Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and South Carolina Student Loan team up to help students impacted by new federal loan caps.
April 1, 2026
Students starting their first year of medical school this July face new federal student loan borrowing limits totaling $200,000 over the four years it takes to earn their degrees. Leaders at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) knew they needed to be ready to meet the funding gap some of its students will experience when this change to federal law goes into effect on July 1.
VCOM, the second largest medical school in the country, is a non-profit, private 501 c-3 charitable organization founded in 2003 for the purpose of addressing the doctor shortage that is expected to reach 86,000 by 2036. Its leaders collaborated with South Carolina Student Loan Corp. (SCSLC), another non-profit organization with more than 50 years of student lending experience, to develop an innovative solution to support the funding needs of the next generation of doctors.
We serve more than 2,500 medical students across our campuses in four states. Our students come from all walks of life but have a common desire to serve their communities as physicians. We don’t want the inability to pay for medical school to become a barrier to their dreams or to tackling the national health care crisis.
Dr. Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, President of VCOM
This challenge also created an opportunity for innovation, which brought VCOM and SCSLC together. As a non-profit, SCSLC can offer better terms to incoming medical students because they don’t have to satisfy investors. SCSLC can keep its interest rates low, with our professional graduate student loan interest rates starting at 3%, not exceeding 13%, compared with traditional lenders whose interest rates can reach 17%.
We are invested in addressing the workforce needs in the medical profession while supporting the outcomes of our borrowers, so we were eager to collaborate with VCOM to find a solution to meet the funding dilemma facing some of our future doctors. We want students to fulfill their aspirations through responsible borrowing. Our goal is to meet them where they are and find ways to get them to where they want to be.
Ray Jones, SCSLC’s Chief Product Officer
The SCSLC product also offers merit-based interest rate reductions for students utilizing their MCAT scores. VCOM students can be approved for loans with a FICO score of 600 or higher, which is 40-70 points lower than other lenders. This is possible because VCOM is the only medical school in the country with a 0% delinquency rate among its federal student loan borrowers.
Other benefits for VCOM borrowers include: 5,10, and 15-year repayment terms; cosigner options; a 6-month grace period; and up to 48-months of deferred payments during residency. If students would like to get a jumpstart on paying back their loans, a variety of repayment options are available to fit their financial needs. Another added benefit of securing financing through SCSLC is that when borrowers repay their loans, the money is reinvested into loans for the students that come after them.
This new collaboration allows VCOM borrowers an aggregate loan limit of $350,000, but it is unlikely they will need that full amount. For those without the personal resources to pay for their medical school costs out of pocket, here is the likely scenario for a 2026 incoming VCOM student:
- Total cost of attendance: $92,000
- Direct Unsubsidized federal loan: $50,000
- Funding shortfall: $42,000
VCOM and SCSLC encourage students to borrow responsibly and provide counseling to ensure they are educated about the best option to secure the resources needed to complete their medical education.
The Professional Graduate Loan is not being offered or made by VCOM, but by SCSLC.
To learn more about the VCOM/SCSLC medical student loan program, visit: www.scstudentloan.org/vcom-grad-loans.
