Boston University Medical Campus
Student Financial Services

Primary Care Funding

BUMC has joined the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a pool of loans and scholarships to provide medical students the opportunity to pursue studies and a practice in primary care. A student awarded primary care loans and/or scholarships must schedule an appointment with a member of the SFS staff to discuss the suitability of this award relative to their professional goals. The interview is designed to confirm the student’s decision, to discuss further details of the award, to clarify questions and to affirm understanding of the seriousness of this commitment.

Primary Care Loans (PCL) [MED] – This federal loan program provides loans to those students who will make a commitment to practice primary care. Primary care as defined by HHS includes family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, preventive medicine or osteopathic general medicine. The loan is interest-free while the student is in school and residency and has a 5% interest rate during repayment. The terms of repayment and deferment are the same as the Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) program listed in our Need-Based Loans section. Should a PCL recipient fail to enter and complete a primary health care residency within four years of graduation and to practice primary health care until the loan is paid in full, repayment will begin on the date of the breach of agreement. The interest rate will change to 18% until the loan is paid in full.

BUSM Primary Care Loans [MED] – Institutional primary care loans are made at lower interest rates and allow more provisions for deferments than other institutional loans. Primary care loan fund recipients will be expected to borrow less market-rate money than will other financial aid recipients. Nevertheless, while it is designed to benefit primary care students, the BUSM Primary Care Pool does not reduce student aid resources for other needy students. Included in the BUMC pool of Primary Care Loans are the John I. Sandson Student Revolving Loan, the John and Hannah Sandson Student Revolving Loan, the Robert Wood Johnson Primary Care Loan, and the Ruth M. Batson Primary Care Loan.

More information about the Primary Care programs is available in the SFS handbooks and on our School of Medicine Primary Care Programs website section.

RELATED LINKS