Individualized, online educational debt counseling increases confidence in new graduates’ student loan management

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether VIN Foundation student debt counseling of newly graduated veterinarians impacts financial behavior and reduces stress associated with student debt management. SAMPLES: 143 class of 2021 newly graduated veterinarians. METHODS: Participants, randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, first completed a pre-study survey to assess their attitudes towards personal finance, their perceived importance of various components of financial well-being, their self-reported personal finance proficiency and behaviors, their student loan repayment priorities, intended strategy, and monthly repayment, and their satisfaction with the veterinary profession. The experimental group then received individual student loan counseling with a VIN Foundation counselor via an online questionnaire and message board. The control group received no counseling. Both groups completed a post-study survey concurrently at the conclusion of the study. RESULTS AND RELEVANCE: Approximately half of all participants chose income-driven repayment plans, whose lower monthly payments confer less cash flow risk in the volatile period after graduation. Some in the experimental group remained with riskier time-driven plans due to non-financial factors. The VIN Foundation student loan counseling correlated positively with the experimental group gaining confidence in their student loan repayment plans and their financial satisfaction, proficiency, and budgeting behaviors. The counseling also received high scores for satisfaction with the service. The persistently ambivalent feelings about the profession by study participants suggest a need for further study and solutions for the comprehensive well-being of new graduate veterinarians.