JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Dr. Merrill Townley Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program was established to assist students currently enrolled or students that have been accepted into the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine with their financial burden. The loan provides up to $20,000 for living and educational expenses incurred during their veterinary education process for six individuals per academic year. The loans are forgiven provided the students practice large animal veterinary medicine in a defined area of need ($20,000 for each year of service provided).
Since the program’s inception in FY09, the Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program has awarded scholarships to 30 individuals and has invested nearly $1 million. Six of the recipients are still in school, and of the remaining 24 recipients, 22 are practicing vets in Missouri. The majority of those practicing are large animal veterinarians in rural communities. That goes to show that this program is achieving its mission of recruiting veterinarians to live, work and become invested in rural communities.
— Missouri Department of Agriculture
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