Grad PLUS Loans

Law eliminates the Graduate PLUS program, effective July 1, 2026, with legacy provisions for current borrowers to complete their program of study.

• Legacy Provision: If a borrower has a Graduate PLUS loan made before July 1,2026, while enrolled in a program, the borrower can continue to borrow from the program for 3 academic years or the remainder of their expected time to completion, whichever is less

Key Dates

June 30, 2026: Last date to take out loans or consolidate without losing access to current repayment options

July 1, 2028: SAVE, PAYE, and ICR officially end (pending court decisions on SAVE)

New Loan Limits: 

Undergraduate Programs

• No Change ($31,000 aggregate for dependents students and $57,500 for independent students)

Parent PLUS Loans

• $20,000 per year cap per dependent student
• $65,000 aggregate limit per dependent student 

Graduate Programs

• $20,500 a year for graduate students
• The aggregate limit is capped at $100,000 for graduate students
• $100,000 limit is of graduate loans only (does not include loans from undergraduate program)
• This increases the amount a graduate student can take. The old limit for graduate students was $138,500 total (undergraduate and graduate programs). Meaning if a student took the full $57,500 as an undergraduate, they would only have $81,000 left for their graduate program
• $100,000 is a little more than 4.5 years of loans in a graduate program
• No Graduate PLUS Loans

Lifetime Limits

• $257,500 borrowing cap on all federal student loans, excluding borrowed Parent PLUS loan amounts.