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 that are set to go into place on July 1, 2026. Some of the changes in the OBBBA include:

Elimination of the Graduate PLUS loan for graduate students.
New Graduate Loan limits: an annual limit of $20,500 for graduate students and $50,000 for professional students. The aggregate borrowing limit is capped at $100,000 for graduate students and $200,000 for professional students, not including any undergraduate borrowing.
Repayment Plan options for New Borrowers: Borrowers with new loans made on or after July 1, 2026, can be repaid using only two plans: a new standard repayment plan with fixed monthly payments and fixed terms ranging from 10 to 25 years based on the amount borrowed, and a new income-based repayment plan known as the Repayment Assistance Plan, or RAP.

Based on current information from the U.S. Department of Education, federal loan programs and borrowing rules remain unchanged for the upcoming 2025-2026 academic year and will allow current students to borrow under current loan limits. Current students will also maintain borrowing eligibility under curent loan limits until the end of their current degree program, as long as they have borrowed a loan for their degree program prior to the end of the 2025-2026 academic year.

The federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program also remains unchanged from the OBBB, though private student loans continue to be ineligible for PSLF.

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.

Any items we have updated below will reflect the date we made the update. You can find the latest Department of Education implementation guidance at studentaid.gov.

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 the degree program ends—whichever comes first.
- This “grandfathering” applies only to loans borrowed 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, your loan eligibility will be limited moving forward (as outlined below).

New Unsubsidized Loan Limits

Starting July 1, 2026:

Professional students (e.g., law, medicine, etc.) may borrow up to $50,000 per year in Unsubsidized Loans, with a lifetime limit of $200,000.
Graduate students in other programs may borrow up to $20,500 per year, with a lifetime 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 changes the Standard Plan's repayment timeline as follows and bases it on the debt amount:

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

The Standard Plan monthly payment amount is amortized over the length of the applicable repayment period.

New Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)

The OBBBA creates new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) for students borrowing loans on or after July 1, 2026, which bases monthly payments on Adjusted Gross Income (AGI):

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).

A RAP student loan repayment calculator can be found at thecollegeinvestor.com.

The OBBBA eliminates most current income-driven repayment plans except for Income-Based Repayment (IBR), as well as extended and graduated plans, for all students borrowing a loan on or after July 1, 2026, including students in current, continuing degree programs.

Borrowers with existing loans disbursed prior to July 1, 2026 who will not borrow a new loan after this date and are in an IDR plan other than IBR, or in an administrative forbearance, must transition to 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.

PSLF Is Unchanged, For Now

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 potential changes coming from Department of Education rulemaking in line with President Trump's March 7th Executive Order. Those final regulations have not yet been released.

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 new loans disbursed after July 1, 2026, the OBBBA eliminates current income-driven repayment plans (IBR, PAYE, SAVE) and replaces them with a new Repayment Assistance Program (RAP).

Students who have borrowed loans prior to July 1, 2026 and will borrow a new loan after July 1, 2026 are limited to the new RAP or the standard plans. But RAP borrowers will not be locked into a 30-year plan and can switch to a standard 10- or 25-year plan if they choose.

Current borrowers who do not borrow a loan after July 1, 2026 and want to stay in an income-driven plan must enroll by June 30, 2028. Those who don’t will be automatically moved into RAP.

We’ll share more about RAP once the Department of Education releases more guidance, including examples of how it could affect monthly payments and long-term costs.

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.

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

If you’ve already borrowed a Graduate PLUS Loan for your current, continuing UChicago Law program 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 the 2028-2029 academic year or until your program ends—whichever comes first.

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 the additioanl guidance 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’ll be starting a graduate or professional program after July 1, 2026. What changes apply to me?

You will not be eligible for the Graduate PLUS Loan as it will be eliminated as of July 1, 2026. Instead, the amount you can borrow in federal Unsubsidized Loans will depend on whether your program is classified as “professional” or “graduate”:

Professional programs will allow up to $50,000 per year, with a $200,000 lifetime limit.
Graduate programs will allow up to $20,500 per year, with a $100,000 lifetime limit.

We are still waiting on official guidance from the Department of Education to clarify which degree programs fall into which category, and how these details will impact dual-degree students. If you're considering a dual-degree program, these details could matter significantly. We’ll share updates as soon as we have them.

I’ve already graduated 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. Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) are being phased out by June 30, 2028 and borrowers in those plans will need to switch to another plan before that date, or you’ll be automatically moved into RAP (the new, and soon-to-be only, income-driven repayment plan option).

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 potential changes coming from Department of Education rulemaking in line with President Trump's March 7th Executive Order. Those final regulations have not yet been released.