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No-Cosigner Loan for Graduate Health Programs

No-fee loan for grad students studying health professions in Iowa

Application opens in mid to late March!

ISL Health Professions Graduate Loan

For health professional graduate students enrolled in full-time studies, financial aid, savings and other income likely won't be enough to pay all college costs. This no-cosigner loan allows you to reach your goals while you prepare for a career in your health field.

Fixed Annual Percentage Rate

8.35% APR

Residency Option

A reduced payment option may be available once repayment starts for eligible borrowers in residency for their health profession program. During an eligible residency period, approved borrowers will be required to make monthly payments of $251 for up to 48 months. Enrollment must be requested annually.

Eligible Programs

  • Dentistry and Advanced Dentistry
  • Medicine (MD)
  • Medicine (DO)
  • Medicine (Podiatry)
  • Nurse Practitioner, Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration
  • Physical Therapy
  • Physician Assistant
  • Speech and Language Pathology
  • Veterinary Medicine

Applying Is Simple

step1of 3

Provide basic information.

Enter information about yourself and your college or university.

step2of 3

Sign application and submit documents.

Review and sign your application and submit any supporting documents.

step3of 3

Accept

Once you're approved, accept your loan offer.

All the details. It's a simple idea. We think you should know our credit requirements so you can determine if you qualify before applying.


Common Questions

It depends. We strongly encourage graduate students to understand and take advantage of all sources of student financial aid, including graduate unsubsidized federal loans.

To be eligible for this private student loan program, you must:

  • Be of majority age pursuant to applicable law at the time of application or be an emancipated minor.
  • Not have defaulted on any private or government student loan.
  • Be accepted or enrolled in eligible graduate programs at any nonprofit, Title IV eligible, degree-granting, accredited Iowa college or university or nonprofit school of nursing.
    • Nonprofit schools of nursing located in Iowa must be approved by the Iowa Board of Nursing.
  • Be accepted, enrolled or attending on a full-time basis, as defined by the school, and be making satisfactory academic progress in an eligible graduate program.
  • Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident residing in the United States. (Connecticut, Maine and Puerto Rico residents are not eligible currently.) Military addresses are considered U.S. addresses if designated as an APO or FPO.

No. At this time, the ISL Health Professions Graduate Loan is only available for graduate students attending an eligible Iowa college or university.

The ISL Health Professions Graduate Loan is for graduate health professional students. Cosigners are not accepted for this loan. If you have a creditworthy cosigner, consider the Partnership Advance Education Loan as you may qualify for lower rates with that loan program.

To qualify, you must have:

  • A FICO score of at least 660. (The FICO score used is the TransUnion FICO Score 8, which is based on data from TransUnion and may be different from other credit scores. FICO is a registered trademark of the Fair Isaac Corporation.)
  • No more than two accounts reporting 30-day delinquencies and no delinquencies of 60 days or more during the previous two years.
  • No charge-offs, repossessions, collection accounts, judgments, foreclosures, garnishments by credit providers or tax liens.
  • No previous bankruptcies.
  • Not defaulted on any private or government student loan.
  • A debt amount, including the amount for this loan, that does not exceed the maximum debt amount set for each eligible field of study. (Mortgages are excluded from the maximum debt amount.) The maximum debt amount for:
    • Dentistry and Advanced Dentistry is $299,000.
    • Medicine (MD) is $399,000.
    • Medicine (DO) is $399,000.
    • Medicine (Podiatry) is $255,000.
    • Nurse Practitioner, Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research is $221,000.
    • Occupational Therapy is $164,000.
    • Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration is $230,000.
    • Physical Therapy is $169,000.
    • Physician Assistant is $223,000.
    • Speech and Language Pathology is $160,000.
    • Veterinary Medicine is $210,000.

Note: The list of criteria above may not be exhaustive. ISL Education Lending may require you to meet additional criteria in order to qualify for a loan. ISL Education Lending reserves the right to change the list of criteria in any way from time to time.

You may borrow up to the cost of attendance minus other aid each year as certified by your school.

Use the student loan payment calculator to estimate how much your monthly student loan payment will be once you start repayment.

Once you enter repayment, you can earn a 0.25% interest rate reduction by signing up to have principal and interest payments automatically withdrawn. The 0.25% interest rate reduction will apply once payments begin to be automatically deducted. The reduction will remain in effect as long as automatic payments continue without interruption during the repayment period. The 0.25% interest rate reduction will not lower the monthly payment amount but will instead reduce the interest amount that accrues. The interest rate reduction will be suspended during approved assistance or if automatic payments are rejected due to insufficient funds.

Interest that is not paid during deferments or under other circumstances is capitalized (or added to the principal balance of the loan). Interest on this loan capitalizes at the end of deferment periods.

There are no origination, prepayment, late or other fees associated with this loan.

You may qualify for assistance based on your situation. Please call us as soon as possible if you experience issues, so we can help you avoid delinquency.

In the unfortunate event of a borrower's death, Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation will forgive the loan and not require the borrower's estate to satisfy the loan obligation. In addition, if a borrower becomes totally and permanently disabled after the loan is made, Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation will forgive the loan.

A tax professional or the IRS can provide additional information about possible tax consequences of loan forgiveness.

Customer service for all loans offered by ISL Education Lending will be provided by our affiliate, Aspire Servicing Center.


  • 1 This loan offers a reduced monthly payment of $25 during approved periods of residency for up to 48 months. Borrowers are required to apply annually during residency and must meet eligibility requirements (e.g., verification of residency) as outlined by the lender. The $25 monthly payment while in residency may not be enough to fully pay the interest that will accrue. If the interest that accrues each month is more than $25, the amount of interest that is not paid will be added to your loan balance. Your loan balance may therefore increase while you're in residency even though you are making the required payments, which is called negative amortization. Because of the negative amortization, your loan will have a larger principal balance at the start of the principal and interest repayment period than the amount that you originally borrowed. Back to content