Important Updates to Financial Aid regarding the Big Beautiful Bill

The WWU Financial Aid Department is closely monitoring the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the impacts to financial aid, financial aid recipients and borrowers.

While we have some information, many of the changes still require guidance from the US Department of Education to implement.  Some of the changes are as follows: impacts to Federal Pell Grant eligibility, the elimination of the Graduate PLUS Loan program, annual and lifetime aggregate limits for the Parent PLUS Loan and updated annual and lifetime limits for all federal student loan borrowers.  There are also significant changes to the federal loan repayment programs which impact current and future borrowers or those currently in repayment on federal student loans. 

Changes to Federal Loans

Graduate PLUS loans: the Graduate PLUS program is eliminated, effective July 1, 2026.  Legacy provisions may exist for current borrowers to complete their program of study. We are awaiting guidance on the legacy provisions.

Parent PLUS loans: Annual and lifetime Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan limits are effective July 1, 2026.  Legacy provisions may exist within the guidance for students to complete their programs of study.  We are awaiting guidance on the legacy provisions. 

Limits are as follows:

  • for each dependent student, the total maximum annual amount of Federal Direct PLUS loans that may be borrowed on behalf of that dependent student by all parents of that dependent student shall be $20,000
  • for each dependent student, the total maximum aggregate amount of Federal Direct PLUS loans that may be borrowed on behalf of that dependent student by all parents of that dependent student shall be $65,000 (without regard to amounts forgiven, repaid, canceled or discharged).

Graduate Student Loan limits: 

  • Annual Unsubsidized Loan limit of $20,500 for graduate students (and $50,000 for professional students)
  • Aggregate lifetime limit is $100,000 for graduate students, and does not include amounts borrowed as an undergraduate. 

Total Aggregate Lifetime limit for federal loans: Effective July 1, 2026, maximum aggregate amount of loans (other than Federal Direct PLUS Loan to the student as a parent borrower on behalf of a dependent student), shall be $257,500.

Annual, aggregate, and lifetime loan limits effective date: Loan limits become effective on July 1, 2026, with a legacy provision included for current borrowers to borrow under current limits for the remainder of their expected time to credential.

Loan proration for less-than-full-time enrollment: The law requires institutions to prorate annual loan amounts in direct proportion to the percent of full-time the student is enrolled. Effective for the 2026-2027 academic year. Awaiting guidance from the Department of Education on details on how to implement this regulation.

Federal Student Loan Repayment Programs: Two federal student loan repayment plans will be available to borrowers who take out a new loan on/after July 1, 2026.  Even for those who have previously borrowed federal loans, two repayment plans will be available: Standard Repayment Plan and the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). All borrowers should carefully consider their current repayment plans (if they are in repayment) and the new repayment plans.  All loan repayment is managed via the federal loan servicer.  Please review the loan repayment options at studentaid.gov and the important information about delinquency, default, deferment and forbearance. 

Changes to the Federal Pell Grant

Federal Pell Grant exclusion relating to other grant aid:

Beginning on July 1, 2026, a student will not be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant during any period in which the student receives grant and/or scholarship aid from nonfederal sources, including States, institutions of higher education, or private sources, in an amount that equals or exceeds the student’s cost of attendance for such period.

Pell Grant Eligibility with a High SAI: 

Students are ineligible to receive the Federal Pell Grant if their SAI (Student Aid Index) exceeds twice the maximum Pell Grant award, with an effective date of July 1, 2026.