[Pharm27] Grad PLUS Loan Program potentially to go away!!!

[Ter Meer, Brittany]

Hey pharmacy family,

While I am a p4 I still get emails and *your urgent support and action to
help protect federal loan opportunities for student pharmacists
<https://aphanet.quorum.us/campaign/123110/> is needed!*



Recently, the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved
language for an upcoming reconciliation bill that, if passed, *would
terminate the Grad PLUS Loan Program* and cap total federal loans at
$200,000 per borrower, restricting student pharmacists’ ability to finance
their education. *The first round of voting on this legislation is set to
occur by May 28; we must act now.*



Let me be clear: *these provisions will significantly harm current and
future student pharmacists*, pushing many towards private loans with higher
interest rates and fewer protections. Nearly 80% of all student pharmacists
utilize federal grant loans, like those from the GRAD Plus Loan Program
that this legislation seeks to terminate, and the average student
pharmacist graduates with over $170,000 in debt. Cutting and capping
federal loan programs will make pharmacy education an impossibility for
many, exacerbating nationwide healthcare access issues. The importance of
addressing the financial barriers to pharmacy education remains clear in
the actions of both our 2024 and 2025 APhA-ASP House of Delegates, which
adopted resolutions supporting fair compensation, minimizing economic
hardships for student pharmacists, and ensuring loan repayment eligibility.


 *Ways to help: *

   1. *Writing to your congressional members *using *APhA’s Action Center,
   where a pre-written template makes it easy to share your voice in under two
   minutes <https://aphanet.quorum.us/campaign/123110/>*.
   2. *Encouraging your chapter members and fellow student pharmacists* to
   also write their congresspeople by using our pre-written template.
   3. *Alerting other pharmacy organization leaders about the bill* and
   encouraging them to contact members of Congress as well.
   4. *Sharing our call to action on social media*; consider reposting *our
   Instagram post
   <https://www.instagram.com/p/DJXmuqQxHYx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==>*
or
   utilizing *the attached graphics* in your own messaging.



*I recognize that this is a busy time of year with summer IPPEs and APPEs,
and more, so I deeply appreciate your prompt action on this issue. This is
our moment to make the voice of student pharmacists heard --> *



Thank you for your advocacy,


*Brittany T.M. Caskey *
PharmD Candidate 2026
Cell: 919-622-7717
Email: b_termeer0403 at email.campbell.edu
College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://list.campbell.edu/pipermail/phar27/attachments/20250512/ddfdc4de/attachment.htm>