One of the most difficult decisions for high school seniors can be choosing a college to commit to come time May 1. Some might have their eyes set on the prize, receiving their confetti-popping congratulatory letter; some might’ve gotten deferred or rejected by their top choice, and must now have a second school in their back pocket ready to go; and others might not even have a dream school they’ve been aspiring to attend, which could make matters all the more complicated.
While one of the biggest contributing factors when committing to a school is financial aid and return on investment, student loans flew directly into the president’s radar late last year when he refined the list of majors that are considered “professional,” excluding vital occupations to society from that list.
According to National Nurses United, students pursuing a professional degree can borrow anywhere from $50,000 – $200,000 in aid whereas students earning a graduate degree can only borrow around $20,500 – $100,000 total. And for students attending graduate programs less than full-time will not have nearly as much support to cover their basic needs, and after July 1, 2026, the bill will eliminate students’ access to Graduate PLUS loans as well.
With so many shifts in the political climate, this change to the One Big Beautiful Bill has been buried under the pressing headlines of aggressive ICE raids and the president’s recent attack on Venezuela. But this issue of redefining the line of professional level careers, is one that students and instructors have yet to be more aware about, despite it altering the lives of millions of high school seniors staring down the road to college.
National Nurses United notes that many of these fields seem to be more “women-and-minority dominated.” And without greater access to financial resources, many women and people of color might turn to private loans which are difficult to obtain and repay. “I have concerns about the demographic that it’s targeting,” said senior Shay Field, who wants to study Psychology and possibly get a masters degree in Social Work. “The fact that a lot of the degrees are more female dominated is strange, and it’s also a lot of necessary fields.”
AP U.S. Government and Politics teacher Kenneth Lewis further spoke about the potential dangers of seeking loan assistance from private loans as they tend to be less forgiving. “If you go through a financially hard time, and you go through bankruptcy, student loans are not allowed to be discharged through bankruptcy,” Lewis said. “This is something that you could take on for life, and you have to pay this payment, and it can be really harsh.”
Senior Julia Pentangelo, who wants to study physical therapy, talked about how stressful gaining financial aid will be under this new refinement of majors and the restrictions on student loans. “It’s really important for me to go to an out-of-state college, not only to branch out socially but to experience a different healthcare community. I understand that means that I’ll face higher tuition for public schools, but I trusted that I would get good need-based and merit aid like my older brother did,” Pentangelo said. “Now, the reality is that I won’t, and I’m going to have to adjust and really focus on my finances for the foreseeable future. Especially since I’m going to need to go to grad school, which already gives limited financial aid.”
The list of “unprofessional” majors has caught the rapt attention of prospective students who are also concerned about what kind of precedent this might set for the future. The U.S. Department of Education also stated that 95% of students studying nursing usually borrow less than the annual allotted limit and will not be affected. However, National Nurses United believes that these new limits will definitely make it more difficult for students to chase their dreams in such critically essential fields.
Pentangelo touched on how the diminishing of student loans for specific majors might shift students away from pursuing these fields in college. “College is super expensive, and I know a lot of people don’t even bother applying to schools that they think won’t give them an affordable financial aid package,” Pentangelo said. “The reality is that it won’t be worth it for a lot of people to pursue these degrees when they know they won’t be able to pay for grad school. A future where there is a shortage of any of these degrees really scares me because they are all so important.”
Pentangelo also shares her own personal experiences in seeing how crucial these newly deemed “unprofessional” degrees are to society. “I volunteer at a hospital and I see how important physical, occupational, speech therapy, psychotherapy, and especially nurses are to a patient’s recovery. Nurses are really at the front lines of healthcare,” Pentangelo said. “Shortages in these careers could lead to a serious health crisis in the United States where people won’t get the care they need.”
Senior Bella Snopek, who wants to major in political science, expressed her concerns about the effect this new development might have on our healthcare system as well. “We had a lack of nurses, and it’s been the trend for God knows how long. We need them,” Snopek said. “So if you’re gonna deem these careers unprofessional, people are probably going to stray away from that, and that’s gonna have such a detrimental impact on our society.”
Not only does this apply to nursing, but the idea of losing more people in a variety of fields also bleeds into education and how that fosters growth in the younger generations. “Professions like teaching — we need those, that’s how kids start, that’s how kids grow, that’s how they learn things,” Snopek said. “That’s how they get to the point where they can go into other jobs and continue contributing to our society — looking at it from an economic standpoint.”
This feeling of uncertainty is now starting to fester in the crevices of students’ minds such as Chayse Radcliff, a senior hoping to study Communications. “I think the future is just so unclear because these might be the ones considered [unprofessional] now, but that could change, and obviously we’ve seen how quickly things can change already,” Radcliff said. “So where does it go from here?”
It’s important to note that the Department of Education states that a “professional degree” is defined by its qualifications for higher loans, not the value of the specific programs. But to students, it still feels degrading to hear that their dream careers are now called “unprofessional.”
“I think to hear what you like being [called] unprofessional, it [would] make me feel unappreciated,” Senior Ben Pham said. Pham, who wants to study Civil Engineering, also talked about how when deciding whether or not a major is still worth pursuing, to instead think about “what impact you want to have on the world.”
D’Alessandro also contributed to this sentiment by talking about how students should be able to follow their aspirations and choose a college that aligns with their passions, rather than having to worry about financial aid. She also discusses how passionate she is about pursuing a career in teaching and education, despite feeling that her choice of major is already devalued by society. “Hopefully this new generation of educators, and just like all these degrees that are now considered unprofessional, will show that we are professional — we build the world,” D’Alessandro said.
