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WV Medical Student Loan

The West Virginia Medical Student Loan (WV MSL) is only available to medical students in the Health Sciences Center who meet the minimum standards as indicated on the application.

This loan is a low-interest, subsidized loan. Loans are given on a first-come, first-served basis, and first preference is given to students who are residents of the state of West Virginia. To be considered for this loan, all requirements must be submitted.

How Do I Apply for a WV Medical Student Loan?

Step One

Read the WV MSL Loan Disclosure for the year you are requesting the loan on our Loan Disclosures webpage.

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Step Two

Accept the loan via your WVU Portal under Financial Aid Information.

If you have not been offered the loan, you can contact WVU Hub to let us know you are interested in receiving the offer. The WVU Hub team will review your account for eligibility and offer the loan if you are eligible and funds are still available for the academic year.

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Step Three

Create an account on the StudentForms website

  • If you have already used this site, you will not need to create the account, and you can skip ahead to Step Four
  • This step ensures that you will have access to your requirements and receive an email to your MIX account when your documents for the next step are added
  • If you need assistance in creating the account, please review our StudentForms Account webpage

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Step Four

Once you have been notified, log in to the StudentForms website to complete necessary requirements

  • If you are a first-time applicant, you will need to complete an application and the Self-Certification form
  • If you have received the loan in the past, you will only need to compete the Self-Certification form

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Step Five

Complete the Promissory Note.

If you are awarded after your documents are reviewed, you will receive a notification to your student MIX account from WVU's loan servicer, Heartland ECSI, with additional loan disclosures and instructions on completing your promissory note. Please monitor your MIX account regularly.

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How Do I Repay My WV Medical Student Loan?

  • The interest rate is the prevailing Federal Direct interest rate at the beginning of the repayment period and shall accrue, except for periods of authorized deferment, from the beginning of the repayment period.
  • There is a twelve-month grace period after the student graduates from a School of Medicine in WV or drops below full-time enrollment. Repayment of the loan begins immediately after the grace period ends.
  • The minimum monthly payment is $50.00 (unless otherwise specified on the promissory note the student signs), plus accrued interest.
  • The repayment period must not exceed ten years.
  • Students may request deferment if they are in a medical residency, internship, fellowship, or required military service.
  • In the event of the borrower’s death, unpaid indebtedness remaining on the note (principal and interest) shall be cancelled.
  • This loan cannot be consolidated.

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Can My WV Medical Student Loan be Forgiven?

A borrower may receive cancellation and forgiveness of the outstanding principal and accumulated interest on the loan in return for the actual performance of full-time service in West Virginia as a physician (M.D. or D.O.) in an approved, designated medically under-served area or in an approved, designated medical specialty in which there is a shortage of physicians.

The WV Higher Education Policy Commission, in conjunction with Bureau of Public Health, shall determine qualifying medically under-served geographic areas and medical specialties in which there is a shortage of physicians. An approved listing of under-served areas and qualifying medical specialties shall be published and distributed to the financial aid officers of each participating state school of medicine. At the borrower’s request, additional geographic areas may be considered by the Policy Commission and the Bureau for Public Health. Among the criteria are such factors as: locations where a physician currently in practice will retire, thereby creating a shortage or a population shift which will justify additional physicians.

To be eligible for loan forgiveness, the applicant must apply annually for and receive Policy Commission approval for practice in a specific designated under-served area or designated medical specialty. Such approval shall include deferral of loan repayment during the period the practitioner is performing in service authorized for loan forgiveness. The practitioner must notify the lending institution of the date that such practice commences and terminates.

To be eligible for loan forgiveness, the applicant must have Policy Commission approval to practice in a specific designated under-served area or designated medical specialty. In addition, the applicant must subsequently provide evidence to support the fact that full-time physician services were rendered. Such evidence shall be presented on a form provided by the Policy Commission for that purpose. The Policy Commission shall be the authority that grants loan forgiveness. The Policy Commission shall notify participating institutions of all loan forgiveness which is granted.

The borrower shall be eligible for loan forgiveness only upon application and upon acceptance of duly certified evidence of full-time medical or osteopathic practice in one of the designated areas or medical specialties. To apply for forgiveness go to the Heartland ECSI website, print the form, and submit to the appropriate official for certification.

The borrower shall receive cancellation and forgiveness of the outstanding principal of $10,000 plus accumulated interest during each period of twelve (12) consecutive months of full-time practice. No forgiveness shall be granted for less than twelve (12) consecutive months of full-time practice.

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