Federal Student Loans

Federal student loans are offered to Law students who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or eligible non-citizens who meet specific eligibility and enrollment criteria. Funds for these loans, which fall under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, are appropriated by the U.S. Congress, administered by the Department of Education, and disbursed by the institution the student attends. Eligibility information can be found on the Federal Student Aid website.

To apply for federal student loans, students must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to establish eligibility. The Department of Education assigns a loan servicer to the borrower when the funds are disbursed and that servicer sends regular interest statements to the borrower and can advise the borrower when and if interest will be capitalized (added to the principal borrowed balance). Further, both loan programs allow the borrower to pay off the loan early with no penalty.

To finalize federal student loan funding, students must complete both a promissory note for each loan program as well as an entrance counseling session the first time he or she borrows a federal student loan as a graduate student. If eligible, the Graduate PLUS loan also requires a separate application with the Department of Education. The student will be notified of all of these requirements by the Financial Aid Office.

Enrolled students receive an automatic deferment on all of their federal student loans (undergraduate and graduate) and are not required to make payments on their federal student loans while enrolled in school at least half time. An exit counseling session must be completed when the borrower graduates or drops below half-time enrollment. The Financial Aid Office will follow up with students when the exit counseling session must be completed.

You can find more information about available federal student loan options on the Federal Student Aid website.

Federal Student Loan Changes

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (or OBBBA), which contains many changes to federal financial aid programs for new borrowers enrolling on or after July 1, 2026. We have more information as well as FAQs on the changes on our Federal Student Loan Changes website.

New Federal Loan Borrowing Limits

The Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan will be eliminated
The Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan will have new borrowing limits:
- Graduate students (LLM, JSD, and MLS) will have an annual loan limit of $20,500 and an aggregate graduate degree borrowing limit of $100,000 (including any previous graduate loan borrowing from other schools)
- Professional students (JD) will have an annual loan limit of $50,000 per year and an aggregate graduate degree borrowing limit of $200,000 (including any previous graduate and professional loan borrowing from other schools)
New lifetime federal loan borrowing limit of $257,500 (including all undergraduate, graduate, and professional borrowing)

Legacy Loan Eligibility for Current Students

Currently enrolled students who borrowed for their current degree program before July 1, 2026 will retain legacy loan eligibility for three academic years (through the 2028-2029 academic year) or for the remainder of the expected time needed to complete your current degree, whichever is less.

Legacy loan annual eligibility includes $20,500 annual Unsubsidized Loan and the Graduate PLUS Loan up to the remaining cost of attendance.
Legacy loan lifetime borrowing limits are $138,500 for the Unsubsidized Loan (including undergraduate and graduate/professional). The Graduate PLUS Loan does not have a lifetime borrowing limit.

Additional Changes and Considerations

In addition to the above changed loan amounts and limits, the following changes will be implemented due to the OBBBA:

Continuous Enrollment Toward Degree: For continuing borrowers to maintain legacy loan eligibility for the loan programs under pre-July 1, 2026 rules, they must be continuously enrolled in the same academic program at UChicago. Eligibility for student loans under the prior rules lasts for three years or for the remainder of the expected time needed to complete your current degree, whichever is less. Taking a Leave of Absence (LOA) or adding/switching to a new degree program may result in loss of the legacy exception and make you subject to the new borrowing limits. Be sure to contact our office if you have any questions, may take an enrollment break, or may change or add a degree program.
Loan Reduction for Less Than Full Time: The Law School requires all students to be enrolled full-time (9 credits per quarter), so all Law students are packaged for student loans assuming full-time enrollment. If a student changes their enrollment or enrolls less than full-time at any point during the academic year, they will be subject to a schedule of reductions on their federal loan. This process applies to both new borrowers and legacy borrowers, and may require our office to reduce loan funds that have already disbursed to your account, which can create a balance or require a partial or total return of a living expense refund.
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. This provision includes current legacy-eligible students who borrow a federal student loan (Unsubsidized or Graduate PLUS) for the 2026-2027 academic year or after. Students who do not borrow a federal student loan after July 1, 2026 will be eligible for the current repayment plan options for a limited time.

Financial aid packaging and FAFSA processing was paused in mid-April 2026 while our system is being updated to reflect the new regulations and federal loan changes from the OBBBA. We expect our system to be updated and ready to package financial aid and process incoming FAFSAs by late June 2026.

Updated information on changes from the OBBBA can be found on the Federal Student Aid website at studentaid.gov. We have more information as well as FAQs on the changes on our Federal Student Loan Changes website.

Federal Loan Options

Click the link below to review your federal student loan options based on your borrowing and enrollment status. Contact our office if you have any questions.

Note that the federal student loan programs can change at any time due to federal legislation or regulations. The Law School's Financial Aid Office, in concert with the University Financial Aid Office, continues to monitor OBBBA updates and will provide additional guidance as it becomes available.

See the above "Federal Student Loan Changes" section for more information on annual, aggregate, and lifetime borrowing limits.
A credit check is not necessary to apply for this loan.
The loan has a “fixed variable” interest rate, established each year by June 1st, effective on July 1st of that year. (A “fixed variable” rate means that a new interest rate will be set each year, but the rate will be fixed for the life of the loan for any loans first disbursed between July 1st of that year and June 30th of the next year. As a result, this may mean that upon graduation the borrower will have a set of fixed-rate loans, each with a different interest rate.)
The student accrues interest while in-school and during the 6-month grace period after separation or if student falls below half-time status.
The student can either pay the interest while in-school or allow it to accrue and capitalize on the principal loan amount when the loan enters repayment (which means that the interest will be added to the principal balance of the loan).
Each loan includes an origination fee charged by the Department of Education. The origination fee is a percentage of the amount of the loan and is deducted at the time of each loan disbursement. The borrower is responsible for repaying the total sum borrowed.
The loan carries a 6-month grace period which begins six months after the student graduates, leaves school, or drops below half-time enrollment. Once the grace period ends, the student will begin repayment.
- UChicago Law students typically begin repayment in the December/January following Spring graduation.
Multiple repayment options are available for Unsubsidized Loan funding, including plans based on the amount borrowed (or fixed repayment plans) as well as plans based on the borrower's income (or income-driven repayment/IDR plans). Information about repayment options is available on the Federal Student Aid website.

Effective with the 2026-2027 academic year, the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan is only available to students who were previously enrolled in a degree program at the Law School and who borrowed a federal student loan for their current UChicago Law degree program in the 2025-2026 academic year or earlier and do not have a break in their UChicago Law enrollment (other than summers) as of July 1, 2026 or later

An eligible student may borrow up to the difference between the cost of attendance and other financial aid (including scholarships, employer-provided tuition reimbursement, the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, and any other resources available to the student).
Unlike the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, a credit check is required for the PLUS loan and the borrower cannot have adverse credit history.
- Adverse credit history is defined by the Department of Education. The adverse credit history check does not use any kind of debt-to-income ratio or credit score.
- If you have a credit freeze on your credit reports, you will need to lift or remove any freezes from your credit file at each credit bureau before beginning the PLUS Loan Application.
- A borrower with adverse credit history can still borrow the funds with a qualified endorser (co-signer) or appeal the credit decision with the Department of Education. In these cases, additional PLUS Credit Counseling and a new promissory note may be required. It is important to note that the endorser agrees to repay the loan if the borrower does not. The Department of Education and the Financial Aid Office will send the student more information about these options as applicable.
This loan has a “fixed variable” interest rate, just like the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan.
The student accrues interest while in-school and during deferment and forbearance periods.
The student can either pay the interest while in-school or allow it to accrue and capitalize on the principal loan amount when the loan enters repayment (which means that the interest will be added to the principal balance of the loan).
Each loan includes an origination fee charged by the Department of Education. The origination fee is a percentage of the amount of the loan and is deducted at the time of each loan disbursement. The borrower is responsible for repaying the total sum borrowed.
The student will receive an automatic deferment for an additional six months after they graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment. Once the deferment period ends, the student will begin repayment.
- UChicago Law students typically begin repayment in the December/January following Spring graduation.
Multiple repayment options are available for Graduate PLUS Loan funding, including plans based on the amount borrowed (or fixed repayment plans) as well as plans based on the borrower's income (or income-driven repayment/IDR plans). Information about repayment options is available on the Federal Student Aid website.