CLIMBING MT. DEBT - ACVIM INTERNS / RESIDENTS / SPECIALISTS / ACADEMICS

INTERNS AND RESIDENTS
WEBINAR
Wednesday, June 25, 2025 – 5pm PT / 8pm ET

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LEARN HELPFUL LOAN REPAYMENT STRATEGIES FOR YOUR SPECIFIC STUDENT DEBT SITUATION

ACVIM and VIN Foundation are collaborating on this 2026 Climbing Mt. Debt session for veterinary interns, residents, specialists, and academics, presented by VIN and VIN Foundation Student Debt Education team members Tony Bartels DVM, MBA, and Rebecca Mears, DVM.

Choosing the right student loan repayment strategy for your situation can save you a ton of time, money, and stress — a concept VIN Foundation calls Repay Wiser.

Climbing Mt. Debt - ACVIM Interns, Residents, Specialists, and Academics

1) Climbing Mt. Debt Webinar Recording, 10/21/2026

The webinar focused on federal student loan repayment strategies for residents completing their training and moving to specialty incomes. We covered a lot of ground, from the end of the SAVE forbearance, to the elimination of PAYE in 2028, finding your qualifying forgiveness count via the “backdoor” API, the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), how to use the post-training “on-ramp” to boost your financial wellness, and much more.

A major theme is navigating the transition phases of a veterinary career involving specialty training, particularly post-residency, and strategically utilizing tools from the VIN Foundation Student Debt Center to model future payments and potential forgiveness options like IDR and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), while being mindful of risks like the capitalization of unpaid interest.

Dr. Bartels strongly advocates for maximizing monthly cash flow and avoiding loan deferment during training to secure progress toward eventual loan forgiveness, should you need it.

2) Climbing Mt. Debt Presentation Materials

Review the Climbing Mt. Debt Presentation Materials including clickable links to the resources referenced in the presentation. Think of this as the “slide deck” you can review at your leisure as a quick summary of the webinar.

There is always more content in the slides than we can cover during the live session. Check out the presentation link to review this bonus material.

3) Instructions on how to get personalized help with your students loans

Do you need help with your student loans? The VIN Foundation Student Debt Center and special Student Debt Message Board areas are freely available for any veterinary student and veterinarian looking for help with their student loans and repayment options.

CLIMBING MT. DEBT 10/21/2026

Veterinary Interns & Residents

EXPLORE Interns and Residents

Choosing the right student loan repayment strategy for your situation can save you a ton of time, money, and stress — a concept VIN Foundation calls Repay Wiser.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO REPAY WISER?

Student loans are often a necessity to pay for your veterinary education, but understanding your debt and how to Repay Wiser will reduce your stress and let you get on with enjoying your career and life.
Using the Repay Wiser strategies veterinarians with student loans can answer the following questions:
  1. What’s the “best” way to repay your student loans?
  2. How much should you pay each month?
  3. How long will you be in repayment?
  4. What should you do if you think you’ll reach loan forgiveness?
  5. How can you reassess your situation annually?
You can see the impact of your student loans, interest, and various repayment scenarios using the VIN Foundation Student Loan Repayment Simulator.
Repay Wiser is part of the VIN Foundation Student Debt Center three part series of helping veterinary colleagues throughout their student loan path. It starts with pre-veterinary students learning how to Apply Smarter to veterinary school, continues for veterinary school students as they learn how to Borrow Better while in school, with the final (and longest) journey along the path helping veterinarians Repay Wiser.
As always the VIN Foundation welcomes questions and feedback on all of the tools and initiatives available.
The helpful three-part student loan series Apply Smarter, Borrow Better and Repay Wiser is part of the VIN Foundation Student Debt Center. The VIN Foundation Student Debt Center is a mobile-friendly comprehensive resource helping veterinary students, veterinarians, and those who support them manage student debt through school and beyond. Explore the VIN Foundation Student Debt Center.
VIN Foundation Student Debt Center | student debt help student loan help | veterinary student loan help | veterinary student debt help | veterinary school student loan support
Go to... Apply Smarter
Go to... Borrow Better
Go to... Student Debt Center
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