Minnesota Rural Veterinarian Loan Forgiveness Program

May 26, 20190
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The Minnesota Rural Veterinarian Loan Forgiveness Program was established to provide student loan repayment assistance to eligible veterinarians serving in designated rural areas in Minnesota. Continue reading to see how you can qualify for this program and how much you may be eligible for towards student loan repayment and assistance.

Eligibility?

In order to qualify for the Minnesota Rural Veterinarian Loan Forgiveness Program, you MUST meet the following criteria:

  • Be a current student or graduate of the Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine program at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota;
    • Current Student: must be in the final year of the program and meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress.
    • Graduate: must have graduated within 3 years of the application date.
  • Have outstanding qualified educational loan debt borrowed for educational costs related to the undergraduate or graduate education of the veterinarian;
  • Agree to serve five years in an eligible position as a licensed veterinarian;
    • Service must be in a designated rural area in Minnesota defined as locations outside the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington, excluding the cities of Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, and St. Cloud;
    • Service must be full-time (at least 30 hours per week for at least 45 weeks per year); and
    • Service must be at least 50% involved with the care of food animals.

What is the award amount?

Through the Minnesota Rural Veterinarian Loan Forgiveness Program, you may be eligible to receive up to $15,000 per year for a total of $75,000 over 5 years.

What loans qualify for this program?

The following loans qualify for the Minnesota Rural Veterinarian Loan Forgiveness Program:

• Stafford loans
• Grad PLUS loans
• Consolidation loans
• Private student loans
• Institutional loans
• Perkins loans

Please Note: You must have borrowed loans for veterinary education specifically in order to be eligible for this loan repayment program.

How to apply?

You can Apply Online for the Minnesota Rural Veterinarian Loan Forgiveness Program. Please note that this program is only open during specific times of the year. Please check out the official website to see additional details on how to apply or more general program information.

An applicant selected to receive an award must sign a contract agreeing to serve five years in a designated rural area in Minnesota and at least 50 percent of the veterinarian’s service must involve the care of food animals.

For additional questions, Students should contact the Office of Higher Education at (800) 657-3866 (option 2)

Questions?

If you still have questions or would like to know more information please reach out to us here or you can go back to the Student Loan Repayment Assistance Programs page.