Federal Student Loan Landscape Undergoes Major Overhaul with New Borrowing Limits, Repayment Plans Effective July 1

Sweeping changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are set to reshape federal student financial aid, introducing strict annual and lifetime borrowing caps for graduate students, eliminating Grad PLUS loans, and phasing out the SAVE repayment plan in favor of new options like the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and Tiered Standard Plan. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Education Department's narrow definition of "professional degrees," which would have significantly impacted loan eligibility for many graduate programs.