Student loan caps could affect grad nursing students seeking ‘non-professional’ degrees
Outside the United States Department of Education in Washington, D.C., Dec. 1, 2025. (WCIV)
(WCIV) — New student loan guidelines set to be put in place by the Trump administration could mean a hit to some healthcare workers, especially those seeking to further their nursing education.
The new revised guidelines would no longer consider nursing a “Professional” degree. Additionally, the new guidelines cap the amount an advanced nursing degree student can borrow to $20,500 per year with a lifetime limit of $100,000.
Those borrowing to pursue what are deemed “professional” degrees are capped at $50,000 a year with a lifetime limit of $200,000.
The goal is to force universities to lower costs on what is seen as runaway tuition charges, according to the Trump administration. However, industry professionals worry it could exacerbate already critical shortages in the health care industry.
“I was frightened as a father, I was afraid, but I had to stay strong for her,” said South Carolina State Rep. Wendell Gilliard (D–Charleston).
Rep. Gilliard has a close tie to the industry; his daughter was a travel nurse during the height of the pandemic.
“There’s already a shortage here,” Gilliard said. “[The new regulations] would make the people who want to advance their career pay out of pocket.”
A shortage in nurse practitioners, CRNAs in nursing education, an issue in the state already, may only be exacerbated, said Lara Hewitt, the senior vice president of the South Carolina Hospital Association.
“You’re gonna see more of the gap in funding,” she added.
But nurses aren’t the only ones affected by the new rules. Also impacted are physical therapists, occupational therapists, health administrators and individuals who work with speech, experts warn.
“It could impact the entire care team,” Hewitt said. “We need all those individuals to be able to fill those care gaps and to be members of the care team. It could open the door for perhaps some of the predatory lending that may be out there that charges much higher interest rates.”
Filling that gap could come at the state level. At the state level, Gilliard plans to write a proposal to provide a windfall.
“It would definitely be more money in the grants to offset anything that the federal government cuts,” he said. “I would like to see that we first recognize that position as a professional position in the state of South Carolina.”
As of now, the changes would not take effect until July 2026.
“We could team up with the state of South Carolina with some of those members of the legislature, and have some of these conversations,” Hewitt said of Gilliard’s proposal. “I do think it’s a doable thing.”
