How graduate loan limits will change under the GOP spending bill

Taking out federal loans for graduate school, law school and med school will look different next year as a result of changes implemented in President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.”

The bill increases federal loan limits for some students and decreases limits for others. It also axes the Grad PLUS program that allowed graduate students to borrow up to the full cost of their education.

Some worry that the changes could usher in enrollment declines or strains on affordability, but nothing yet is set in stone.

The Grad PLUS program allows students to take out additional, credit-based loans with higher interest rates and without a borrowing limit. If students qualified for these loans, they could borrow up to the full cost of their education. This program will end in July 2026.

During the 2023-24 school year, 442,000 graduate students borrowed through the Grad PLUS program, compared to 353,000 students in 2013-14, according to data from the Council on Graduate Schools, a nonprofit that advocates for graduate education and research.

CGS offers a website called GradSense that helps students navigate different graduate programs and costs.

Ending Grad PLUS and reducing graduate loan limits could impact students in longer or more expensive programs, said Kelley Karnes, CGS spokeswoman. She said she believes more students may need to turn to private loans to pay for their educations.

“We think this will negatively impact low-income students — people who want to pursue these degrees and jobs, and now they just can’t,” Ms. Karnes said.