Federal Student Loan Program Changes

Beginning July 1, 2026, loan limits will be prorated depending on enrollment level, similar to grant funding. This means new borrowers enrolled less than full time will only be able to borrow loan amounts in direct proportion to their credit load, with a minimum half-time enrollment requirement. We will receive further information from the Department of Education regarding exact proration amounts. 

All Student Loans

Effective July 1, 2026, the One Big Beautiful Bill enacts a $257,500 lifetime borrowing limit on all federal student loans, total. This does not include Parent PLUS loans, which are borrowed by parents on their student’s behalf.

Graduate and Professional Students

The following loan limits apply to all student borrowers who are not already active borrowers under the federal student loan program:

The individual graduate and professional limits do not reset when you begin a new degree or program and there is a $200,000 total aggregate lifetime limit. For example, a student who borrows the total aggregate $100,000 to complete their graduate degree will only have $100,000 left in eligibility should they later decide to enroll in a professional program.

 Legacy Provision: You may borrow under previous limits if you have had a federal student loan disbursed before July 1, 2026, while enrolled in the qualified program of study. This legacy provision lasts for three years or until you complete your qualified program of study, whichever comes sooner. The legacy provision does not apply if you change programs. Students under the legacy provision do not qualify for the new borrowing limits effective July 1, 2026, because they are grandfathered under the old rules.

Definition of Graduate and Professional Degrees: Under the new regulations, professional degrees are largely limited to: Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.), Law (L.L.B. or J.D.), Medicine (M.D.), Optometry (O.D.), Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod. D.), Clinical Psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.), and Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.). All other programs are considered graduate degrees for the purposes of these regulations and are subject to the limits listed above.

Beginning July 1, 2026, Parent PLUS loans will be capped at $20,000 per year with a $65,000 aggregate (lifetime) limit. Previously, Parent PLUS Loans had no cap and could be taken out for whatever amount was needed up to the student’s total cost of attendance.

• These limits are per dependent student, meaning parents with multiple dependent students can take out these limits in total for each student.
• The number of parent borrowers does not change the limits, as they are tied to the student. So, if a student has two parents who wish to borrow on their behalf, no more than $20,000 per year and $65,000 total may be taken out.

Legacy Provision: If a student has received a Parent PLUS Loan disbursement before July 1, 2026, while enrolled in the qualifying program, the parent borrower may continue borrowing PLUS loans under previous loan limits for three academic years or until the student completes their program, whichever is sooner. The legacy provision does not apply if the student changes programs.

The following Pell changes take effect beginning July 1, 2026:

• Students meeting or exceeding their full cost of attendance with scholarship/waiver aid will not be eligible for any amount of Pell Grant. This is a change from previous regulations, which allowed students in some circumstances to be fully funded with scholarship aid and still received their Federal Pell Grant. 
• Students whose Student Aid Index (SAI) is at least two times the current Pell Grant maximum of $7,395 will not be eligible for the Pell Grant. Example: For 2026-27, that would equal an SAI of $14,790.