NHSC Loan Repayment Estimator

The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) offers loan repayment to clinicians who serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas. Award amounts scale with the site's HPSA score and the length and intensity of the service commitment. Pick a HPSA score, service type, and contract type to see an estimated award range. These are estimated ranges, not an offer. Verify current amounts and eligibility at nhsc.hrsa.gov. See our methodology for the tiers used.

Primary-care HPSA scores range from 0 to 25. A score of 14 or higher unlocks the higher award tier.

Half-time awards are roughly half of the full-time amount.

Continuation contracts add to an initial award for clinicians who keep serving.

How this estimate works

The NHSC Loan Repayment Program ties award size to the HPSA score of the approved service site. For an initial two-year, full-time contract, sites with a HPSA score of 14 or higher have historically supported awards up to about $50,000, while sites scoring 13 or below have supported awards up to about $30,000. Half-time service awards run at roughly half of the full-time amount. A one-year continuation contract adds a smaller amount on top of an initial award for clinicians who keep serving.

This tool applies those published tiers to the inputs you choose and shows a range rather than a single figure, because actual awards depend on the program cycle, available appropriations, your loan balance, and your discipline. The estimate is capped at your outstanding qualifying student-loan balance in practice: NHSC repays eligible loans, so an award cannot exceed what you owe.

Amounts and rules change between funding cycles. Confirm the current award tiers, eligible disciplines, and application windows at nhsc.hrsa.gov. For guidance only, not medical, financial, or eligibility advice.