WASHINGTON โข- U.S. students enrolled in eleven specific degree programs will gain access to increased federal student loan limits, possibly โborrowing up to $200,000, under revised guidelinesโ announced November 27, 2023. Teh Department of Education finalized changes to loan limitsโข forโค programs leading to professions experiencing critical shortages, aiming to address workforce gaps in essential fields.
The adjustments,effective for โthe 2024-2025 academic year,respond to longstanding โconcerns about the adequacy of federal loan amounts for students pursuing lengthy and โฃcostly educations in high-demand areas. the โincreasedโ borrowing capacity is designed to make these career paths moreโ accessible,especially โฃforโ studentsโฃ from โlower-income backgrounds. Affected programsโ include medicine,dentistry,veterinary medicine,and various specialized health professions,as well as fields like speech-language pathology and occupational therapy.
The eleven degree programs eligibleโ for the higher loan โlimits are:
* Allopathic Medicine
* Osteopathic Medicine
* Dentistry
* Veterinary Medicine
* โฃOptometry
* โPharmacy
* โ Podiatric Medicine
* Speech-Language Pathology
* Occupational therapy
* Physical Therapy
* โ Registered Nursing (for students pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree)
Currently, most undergraduate students are limited to borrowing $5,500 in their first year,โข rising to $7,500 in their โsecondโ year, โand $7,500 or $8,500 in subsequent years, depending on their โstatus. Graduate students can typically borrow up to $20,500 annually.Theโ new rule allows students in theโ designatedโ programs to borrow up to the total cost of attendance, capped at $200,000.
The Department of Education estimates โthat approximately 1.4 million students will be impacted by these changes. โขFurther details regarding implementation and eligibility requirements are available on the Federal Student Aid website.