Best Vet School Loans in 2025: How To Pay for Veterinary School

Becoming a veterinarian is rewarding, but the road to get there can be challenging and expensive. Depending on what veterinary school you attend, you could pay anywhere from $88,000 to over $249,000 on tuition alone (even more if you're not a resident of the state).

Fortunately, you have both federal and private loan options to help you cover these costs. Ascent is the best private student loan lender overall, based on its competitive interest rates, generous discounts, and more, earning it 4.9 out of 5 stars.

Here's what to know about vet school loans and other financing options.

Current student loan interest rates

Best private loans for veterinary students in 2025

Why you can trust our Credible experts

The Credible editorial team is independent and unbiased. Partners do not influence our editorial content. To help you find the best student loan for your situation, we conduct thorough research and analyze thousands of lender data points. Using data-driven methodologies, we score criteria that are important to you. This allows us to objectively rank student loan lenders and products. To learn more, read our methodology below.

Methodology

To determine the best student loan lenders for vet school, Credible collected more than 1,000 points of data on two dozen companies and evaluated them on several different categories: repayment options, eligibility, interest rates, loan terms, and customer support. We assigned a score out of five stars to each lender based on our findings. Below are the weightings assigned to the general categories for the best student loan companies — which comprise individual criteria that are also weighted.

• Repayment options: 30%
• Eligibility: 25%
• Interest rates: 20%
• Loan terms: 15%
• Customer support: 10%

While the best lender for you will depend on your unique needs and financial circumstances, these findings should help answer your questions and assist you in your search for the best student loan.

Learn more about our methodology.

Best federal loans for vet school

There are several types of federal student loans you can use to pay for veterinary school, and it's generally best to explore these before turning to private student loans. Private loans can often be more expensive and harder to qualify for, and they also lack some of the borrower protections and perks that federal loans come with.

“Students can explore private student loans, but those require meeting individual lender credit score and income requirements, which grad students might not meet,” says Jack Wang, a financial adviser at Innovative Advisory Group specializing in helping families pay for college.

“The general rule of thumb is to use federal loans first since they offer the most protections in repayment, such as income-driven repayment plans and the potential for forgiveness,” he explains.

The following federal student loans can help you pay for your veterinary education:

Direct Unsubsidized Loans

Since veterinary school is a type of graduate program, Direct Subsidized Loans aren't an option. Direct Unsubsidized Loans are, however. These are fixed-rate loans available to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, and eligibility is not based on financial need. You can borrow up to $20,500 per year in Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and $138,500 in total (including loans you took out for your undergraduate education).

Grad PLUS loans

Grad PLUS loans are another fixed-rate federal student loan option you can explore if you hit your annual or aggregate limits for Direct Unsubsidized Loans. These are open to graduate and professional students and aren't based on financial need. Plus, you can borrow up to the school-certified cost of attendance. However, unlike other federal loans, you must pass a credit check to take out a grad PLUS loan.

Health Professions Student Loans (HPSLs)

In addition to loans available from the Department of Education, you can also get loans for veterinary school through the Health Resources and Services Administration. Schools must apply to offer these loans, and then you can apply directly with your school.

HPSLs come with a 5% interest rate, and interest begins to accrue one year after you cease being a full-time student.

How much does vet school cost?

The cost of veterinary school depends on the school you attend, as well as your residency status in your school's state (in-state vs. out-of-state). According to the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges, in-state residents will pay between $184,698 and $409,455 in tuition and living expenses on average across four years, depending on the school. For non-residents, total costs jump from $252,706 to $456,353.

How to compare vet school loan options

If you need to turn to private loans for veterinary school, it's important to shop around and compare several lenders.

Be sure to look at these factors:

• Interest rates: Rates can vary widely from one lender to another, so it's important to compare rate quotes from at least 3 lenders. Consider whether the rate a lender is offering is fixed or variable. Fixed rates never change, while variable rates can change over time and may make budgeting for your future payments difficult.
• Types of loans offered: Some lenders offer loans for specific programs or students (graduate students, medical school students, or veterinary students, for example). These may be worth exploring, as they can offer helpful perks — like extended grace periods or loan deferment during your residency.
• Repayment terms: Understand how long you have to pay off your loans, as well as what that means for your monthly payments. You should also look into any hardship options the lender may offer if you find yourself in a financial bind (forbearance, deferment, etc.).
• Grace periods: Some lenders offer grace periods while you're in school, allowing you to skip payments while you're still getting your degree. Others may even extend this period beyond graduation.
• Cosigner requirements: Private loans can be difficult to qualify for if you don't have an established credit history and steady income. If you're not eligible on your own, or simply want to get a lower rate, you may want to add a cosigner to your application. Before you do, find out whether cosigners can eventually be released after a certain amount of time, or if they must be on the loan with you for the entire loan term.

Steve Winnie, chief operating officer at private student loan provider Monogram, encourages students to pay close attention to repayment options.

“Pick a lender and a loan product that provides you flexibility in repayment in case life happens,” says Winnie. “What if it takes you longer to find a job than you planned or if your starting salary is lower than you expected? What if you want to complete an internship or residency? Make sure you borrow from a lender that provides flexible repayment options and short periods of payment relief if you need them.”

Your school's financial aid department can also help you determine the best financing options for your education expenses. Be sure to make an appointment with an adviser if you want one-on-one help.

Tips for borrowing wisely for vet school

If you have to borrow money for your education, make sure you do it in a way that won't put you in financial jeopardy after graduation. That means tapping into federal loans before private ones, in addition to following these tips:

Explore options for free money

Grants and scholarships can help you fund your education without having to repay the money. As Winnie puts it, “Make sure you have exhausted every source of free money.”

The Zoetis Foundation/AAVMC Veterinary Student Scholarship Program offers up to $7,000 in scholarship funds, and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation provides multiple scholarship opportunities you can explore. If you're willing to join the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, you could get a full-tuition scholarship in addition to a monthly stipend.

Run the numbers

Use a loan calculator to determine what your loans will cost you — both monthly and overall. You can also use the AVMA's veterinary salary estimator to be sure you'll be able to afford your loan with your expected starting salary.

“Students should be realistic about future expected income, the amount borrowed, and even living expenses,” says Wang. “For example, if a student wants to live in a high-cost-of-living area, but vet salaries don't really reflect that, it would be hard to make the loan payments.”

You should also determine what your future debt-to-income ratio will be based on your estimated salary. According to the Veterinary Information Network's Student Debt Center, veterinarians often leave school with student loan debt more than two times their annual salary. This could lead to financial stress later on.

“Use loan calculators to estimate your future monthly payments,” says Bethany Hubert, a financial aid specialist at Going Merry by Earnest. “Make sure they'll fit within your expected post-graduation income. Ideally, total borrowing should not exceed your expected first-year salary.”

Minimize what you borrow

“Taking on more debt than necessary is one of the biggest mistakes borrowers make,” says Jenny Twomey, community communications lead at Earnest. “Before accepting loan funds, carefully calculate your actual costs for tuition, fees, and essential living expenses. Borrow only what's required to cover these needs, and avoid using student loans for non-essentials.”

Be careful with timing, too. While taking out a large loan at the start of school might be tempting, that may lead to overborrowing — and paying much more in interest over the long term. Try not to borrow more until you need it.

“Remember that you are paying interest on every dollar you borrow,” says Winnie.

Be smart about repayment

When it comes to repaying your loans, be strategic. While you might like to skip payments (and even be allowed to) while you're still in school, consider making small payments whenever you can to get ahead.

“It's easy to opt to defer payments until after you graduate, but making interest or even flat $25 payments every month will save you thousands of dollars over the life of the loan,” Winnie says.

You should also think about putting your loans on autopay once full principal and interest payments become due.

“Setting up automatic payments can save you a lot of trouble,” Hubert says. “It can also save you money. Many lenders, including Earnest, will give you a small annual percentage rate discount as a thank-you for signing up for autopay.”