How Will Trump’s Big Bill Affect Higher Education
Arnold Korotkin
How Will Trump’s Big Bill Affect Higher Education - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/business/trump-tax-bill-personal-finances.html?unlocked_article_code=1.UE8.Wtvg.wZpQzH8GNRIy&smid=url-share
The bill adds limits to student loan borrowing and makes changes to financial aid eligibility and uses.
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Do you plan to borrow money for your child’s college education?
You used to be able to borrow an amount up to the total cost of attendance from the federal Parent PLUS loan program. As of July 1, 2026, there will be a cap of $65,000 per student with a $20,000 annual limit.
Do you hope to borrow money for graduate school?
You used to be able to borrow an amount up to the total cost of attendance from the federal Grad PLUS loan program. As of July 1, 2026, the Grad PLUS program will stop accepting new borrowers, and the remaining federal loans will have caps.
For professional school degrees, you will be limited to $50,000 per year and $200,000 total in most instances, not including undergraduate debt. For other graduate degrees, the cap will be $20,500 per year and $100,000 total in most instances, not including undergraduate debt.
Are you filling out the FAFSA?
The new version of the federal financial aid form that people began filling out in 2024 required them to list certain assets of family farms, fishing enterprises or small businesses. As of July 1, 2026, those things will not be part of the federal financial aid eligibility calculation.
Do you plan to apply for a Pell Grant?
If you are eligible for Pell Grants, you will be able to use them for nondegree programs, like job training, at accredited institutions starting July 1, 2026.
That said, even those who are eligible for Pell Grants will not get them anymore as of July 1, 2026, if a school gives them grant aid that equals or exceeds the school’s cost of attendance.
Do you or your children attend a university with a large endowment?
Universities with large endowments per student, like Harvard, Princeton and Yale, face up to an 8 percent tax on investment income from those endowments. Schools with 3,000 or fewer students per year are exempt.