Federal Student Loans Used Most by Health Care Colleges
On Monday, the Government Accountability Office reported a much heavier reliance on federal student aid among students attending healthcare specialty colleges than other for-profit schools. The GAO also reports that roughly 1 in 3 for-profit schools are healthcare specialty schools.
The Government Accountability Office reported that federal loans and federal grants account for nearly 75 percent of revenue reported by healthcare schools. Though the revenue from federal aid is limited to 90 percent of revenue, these specialty healthcare schools are still far above the 63 percent average. A law passed in 1998 declares that for-profit schools shall receive no more than 90 percent revenue from federal aid. The remaining 10 percent can come from private loans, private grants and scholarships, or state aid, just not federal aid.
According to officials of higher education, those specialty healthcare schools often cater to students of lower-income families. These families are eligible for more, and rely more on financial aid. This could be why healthcare specialty schools have higher revenue from federal aid reported.
Every year, a mandatory report of a school’s rate is given, called a 90/10 rate. If a school chooses not to report, they risk losing all eligibility of federal aid, and consequently losing all revenue from their target demographic.
Nearly $24 billion in federal aid is drawn yearly by eligible students to pay tuition.
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