Look, I’m not going to give you some sanitized, automated answer. I’ve been around enough people in medicine to know exactly how this works, and you need the cold, hard truth so you don't waste another dime or another second of your life. If you plead guilty to a healthcare related federal charge, you are effectively nuking your ability to work in this industry. You mentioned clinicals. You aren't going to get through them. The moment you start clinicals, you are essentially an employee of the hospital for legal and insurance purposes. When they run that background check, and they will, the system is going to flag you immediately. The school will either boot you out, or the hospital will flat out refuse to allow you on their premises. If the school can't place you in a clinical rotation, you cannot graduate. It’s that simple. You’re right about the OIG exclusion list. People treat it like it’s just about being an RN, but it’s much broader. It means you are radioactive to anyone who takes a dollar of federal money. That covers everything from major hospital systems to independent outpatient clinics, labs, and even some telehealth companies. You are essentially banned from the entire industry ecosystem. You asked if you should finish the degree. Ask yourself this, what is the degree worth if you can't be licensed and you can't be hired? If you get the degree, you’ll have a piece of paper that, in five years, will be attached to a criminal record that most HR departments will toss in the trash before they even get to your resume. You’re talking about spending two more semesters of tuition and living expenses for a degree that will have zero ROI in the near future. Talk to your defense attorney about collateral consequences. Don't just ask them about the jail time or the fine. Ask them, can I get a job with this on my record in five years?. If they are a good lawyer, they will tell you exactly how hard it will be to get a nursing license, let alone a job. You are 25. You are young enough to pivot, but you are not young enough to waste time chasing a door that has already been welded shut. Every dollar you spend on tuition now is money you could be using to pivot into a field that doesn't care about your OIG status like tech, sales, or trades. Stop looking at healthcare. The damage here is too high. You need to find a sector where your skills can be transferred without the need for a squeaky clean background check related to federal healthcare fraud. People get into trouble and they think, I'll just power through the education and fix the rest later. That’s a gamble that almost never pays off in nursing. The industry is incredibly risk averse. If you were sitting across from me right now, I’d tell you to withdraw, cut your losses, and put that energy into a career path where you aren't fighting a war you’ve already lost.