by Steve Buckner

Veterinary school student loans got you down?

Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to offer you a helping hand with your student loan debt.

The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) will pay as much as $25,000 each year towards qualified educational loans of eligible livestock veterinarians who agree to serve in a NIFA (National Institute of Food and Agriculture)-designated veterinarian shortage situation for a three-year period.

The 2017 veterinary medical loan repayment application period is now open. For more information, visit nifa.usda.gov. The application process closes May 26, 2017.

Loan repayment benefits are limited to payments of the principal and interest on government and commercial loans that veterinarians received for the attendance at an accredited college of veterinary medicine resulting in a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or the equivalent.

Estimates vary, but the average veterinarian incurs between $135,000 and $160,000 in debt while in veterinary school. Through mid-2015, the VMLRP had assisted 245 veterinarians since the program’s inception in 2010.