Federal Student Loan Updates

For students enrolled less than full-time, federal loan amounts will be prorated based on enrollment level beginning with the 2026-27 award year. Students enrolled at least half-time may still qualify for federal student loans if they meet all other eligibility requirements. Additional guidance on how proration will be calculated is still expected.

Full-time for undergraduate students is 12 or more credit hours per semester and full-time for graduate students is 8 or more credit hours per semester.

This section applies to graduate students who received a Federal Direct Loan for their current program before July 1, 2026. If that applies to you, you may remain under the current graduate borrowing rules for up to three academic years or the remainder of your program, whichever is shorter. Under those current rules, graduate students may borrow up to $138,500 in Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and eligible borrowers may continue to use Grad PLUS for that same program during the transition period.

To keep that status, you must remain in the same program and stay continuously enrolled. If you withdraw, stop attending or leave your program and later return, you may lose access to the previous borrowing rules and become subject to the new limits.

This section applies to graduate students who are already enrolled in their current program but have not yet received a Direct Loan for that program. If you expect to need a Grad PLUS Loan for a term that starts after July 1, 2026, you should review your borrowing plans now. Based on current federal guidance, students who receive a Direct Loan before July 1, 2026 for their current program may be able to keep access to the current graduate loan limits and Grad PLUS eligibility for that same program, as long as they remain in the same program and stay continuously enrolled.

This section applies to graduate students who start a new program on or after July 1, 2026, or who do not have a disbursed Direct Loan in their current program before that date. For these students, the annual Direct Unsubsidized Loan limit will be $20,500, with a $100,000 aggregate limit for graduate study. New graduate students in this group will no longer be eligible for Grad PLUS loans.

This section applies to families using Parent PLUS loans for dependent undergraduate students. Beginning July 1, 2026, Parent PLUS borrowing for new borrowers will be capped at $20,000 per year per student and $65,000 total per student. The cap applies to the student, not to each parent separately, so if two parents both borrow, the combined amount still cannot exceed those limits for that student.

Families who already had a Federal Direct Loan or Parent PLUS loan disbursed before July 1, 2026, for the student’s current program may continue under the previous borrowing rules for a limited transition period. As with graduate borrowing, that transition protection may be lost if the student stops enrollment in the current program. If a parent reaches the Parent PLUS maximum, families may need to look at other ways to cover the remaining balance.

Borrowers with a loan prior to July 1, 2026 will not be subject to the new annual and aggregate loan limit for up to three academic years or the remainder of your program, whichever is shorter.