Medical school is an exciting and challenging process, but often the most challenging part is the one least related to your medical school training - managing your school loans. Managing school loans from medical school can be much more challenging than managing debt from other graduate programs, as the medical school training is followed by an internship and residency, meaning that its many more years before you are in a financial position to pay down school loans. There are many ways to manage your school loans however and here are some avenues to consider.

Relationships

The first thing you might want to consider is trying to develop a relationship with your school loans lender when you are taking out your loans. Get to know some of the representatives of the lending agency and let them know what your plans and expectations are. If you run into trouble down the line with paying back your school loans this may ease the process of working with your lender to arrive at a satisfactory resolution. Furthermore, if you anticipate a problem with your school loans contact your lender right away. Your lender is motivated to helping you pay your medical school loans. Putting school loans into collections is not good for anybody except the collection agency. The sooner you approach your lender with any problems, the easier it will be for them to structure a plan for your school loans that you can live with.

Paperwork

There are a number of  extenuating circumstances deferments you can take to put off or reduce the payments on your school loans. However you must make sure you have done all the paperwork properly so your lender is able to understand why you need these deferments and what your plan is once the deferments are over. Again the key is communication. If the lender knows you have a plan for the repayment of your school loans, they will be much more willing to accommodate you.

Resources

There are a number of in person, online or telephone resources you can and should take advantage of to manage your school loans. Your school's financial aid office will undoubtedly be able to offer some useful advice. There is debt management information on the Association of American Medical Colleges website. SallieMae, who you will very likely be dealing with on at least some of your school loans, also has tips and tools for financial planning and debt management on their website.

Medical school loans can be quite intimidating. As the school loans bills mount, it may seem that they are impossible to manage. They are not if you maintain composure when examining your financial situation, keep careful records and have a manageable plan for repayment of debt.