Nursing is a Professional Degree

As HR 1 goes into effect, it includes a strategy to address the cost of higher education by changing the federal loan system. The Department of Education (ED) is tasked with reducing government support for graduate school loans that are not subsidized. The approach includes the removal of the PLUS loan, which has triggered a 1965 definition of a professional degree to become relevant again. This means that graduate nursing students would only be eligible for half the amount of federal loans than graduate medical students. That definition of ‘professional degree’ programs excludes nursing, PT, OT, Chiropractors, and many more professional health care careers, making them ineligible for the higher loan cap.  

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