The OBBBA, Reconciliation, and Impacts

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 beginning July 1, 2026. Some of the changes in the OBBBA include:

Grad PLUS Loans: While completing their current degree, students can continue to borrow Grad PLUS Loans, provided they borrowed prior to July 1, 2026. The Grad PLUS program is discontinued for new borrowers beginning in 2026-2027.
New Graduate Loan Limits: Graduate students who have borrowed prior to July 1, 2026 may continue to borrow Unsubsidized loans at their current limits. For new borrowers starting after July 1, 2026, there will be an annual limit of $20,500 for graduate students and $50,000 for professional students. The lifetime borrowing limit is capped at $100,000 for graduate students and $200,000 for professional students. We expect JD students to be classified as professional students and LLM students to be classified as graduate students, but we cannot confirm this until implementation guidance is released by the Department of Education.
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 loans made on or after July 1, 2026 are eligible for two repayment plans: a new standard repayment plan with fixed monthly payments and terms 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 plan These two options apply to any direct loan borrower beginning in 2026-2027; both new students and current students completing their program. Students with no new loans after July 1, 2026 may continue to enroll in current repayment plan options.

Based on current information from the U.S. Department of Education, federal loan programs and borrowing rules remain unchanged for the 2025-2026 academic year and will allow current students to borrow under current loan limits.

The Law School's Financial Aid Office, in concert with the University Financial Aid Office, continues to review the bill’s contents and will provide additional guidance below as we learn more from the Department of Education. We are also investigating financing options to allow UChicago Law students to complete their degrees as planned.

This page has been updated as of November 10, 2025.

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 (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 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.
Much still depends on how “professional” vs. “graduate” will be defined.
If you have borrowed a federal student loan for your current, continuing degree program, we expect you will continue to qualify for the existing Unsubsidized Loan limits along with the Graduate PLUS loan for an additional 3 years or the end of your program, whichever comes first. This is still awaiting confirmation by the Department of Education.

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.

What counts as a "professional" program?

The OBBBA includes "professional" examples like medicine, law, etc, and we are assuming the JD program will be considered a "professional" program. But the definition remains broad and vague, with phrases like “not limited to” and “generally requires licensure.” The Department of Education will have to decide which programs qualify for the $50,000 borrowing cap.

This determination 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 in the months ahead.

Can students opt out of the federal loan grandfathering?

A question we have received is: If I’m in a professional program and eligible for Graduate PLUS after July 1, 2026, can I choose to forgo it in order to access the new $50,000 Unsubsidized Loan cap?

Right now, we don’t know if that’s possible and we're waiting on the implementation guidance to answer this question.

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.

The Law School's Financial Aid Office, and the University as a whole, are closely tracking all of these changes and the Law School will be updating this site to help students and alumni understand what these changes may mean for their financial aid. As soon as we have more concrete answers, we’ll post updates.

In the meantime:

There is no change to financial aid for the 2025–26 academic year.
If you’re starting a new graduate program before July 1, 2026, you may still be eligible for Graduate PLUS under the current rules.
We understand this is a lot to take in, and we’re here to support you as we all learn more.

We expect to offer webinars and open office hours/Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions during the 2025-2026 academic year to support current students and alumni as OBBBA implementation guidance is released. 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

I’m a currently enrolled JD student at UChicago Law. What should I expect or do?

If you’ve already borrowed a Graduate PLUS Loan for your UChicago Law JD degree before July 1, 2026, you should be considered grandfathered under our current interpretation. This means you should be able to continue borrowing 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.

You do not need to take any immediate action, but if you haven't yet borrowed a federal student loan for your current degree program, the new borrowing rules will apply to you starting July 1, 2026. There is time to wait for additional grandfathering guidance from the Department of Education before deciding on borrowing for the current 2025-2026 academic year, so we recommend keeping updated on changes and tracking our updates as well.

We’re also waiting on clarification from the Department of Education about how certain situations (like part-time students or dual-degree programs) will be treated.

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. Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) are being phased out by June 30, 2028 and borrowers enrolled in those plans will need to switch to another plan 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.