Federal Student Loan Changes
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed a reconciliation bill (the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act", or OBBBA) which contains many changes to federal financial aid programs. Effective July 1, 2026, new limits will be placed on federal student loans for Graduate and Professional students. Based on the interim guidance from the Department of Education, we expect that JD students will be classified as Professional students and LLM and JSD students will be classified as Graduate students.
- Law Students Continuing Their Current Program: JD and JSD students who have borrowed federal student loans for their current UChicago Law degree program prior to July 1, 2026 and will continue in that same program into the 2026-2027 academic year may continue to borrow Unsubsidized and Graduate PLUS loans at their current limits. This borrowing option will be available for three additional academic years or until your current academic program is completed, whichever comes first.
- Professional Students Beginning a New Program: Graduate PLUS Loans are not available to new JD borrowers beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year. You will be eligible for a Federal Unsubsidized Loan (up to $50,000 per academic year) and may be eligible to borrow private student loans. The federal student loan professional lifetime borrowing limit is $200,000, and this includes any previous graduate borrowing. More information on private student loan options will be available soon.
- Graduate Students Beginning a New Program: Graduate PLUS Loans are not available to new LLM and JSD borrowers beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year. You will be eligible for a Federal Unsubsidized Loan (up to $20,500 per academic year) and may be eligible to borrow private student loans. The federal student loan graduate lifetime borrowing limit is $100,000. More information on private student loan options will be available soon.
Additional changes from the OBBBA include:
- Continuous Enrollment Toward Degree: For continuing borrowers to maintain eligibility for the loan programs under pre-July 1, 2026 rules, they must be continuously enrolled in the same academic program at UChicago. Eligibility to use the prior rules lasts for three years or until the current academic program is completed, whichever is less.
- Loan Reduction for Less Than Full Time: For students enrolled less than full-time during the academic year, loan amount eligibility will be reduced in proportion to the level of enrollment.
- Repayment Plans: Borrowers with new federal loans made on or after July 1, 2026 are only eligible to choose from two repayment plans: a new standard repayment plan with fixed monthly payments and terms ranging from 10 to 25 years based on the amount borrowed, or a new income-based repayment assistance plan, known as RAP, with a 30 year repayment period and tiered repayment based on income. Students who do not borrow a federal student loan after July 1, 2026 may continue to enroll in the current repayment plan options for a limited time.
The Law School's Financial Aid Office, in concert with the University Financial Aid Office, continues to monitor updates and will provide additional guidance as it becomes available. We also continue to investigate financing options to allow UChicago Law students to complete their degrees as planned.
This page has been updated as of March 3, 2026.
What is Changing
Graduate Student Federal Loan Options
Graduate PLUS Loan Elimination
Starting July 1, 2026:
- New graduate students will no longer be able to borrow the Graduate PLUS Loan.
- Students who are enrolled in a continuing degree program and have had a federal student loan paid out for that same degree program prior to July 1, 2026 will still be able to access federal student loans to cover up to the cost of attendance for up to three additional years or until their degree program ends—whichever comes first.
- This “grandfathering” applies only if you borrowed loans prior to July 1, 2026 for your current, continuing degree program. If you borrowed a federal student loan for a previous graduate or professional degree program and start a new graduate or professional degree program after July 1, 2026, or you do not borrow for your current, continuing degree program prior to July 1, 2026, your loan eligibility will be limited moving forward.
- Additionally, if you otherwise qualify for this exception as a continuing current student but have a break in your enrollment (including a leave of absence), you will no longer qualify for this exception and will be subject to the new Unsubsidized Loan limits as outlined below.
New Unsubsidized Loan Limits
Starting July 1, 2026:
- Professional students (including JD students) will be able to borrow up to $50,000 per year in Unsubsidized Loans, with an aggregate graduate and professional programs borrowing limit of $200,000.
- Graduate students in other programs may borrow up to $20,500 per year, with an aggregate graduate programs borrowing limit of $100,000.
Loan Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
New Standard Repayment Plan
The OBBBA introduces a new Standard Repayment Plan, with monthly payment amortized over the length of the applicable repayment period. The length of the repayment period will be based on the borrower's federal student loan debt:
- 10 years for lifetime federal student loan debt amounts less than $25,000
- 15 years for lifetime federal student loan debt amounts between $25,000 and $49,999
- 20 years for lifetime federal student loan debt amounts between $50,000 and $99,999
- 25 years for lifetime federal student loan debt amounts of $100,000 or more
More gudiance on implementation of these provisions is still pending from the Department of Education.
New Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)
The OBBBA creates a new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan called the Repayment Assistance Plan, or RAP. This will be the only IDR plan available to students borrowing federal student loans on or after July 1, 2026 and it will base monthly payments on Adjusted Gross Income (AGI):
| Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) | Monthly Payment Percentage |
|---|---|
| $10,000 or less | $10 |
| Between $10,000 and $20,000 | 1% of Annual AGI divided by 12 |
| Between $20,000 and $30,000 | 2% of Annual AGI divided by 12 |
| Between $30,000 and $40,000 | 3% of Annual AGI divided by 12 |
| Between $40,000 and $50,000 | 4% of Annual AGI divided by 12 |
| Between $50,000 and $60,000 | 5% of Annual AGI divided by 12 |
| Between $60,000 and $70,000 | 6% of Annual AGI divided by 12 |
| Between $70,000 and $80,000 | 7%of Annual AGI divided by 12 |
| Between $80,000 and $90,000 | 8% of Annual AGI divided by 12 |
| Between $90,000 and $100,000 | 9% of Annual AGI divided by 12 |
| Above $100,000 | 10% of Annual AGI divided by 12 |
The new RAP also:
- Waives any unpaid accrued monthly interest.
- Reduces the monthly repayment amount by $50 for each dependent claimed on the tax return.
- Provides student loan forgiveness after 360 qualifying monthly payments (30 years).
More gudiance on implementation of these provisions is still pending from the Department of Education.
Streamlining of Current Repayment Options
For all students who borrow a federal student loan on or after July 1, 2026: the OBBBA eliminates all current income-driven repayment (IDR) plans as well as extended and graduated plans. This includes students in current, continuing degree programs who borrow a federal student loan after July 1, 2026, even if they are considered "grandfathered" into Graduate PLUS borrowing.
For students who will not borrow a new loan after July 1, 2026: these borrowers can remain on their current IDR plan for now, and the current Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan will remain an option. Those who are in an IDR plan other than IBR will need to transition to either IBR or the new RAP no later than July 1, 2028.
More gudiance on implementation of these provisions is still pending from the Department of Education.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
There are no changes to PSLF in the OBBBA. Students pursuing careers in qualifying public service roles will still have PSLF available for federal student loans.
There are changes on PSLF employer eligibility coming from Department of Education rulemaking in line with President Trump's March 7th Executive Order. Those final regulations were released on October 30, 2025 and take effect July 1, 2026.
Borrowing and Repayment Options Chart from AccessLex
Next Steps
Current Law 1L and 2L JD students
We will send more information via email on next steps for students who want to establish PLUS Loan eligibility past July 1, 2026. We will also host FA Office Hours throughout the Spring 2026 quarter to answer questions and provide guidance on next steps. We will publicize any events on this webpage, as well as through the weekly Student Services Newsletter.
Current Law 3L JD students
We recommend reveiwing our Preparing for Graduation and Loan Repayment website, which will be updated in the coming weeks with the changes from the OBBBA. We will also host a Loan Repayment lunch talk with the AccessLex Institute at the end of April; check the weekly Student Services Newsletter for more information and the RSVP link.
Law School alumni in repayment
There is nothing alumni need to do at the moment. If you are repaying your loans through the SAVE, PAYE, or ICR income-driven repayment plans, those will be sunset by July 1, 2028 and so you will eventually need to switch to IBR or the new RAP. We expect that loan servicers will reach out to borrowers once the Department of Education has finalized that timeline.
Admitted Class of 2029 JD students
Please review the Admitted Students website for more information on next steps in the financial aid process.
Prospective JD students (including prospective 2026-2027 transfer students)
Please review the Loan Options webpage for more information.
Webinars, FA Office Hours, and Additional Resources
We will offer open office hours/Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions during the Spring 2026 quarter to support current students and alumni as OBBBA implementation guidance is released. We will also email information on next steps to current 1L and 2L students early in the Spring 2026 quarter. We will publicize any events on this webpage, as well as through the weekly Student Services Newsletter that is sent to current students.
Additional Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a "professional" program?
At the Law School, the only Professional program is the JD program. All other degree programs, including the LLM, JSD, and MLS programs are considered Graduate programs.
This may also impact dual degree programs (like JD/MBA, JD/MPP, JD/mDiv, and JD/PhD) where one program is considered “professional” and the other is considered "graduate". We expect clarification from the Department of Education in the months ahead.
Can current JD 1L and 2L students who have borrowed opt out of the PLUS Loan exception status?
No, our understanding is that students are either considered eligible for the exception to continue borrowing Graduate PLUS Loan funding or not eligible, and that this designation cannot be waived. Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year, current 1L and 2L students who are eligible under the exception will be able to continue borrowing up to $20,500 in Unsubsidized Loan funding and Graduate PLUS Loan funding up to the cost of attendance for the remainder of their JD degree program. Current 1L and 2L students who did not borrow for their JD prior to July 1, 2026 will only be eligible for up to $50,000 in Unsubsidized Loan funding moving forward.
If this interpretation changes as we receive updates from the Department of Education, we will alert students.
What is the timeline for the changes to repayment plan options?
For borrowers with new loans that are disbursed after July 1, 2026, the OBBBA eliminates current income-driven repayment plans (IBR, PAYE, SAVE) and replaces them with RAP.
Students who borrowed loans prior to July 1, 2026 and will borrow a new loan after July 1, 2026 are limited to the new RAP or Standard Repayment Plan. Current borrowers who do not borrow a loan after July 1, 2026 and are enrolled in the ICR, PAYE, or SAVE plans must transition to a different IDR plan (current IBR or RAP) by July 1, 2028. If no selection is made by that date, they will be moved into RAP automatically.
We’ll share more about RAP and these repayment plan transition timelines once the Department of Education releases more guidance.
I’m a currently enrolled JD student at UChicago Law. What should I expect or do?
If you’ve already borrowed a federal student loan (Unsubsidized and/or Graduate PLUS) for your UChicago Law JD degree before July 1, 2026, you will continue to be eligible for the Graduate PLUS Loan under the exception and continue to be able to borrow federal student loans up to the cost of attendance until the end of your JD program. If you take a leave of absence, that may change your borrowing options and we would encourage you to reach out to our office.
We will begin reaching out to current JD 1L and 2L students in the Spring 2026 quarter with more guidance on next steps to take and things to consider as you decide whether to borrow during Spring 2026 to be eligible for continued PLUS Loan funding under the exception.
I’ve already graduated from UChicago Law and am in repayment. Do these changes affect me?
If your loans were disbursed before July 1, 2026 and you do not borrow a loan after that date, we expect that you will retain access to your current repayment plan for now. Some plans are phasing out and much remains to be determined based on the Department of Education's implementation guidance.
When it comes to income-driven repayment options, Income-Based Repayment (IBR) will remain available if you only borrowed prior to July 1, 2026. The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans are being phased out by June 30, 2028 and borrowers enrolled in those plans will need to switch to IBR before that date or be automatically moved into RAP.
I’m working toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Is that still available?
Yes, PSLF remains unchanged in the OBBBA.
If you are already pursuing PSLF - or plan to - you can continue making qualifying payments under an eligible repayment plan. Just be sure to continue using the PSLF Help Tool to certify your employment and remain in good standing. Future changes to loan repayment options (like RAP) may affect how payments are counted, so keep records and watch for updates.
There are changes on PSLF employer eligibility coming from Department of Education rulemaking in line with President Trump's March 7th Executive Order. Those final regulations were released on October 30, 2025 and take effect July 1, 2026. If you have any questions about these changes, please reach out to our office.