Some Missouri veterinary students to get loan relief

Columbia, Mo.

- A program aimed at helping graduating veterinarians pay back student loans and addressing the shortage of rural veterinarians is getting under way at the University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine.

A committee of five veterinarians from across the state will decide how best to spend the $120,000 allotted annually through the Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program.

The group will determine terms of the loan program, such as how many students will be eligible -- up to six -- and how much each receives, by July 1.

Students then will be selected based on financial need, academic performance and willingness to work in underserved rural areas, with third- and fourth-year students getting preferential consideration.

The program is made possible through state funding. Missouri is now one of nine states with a loan program for veterinary students.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is pursuing federal funding for a nationwide veterinary loan program through the Veterinary Workforce Expansion Grant.