reenters repayment. With the availability of income-driven repayment schemes, the lower-in- come trainee DVM can continue making very mini- mal payments tied to their income status. This allows the borrower to accumulate time paying on the loan but with very small payments. If the bor- rower is utilizing an income-driven scheme with loan forgiveness over the long term, this is finan- cially advantageous—particularly for those in the
PSLF program with its shorter timeline. With careful investigation and planning, time spent in advanced training programs may even be counted against the years of nonprofit work required for for- giveness under the PSLF.
