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YOUR FINANCES


Financial Aid Changes in 2026-27

On July 4, 2025, HR 1 – Public Law No. 119–21, known as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” was signed into law. This legislation introduces sweeping changes to how students and families pay for higher education. The provisions include the phase-out of the Grad PLUS Loan Program, new annual and lifetime loan limits, adjustments to federal grant and loan programs, and fewer repayment options for new borrowers.

The Department of Education has not yet issued the official regulations that will define how these changes will be implemented. However, the summary below provides an overview of what we currently know—and what is still unclear—about how this law may affect financial aid beginning in the 2026–27 academic year.

For now, please be aware that:

  • Financial aid for the 2025–26 academic year is not changing.
  • If you start a new graduate program before July 1, 2026, you remain eligible for Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans (GradPLUS) under current rules.
  • If you start a new graduate program after July 1, 2026, you will be able to apply for student loans through federal and private lending processes.


Recent Changes: Student Loan Implications for the 2026-27 Academic Year Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans Are Being Phased Out

Beginning July 1, 2026, new graduate and professional students will no longer be able to take out Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans.

If you’re currently enrolled and have already borrowed a Grad PLUS Loan before July 1, 2026, you can continue to access Grad PLUS funds for up to three more years or until you finish your program—whichever comes first.

This continuation applies only to your current program of study. If you start a new program after July 1, 2026, Grad PLUS Loans will no longer be available for that program.

New Graduate Loan Limits

Also starting July 1, 2026:

  • Professional students (for example, those in medicine, law, or similar licensure-based programs) may borrow up to $50,000 per year, with a lifetime limit of $200,000 in federal Unsubsidized Loans.
  • Other graduate students may borrow up to $20,500 per year, with a lifetime limit of $100,000.

Current students already enrolled and using Unsubsidized or Grad PLUS Loans in their current program will keep their current borrowing limits for up to three more years or until their program ends.

In late November, the Department of Education announced proposed definitions to "professional degree" programs previously unclear when the Big Beautiful Bill was passed into law in July 2025. While these definitions could continue to evolve, the first iteration reveals that the programs below are no longer defined as professional programs, but rather, fall into graduate programs. As a result, the programs below remain eligible for aid, but not at the higher federal loan limit (these limits do not impact private lending levels).

  • Nursing (MSN, DPN, PhD)
  • Physician assistants (MSHS, MSHS/MPH)
  • Physical therapists (DPT)
  • Occupational therapists (OTD)
  • Audiologists
  • Architects (MA/MFA)
  • Accountants (MAccy, PhD)
  • Educators (MA, MS, M.Ed., MAT, Ed.S., PhD, Ed.D)
  • Social workers