women between the ages of 17 and 35 who were in good health and had graduated from an accredited high school. Marriage was permissible subject to individual nursing school guidelines. Successful applicants were eligible for a government subsidy that paid for tuition, books, uniforms, and a stipend. In exchange, student cadets were required to pledge to actively serve in essential civilian or federal government services for the duration of World War II. The corps pledge was a statement of good intentions rather than a legal contract. All state-accredited schools of nursing were eligible to participate in the program; each school, however, was required to apply individually. Of the 1,300 nursing schools in the country, 1,125 participated. For this program, the traditional 36-month nurse training was accelerated to 30 months. Senior nursing students were required to work for a six-month period in a hospital or in another health agency. In return, the federal government would pay the schools for the related tuition and fees of the students. The advisory committee was also responsible for naming the new program. The Victory Nurse Corps and the Student War Nursing Reserve were considered, but both names were rejected in favor of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps (CNC). Housing In its 1940 survey, the Nursing Council on National Defense reported that most of the nursing schools in the U.S. were ill-equipped to enlarge their housing and classroom facilities. In the following two fiscal years, federal aid was provided to nursing schools for nurse training but it did not provide any aid for housing facilities. Even with the passage of the Nurse Training Act of 1943, the problem remained. Some schools were able to rent or purchase additional buildings; those that could not requested assistance from the federal government. Without funds for physical facilities, the USPHS arranged with the Federal Works Agency to allow nursing schools to share in some of the construction funds provided under the National Defense Act of 1940. The two federal agencies agreed the need for housing and other facilities in nursing schools would be based on school participation in the CNC program. The Federal Works Agency would decide where, how, and to whom the aid would be granted. Under the agreement, the schools of nursing that could not otherwise accommodate classes would receive a share of the federal aid for housing. It would include aid for living quarters, library space,