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Undergraduate Students

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Federal Pell Grant Changes

• Students are not eligible for a Federal Pell Grant if their Student Aid Index (SAI) exceeds twice the maximum Pell Grant award ($7395 for the 2026-2027 academic year)
• Students who receive grants or scholarships from non-federal sources covering their entire cost of attendance (COA) are ineligible to receive a Pell grant, even if otherwise eligible.

Federal Direct Loan Changes

• Students enrolled less-than-full-time (under 12 credit hours for undergraduate students) will have their subsidized and unsubsidized loans reduced based on their percentage of enrollment.
• New Federal PLUS borrowers are subject to the following limits:
  • Annual limit: $20,000 per dependent student.
  • Lifetime limit: $65,000 for each dependent student.
• These limits apply per student, regardless of the number of parents borrowing. For example, two parents borrowing for the same student are capped at $20,000 total for the academic year.
• Students whose parents have reached the $65,000 lifetime limit are not eligible to borrow additional funds under independent undergraduate student limits.
  • Legacy Provision: Parent PLUS loan borrowers who have borrowed for a student prior to July 1, 2026, can continue to borrow up to the student’s COA, minus other aid, for up to three academic years or until the student completes their original degree, whichever is less. There is no lifetime limit for legacy borrowers.

FAFSA Changes

• Family-owned small business/farm assets do not need to be reported on the 2026-2027 FAFSA.
• Foreign income will be included in the adjusted gross income (AGI) when determining Pell Grant eligibility.

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Graduate Students

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Federal Direct Loan Changes

• Students enrolled less-than-full-time (under 9 credit hours for graduate students) will have their subsidized and unsubsidized loans reduced based on their percentage of enrollment.
• The Graduate PLUS loan has been eliminated and will no longer be available to new graduate degree students and new Direct Loan borrowers.
  • Legacy Provision: Graduate PLUS loan borrowers who have borrowed prior to July 1, 2026, can continue to borrow under the Graduate PLUS program for up to three academic years or until the student completes their original degree, whichever is less.
• New graduate direct loan borrowers are subject to a new lifetime limit of $100,000, which does not include any amount borrowed as an undergraduate student.
  • Legacy Provision: Students who have borrowed prior to July 1, 2026 are not subject to the new loan limits for up to three academic years or until the student completes their original degree, whichever is less.Ìý

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All Students

• The maximum lifetime aggregate per student borrower will be $257,500. This includes subsidized, unsubsidized, and graduate PLUS loans.Ìý
  • Legacy Provision: Students who have borrowed prior to July 1, 2026 are not subject to the new loan limits for up to three academic years or until the student completes their original degree, whichever is less.