The new limits apply to periods of enrollment that begin on or after July 1, 2026.

You are considered a new borrower if your first federal direct loan (including Parent PLUS Loan) is disbursed on or after July 1, 2026.

You may be considered a continuing (legacy) borrower if:

• You received a federal student loan before July 1, 2026, and
• You remain continuously enrolled in the same program of study at the same institution. Undergraduate borrowers may change majors and still be considered a legacy borrower as long as they do not change their degree type.

Legacy borrowers may be able to continue borrowing under previous limits for up to 3 academic years or until completion of the program of study, whichever is less. Health Professions students also have legacy provisions for the increased direct unsubsidized limits.

For new Parent PLUS Loan borrowers who borrow their first Parent PLUS Loan on or after July 1, 2026:

• The annual borrowing limit is $20,000 per student from all Parent PLUS Loans received. For example, if one parent borrows $20,000 in Parent PLUS Loan funds for a student, the student cannot receive additional Parent PLUS Loan fund from another parent.
• The lifetime borrowing limit is $65,000 per student

For new graduate borrowers:

• The Graduate PLUS Loan program is no longer available
• Graduate students may borrow Direct Unsubsidized Loans only, up to:
  
  • $20,500 per year
  • $100,000 total for graduate study

Students in certain federally defined professional programs (such as law or medicine) may borrow higher annual amounts through Direct Unsubsidized Loans, but borrowing is still limited by annual and lifetime caps. Affected programs are 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.), Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.), and Clinical Psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.).

• Professional students may borrow Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans up to:
  • $50,000 per year
  • $200,000 total for professional program study

Yes. There is a new lifetime federal student loan limit of $257,500.
This total includes:

• Undergraduate loans
• Graduate loans
• Professional student loans

Parent PLUS Loans are not included in this lifetime student cap.

Beginning on July 1, 2026, an institution may limit the total amount of Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized, and PLUS loans that a student, or a parent on behalf of such student, may borrow for a program of study for an academic year, as long as any such limit is applied consistently to all students enrolled in that program of study.

On June 24, 2026, due to currently filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Education, the US. District Court for the District of Columbia preliminarily stayed part of the U.S. Department of Education’s definition of a professional degree in the Reimagining and Improving Student Education Final Rule. Due to pending Court decisions, the annual loan limits will remain at $20,500 for the following programs of study for the academic year:

• Athletic Training (510913)
• Physical Therapy (513208)
• Speech-Language Pathology (510203)
• Physician Assistant Studies (510912)
• Critical Incident Management & PC in AT (510913)
• Master’s Entry to Practice Nursing (513801)

Beginning July 1, 2026, federal loan eligibility may be reduced based on credit hours of enrollment. This applies to all undergraduate, graduate, and professional student Direct Loan borrowers—Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and graduate PLUS Loans. This includes students borrowing under the pre-July 1, 2026, legacy provisions (limited exceptions) and new borrowers on or after July 1, 2026. Loan disbursements will be adjusted based upon the number of credit hours enrolled as compared to the number of credit hours considered full-time for that student's program level. Loan disbursement is as follows:

To receive 100% of loan disbursement, students must be enrolled full-time during the academic year which includes the following number of credit hours:

• Undergraduates Students: 12 hours per term, 24 credit hours per year
• Graduate: 9 hours per term, 18 credit hours per year
• Professional: 12 hours per term, 24 credit hours per year

If a student is enrolled less than full-time, Federal Loans will be adjusted using the Schedule of Reduction (SOR) formula as follows:

(Number of Credit Hours Enrolled for Academic Year ÷ Number of Credit Hours Considered Full Time for that Academic Year Program of Study) x 100 = Reduced Annual Loan Limit Percentage

Example:

For a graduate student enrolled 6 hours for the fall term and 6 hours for the spring term, and receiving the maximum Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan of $20,500 for the year:

• Step 1 - 12 credit hours enrolled for the academic year ÷ 18 credit hours considered full time = 0.67
• Step 2 - 0.67 x 100 = 67%
• Step 3 - 0 67% x $20,500 = $13,735. 
• Step 4 - $13,735 divided evenly between the fall and spring terms - $6,868 per term

In this example, a graduate student taking 6 credit hours during the fall term would receive $6,868 for the fall term.  In the same manner, if that graduate student takes 6 credit hours for the spring term, they would receive $6,868 for the spring term.

If you reach federal loan limits, you may want to:

• Review your personal budget
• Consider the University's payment plan options
• Explore private educational loans

Our financial aid office can help you understand your options so that you can make an informed decision.

If you have questions about how these changes affect you, please contact the Office of Student Financial Aid & Scholarships. We are here to help you understand your eligibility and provide options for upcoming terms.