One Big Beautiful Bill Act

President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law on July 4, 2025. While major elements—such as changes to federal student loans, eligibility caps, and new accountability measures—are now legally effective July 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education has not yet released detailed implementation guidelines. We are closely monitoring policy updates, regulatory guidance, and FAQs, and will continue to update this page as information becomes available.

As of December 2025, here is what we know:
 

Graduate PLUS Loans

  • This program is being phased out beginning July 1, 2026, and the program will not be available for new borrowers (i.e., students who have not borrowed federal loans in their current graduate program).
  • For those who have borrowed federal loans for their current graduate program, you may have continued eligibility to borrow a Graduate PLUS Loan for the lesser of the next three academic years or until you complete your current graduate program.

 

New Loan Limits for Professional Students

  • Professional students may borrow up to $50,000 annually from the Unsubsidized loan program. As of December 2025, the following programs at UConn are considered professional per the proposed federal definition: Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Dental Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy, and Juris Doctor.
  • A new lifetime borrowing limit of $200,000 for professional study.

 

New Lifetime Loan Limit for Graduate Students

  • All other graduate programs have an annual loan limit of $20,500, which remains unchanged from prior years.
  • A new lifetime borrowing limit of $100,000 for graduate study.

 

New Parent PLUS Loan Limits

  • Starting July 1, 2026, Parent PLUS Loans will be capped at $20,000 per student per academic year.
  • A new lifetime borrowing limit of $65,000 per dependent student, meaning your parent(s) may only borrow a maximum of $65,000 from the Parent PLUS program over the entirety of your education.
  • Existing Parent PLUS borrowers may continue to borrow on behalf of your education for the lesser of the next three academic years or until you complete your degree program and will not be subject to the new limits.

 

Loan Reduction for Part-Time Enrollment

  • Beginning July 1, 2026, a new loan reduction schedule will be in effect.
  • Students at all grade levels, who enroll in credits deemed less than the full-time minimum (9 credits for Graduate/Professional except for Pharmacy and 12 credits for undergraduates/Pharmacy) may have their loans prorated. Loans are no longer tied to enrollment status, but now must be prorated based on credits, similar to the Federal Pell Grant program.

 
Our office anticipates receiving more detailed information in Spring 2026 and will update this page once it is made available.