On July 4, 2025, the听One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)听was signed into law, introducing major changes to federal student aid,听loan听limits, and repayment structures. The 51青楼 Office of Student Financial Aid is here to help you navigate these transitions.
The 51青楼 Office of Financial Aid is committed to helping our students navigate these transitions. We encourage you to stay informed by regularly visiting the .
The following changes will take affect starting July 1, 2026 and apply to the 2026-2027 aid year and beyond.
Key Changes For All Students
- New听Lifetime Loan听Limits:听The total lifetime borrowing limit is now $257,500 (this excludes Parent PLUS loans).
- Loan Schedule of Reductions:听For students enrolled less than full-time, federal Direct and Graduate PLUS Loans must be prorated based on the new legal requirements.
- Streamlined Repayment:听Federal repayment options will be simplified into two primary plans:
- Tiered Standard Repayment Plan.
- Repayment Assistance Plan听(A new income-driven option).
- Note: Existing income-contingent plans are scheduled to sunset in 2028.
- More information regarding the repayment plans can be found .
Key Changes For Undergraduate Students
- Pell Grant Eligibility:听If you receive non-federal aid (institutional, state, or private scholarships/grants) that covers your entire Cost of Attendance (COA), you will be ineligible for a Pell Grant, even if you meet the standard eligibility requirements.
Key Changes For Graduate And Professional Students
- New听Graduate Loan听Limits:
- Annual Limit:听$20,500 (Direct Unsubsidized).
- Aggregate Limit:听$100,000 (excludes undergraduate borrowing).
- Additional information for Graduate Students can be found .
- New听Professional Loan听Limits:听For the purposes of federal student loan limits, students in the following programs at the 51青楼 are considered professional students: Clinical Psychology (42.2899 and 42.2805)听
- Annual Limit:听$50,000 (Direct Unsubsidized).
- Aggregate Limit:听$200,000 (excludes undergraduate borrowing).
- Additional information for Professional Students can be found .
- Grad PLUS Changes:听The Grad PLUS program is being eliminated, except for students qualifying for the Limited Exception Rule below.
- Limited Exception Rule:
- Some students may be “grandfathered” into the old system for up to听three years听(or until program completion).
- You may qualify to continue borrowing Grad PLUS听loans听if you meet BOTH criteria:
- Continuous Enrollment:听You remain in the same program at UCA that you were enrolled in as of June 30, 2026.
- Existing History:听You had a Direct听Loan听(Unsubsidized or Grad PLUS) disbursed for that same program before July 1, 2026.
Note: Students meeting these criteria are not subject to the new aggregate and lifetime borrowing limits during this exception period.
Key Changes For Parent Borrowers
- New Parent Borrowers:
- Annual Loan Limit: $20,000 per dependent student.
- Aggregate Limit: $65,000 per dependent student.
- Repayment: restricted to single new fixed repayment plan.
- Addition information for New Parent Borrowers can be found .
- Current Parent Borrowers:
- Current parents may be exempt from the new $20k/$65k limits for up to 3 years if the student remains continuously enrolled and a loan was disbursed for the program prior to July 1, 2026.
- Additional information for Current Parent Borrowers can be found .
Next Steps & Support
If federal听loan听limits do not cover your cost of attendance, you may need to explore other funding options. Explore the following resources to learn more:
We are here to help.听If you have questions about how these changes impact your specific financial aid package, please听Contact Our Office听to speak with a counselor.
Important Enrollment Reminder