Summary
Bloomberg's Liam Knox discusses how the Trump administration's policies on immigration, research funding, and student loans are creating a financial crisis for graduate schools in the US. Wealthy institutions are creating internal loan programs or expanding undergraduate enrollment to adapt, while less prestigious schools face significant financial strain.
- Graduate school programs are under severe pressure due to Trump administration policies.
- Key threats: crackdown on international student visas, curtailment of federal research funds, and new caps on federal graduate student lending.
- International students make up a disproportionate share of grad students.
- Federal graduate student loans previously uncapped are now being limited, ending a key revenue source for universities.
- Wealthy schools like Yale and Harvard are creating their own loan programs to replace federal lending.
- Some universities like Columbia and Dartmouth are expanding undergraduate enrollment as a hedge.
- Schools with weaker brand recognition are moving to cheaper online programs or may face severe financial hits.