What we know
What we know: New limits on federal student loans are steering many borrowers toward private lenders
Compiled Nov 6
What we know
- New federal student loan limits took effect this fall, including caps on loans for specific programs and limits on parent borrowing.
- Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' capped professional degree programs at $200,000 and other graduate programs at $100,000 in federal loans.
- New borrowers face an overall lifetime federal borrowing cap of $257,500.
- SoFi reported student loan originations of $2.9 billion in Q3, nearly double the prior year.
- Sallie Mae reported graduate loans up 119% year-over-year.
- At least 40 schools have cut costs of some programs since the loan caps took effect, according to the American Enterprise Institute.
What we don’t know yet
- Whether Frabotta's physician assistant program would count as a 'professional' program with higher loan limits was undetermined until weeks before she started.
- A legal fight over which graduate programs qualify as 'professional' extended until days before the new rule took effect.
- Nursing, physical therapy and other fields were deemed eligible for higher loan limits 'at least for now' after a judge blocked part of the rule.
Open questions
- Will the legal fight over which programs count as 'professional' be permanently resolved?
- Will more colleges actually lower tuition in response to the new loan caps?
- How will the caps affect access to graduate and professional programs for low-income students over time?
- What happens to borrowing options once all the loan cap changes are fully phased in?
Drawn from the Associated Press report. “What we don’t know” lists only what the reporting itself flags as unresolved.