Students to Service Program

Program Overview

If you are a student in your fourth year at accredited U.S. allopathic and osteopathic medical school, are committed to primary care, and have eligible student loans, you can apply to the NHSC Students to Service Program.

If selected, you can receive $120,000 in loan repayment for committing to serve at an approved NHSC site full time for at least 3 years (or half time for at least 6 years) following the completion of a primary care residency. If your eligible student loan balance is less than $120,000, you can receive funding to pay off those loans.

You will receive four payments, beginning the summer after your medical school graduation and continuing each summer for the first 3 years of your residency.

The loan repayment is not taxable and you may request additional loan repayment through the regular National Health Service Corps Program after completing your required 3 or 6 years of service.  

Service Commitment

Upon completion of residency, you must engage in 3 years of full-time or 6 years of half-time clinical practice at one or more NHSC-approved service sites located in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) of greatest need.

Program options:

  • Full-Time Clinical Practice. The NHSC will pay up to $120,000 for an initial 3 years of full-time clinical service defined as no less than 40 hours per week, for a minimum of 45 weeks a year.
  • Half-Time Clinical Practice. The NHSC will pay up to $120,000 for an initial 6 years of half-time clinical service defined as no less than 20 hours per week (not to exceed 39 hours per week), for a minimum of 45 weeks per year. 

Eligibility

To be eligible for the S2S LRP, all applicants you must be enrolled as a full-time student in the last year of school, be attending a fully accredited school in an eligible degree program, and be planning to complete an accredited primary medical care residency in an NHSC-approved specialty (internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, geriatrics and psychiatry). 

Applying to NHSC Students to Service LRP

The S2S LRP 2013 application cycle opened November 14 and closed December 20, 2012. Get notified when the 2014 application opens. 

If there are more qualified applicants than available funding, the NHSC will prioritize applications based upon:

  • Disadvantaged Background. The applicant must submit certification from a school that he/she: 
    • was identified as having a “disadvantaged background” based on environmental and/or economic factors or 
    • received a Federal Exceptional Financial Need Scholarship.
  • Characteristics Likely to Remain in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). The NHSC will also give funding preference to applicants who display characteristics that indicate a higher likelihood of continuing to serve in a HPSA once the service commitment is completed as outlined in their application essay and letters of recommendation.

Be sure to read the Application and Program Guidance (PDF - 447 KB) for detailed information.

Students to Service Loan Repayment is a pilot program and future application cycles will be based on the availability of funds.