On July 1, 2026, a bill redefining professional degrees will take effect as part of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Its main goal is to mitigate rising college tuition by setting annual and lifetime caps on federal loans for students.
The bill lowers federal loan limits by over 27%. Under the new policy borrower types’ loan caps vary. Graduate and professional students would be eligible for approximately $20,500 in federal loans per year, while dependent undergraduates would be eligible for $5,500-$7,500 per year. Lifetime borrowing caps would be set at $100,000 for graduate programs and $200,000 for professional degrees.
The legislation also plans to phase out the Graduate PLUS program, a program that provides federal loans to eligible students to cover costs that might not be met by financial aid. The change would prevent students from borrowing up to the full cost of attendance. Degrees most affected include nursing, social work and education. Many of these fields face workforce shortages before the bill’s implementation.
“I think the bill will cause there to be less nurses, and there’s already not enough nurses,” junior Taylor Hayes said. “I work in healthcare right now and it’s already a big problem. This will just make it worse.”
Affordability for advanced degrees has become an increased concern for some. Health care professionals are beginning to worry that, due to Trump’s tax cut laws, many students planning on pursuing careers in health care will withdraw from the program due to expenses. This would ultimately lead to a shortage in the medical field.
“My biggest worry is that I’m not going to be able to get a loan for school,” Hayes said.
Projected annual costs for in-state undergraduate students of the University of Iowa in 2026 are $25,000-$29,000. These amounts exceed the new loan limits, meaning students could face funding gaps.
“It just doesn’t make sense to me,” sophomore Dilynn Brekke said. “The bill is supposed to lower tuition for college students, but all it seems to be doing is making it harder for them to pay for it.”
In addition to loan changes, federal funding for certain programs will be reduced. Universities are expected to adjust scholarships and institutional aid in response. Debt relief options for future borrowers will also be limited.
“I hope that we learn something about what college students need in terms of loans as a result of this bill, whether that be because it succeeds or because it fails,” Kennedy alumni Delainey Mann said.
As implementation approaches, universities nationwide are expected to assess how the enrollment, financial aid packages and program funding will be affected.
