On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was signed into law, bringing
changes to federal student aid programs. Some changes took effect right away, while
others are scheduled to begin in 2026 and later. This page outlines updates that potentially
impact your federal student aid, including undergraduate, graduate and parent borrowers,
and will be revised as additional information becomes available.
Have questions on how this may impact you? Contact our office today to speak with one of our counselors.
Frequently Asked Questions
This new law only impacts federal loan programs such as Federal Direct Loans, Parent
PLUS Loans and Graduate PLUS Loans.
CLU still works and processes all Private Loan requests.
Review your academic program and work with academic advising to ensure your coursework
for the upcoming academic year is planned to maximum aid eligibility. In order to
ensure you are receiving the maximum amount you are eligible for, be sure to maintain
atleast full-time enrollment (12+ credits for undergraduates, 6+ creadits for bachelors
degrees for professionals, and 6+ credits for graduates).
For traditional undergraduate students and Bachelor's Degree for Professionals students
Pell Grant Eligibility
The biggest impacts to your federal aid will be how your Pell Grant eligibility is
calculated and the requirements to receive your full loan amounts. Pell Grant eligibility
is now more closely tied to your Student Aid Index (SAI), which means aid is more
strictly based on your family’s financial situation reported on your FAFSA.
What impact does this have?
You might receive a smaller Pell Grant than expected
You may no longer qualify for the Pell Grant despite receiving it in previous years
If your costs are already fully covered by other scholarships, you may not receive
Pell funds
Loan Eligibility
Another change to pay attention to is your enrollment status. Previously, in order
to eligible for federal student loans, you needed to maintain atleast a half-time
enrollment status. With OBBBA, your federal loan eligibility is directly tied to the
number of credits you are enrolled in.
For the 2026-2027 year, in order to receive the full annual federal loan amount, students mustbe full-time. If you enroll in less than 12-credits (full-time), there will be a scheduled
reduction of your loan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Starting with the 2026-2027 academic year, all federal loans are subject to a
scheduled reduction (SOR) for students who are not enrolled atleast full-time (12+
credits for traditional undergraduate students, 6+ credits for bachelors degrees for
professional students).
Keep in mind: Your aid is more closely tied to both your family's reported income and how many classes
you take, so small changes can have a bigger impact.
Parent PLUS Loans
For parents of traditional undergraduate students
New federal rules will change how much parents can borrow through the Parent PLUS
Loan program, as well as the repayment options available for those loans. These changes
do not affect how much undergraduate students can borrow through their own federal loans.
Under the new law, Parent PLUS Loans will be limited to:
$20,000 per year, and
$65,000 total per student
However, there is a temporary exception for families with students who are already
enrolled.
To qualify for the temporary exception, the student must:
Remain continuously enrolled in the same program at the same school they were attending
as of June 30, 2026
In addition, one of the following must be true:
The parent previously received a Parent PLUS Loan for that student’s program before July 1, 2026, OR
The student received a federal Direct Loan (subsidized or unsubsidized) for that program
before July 1, 2026
If the above conditions are met, the new loal limits will not apply right way under
the limited exception. Parents who qualify will be able to continue borrowing under
the current rules for up to three years or until their student finishes their program
(whiever happens first). In order to remain continuously eligible for the limited
exception, the student must stay continously enrolled in their program (no full withdraws
or unapproved breaks).
To learn more about important updates that parents need to know, please review this handout.
Frequently Asked Questions
New borrowers are students who do not qualify for the legacy loan provision described
below.
A student may qualify for the legacy loan provision if, prior to July 1, 2026, the
student (or a parent on the student’s behalf) borrowed a Direct Loan while the student:
was enrolled in a degree program at CLU;
will continue in the same program during the Fall 2026 term; and
is progressing toward completion within the program’s published length, as determined
by the academic program at CLU.*
Under the legacy loan provision, borrowers may remain eligible for up to three additional
academic years or through the remainder of the program’s published length—whichever
period is shorter. Eligibility under this provision will not extend beyond June 30,
2029.
* Contact your academic advisor if you have questions about, or are unsure of, your
program’s published length.
If you or your student received a Federal Direct Loan (subsidized, unsubsidized, or
Parent PLUS) before July 1, 2026, while the your student was enrolled in a program
of study at CLU, you may continue borrowing under the current loan limits for up to
three additional academic years or through the remainder of your student’s expected
time to credential, whichever is shorter.
In other words, the legacy provision applies to undergraduate students and parent
borrowers who had any type of Direct Loan disbursed and applied to the student’s CLU
tuition account before July 1, 2026. As long as the student remains enrolled at CLU
in an undergraduate degree-seeking program, parent borrowers may continue to access
current loan limits for up to three additional academic years or for the remainder
of the program’s published length—whichever period is shorter.
As long as the student remains continuously enrolled in the same degree level (for
example, a bachelor’s degree program), changing majors will not affect eligibility
under the legacy provision. In these cases, the provision will continue to apply for
up to three academic years or through the student’s remaining expected time to credential,
whichever is shorter.
Example 1: A current CLU student changes majors from English (Bachelor of Arts) to Engineering
(Bachelor of Science). Because the student remains enrolled in a bachelor’s degree
program, the change in major does not affect eligibility for the parent PLUS legacy
loan provision. The student is still considered enrolled in the same program of study
for purposes of the provision.
Example 2: A current CLU student enters as an undeclared bachelor’s student and later declares
a major in Exercise Science. Because the student remains enrolled in a bachelor’s
degree program at CLU, they are considered to be continuing in the same program of
study, and the parent PLUS legacy loan provision continues to apply.
Example 3: A current CLU student enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program transfers to another
institution to complete their degree beginning in the 2026–2027 academic year. Although
the student remains in the same degree level, the student is no longer enrolled at
CLU. As a result, the parent PLUS legacy loan provision no longer applies, and the
parent borrower would be considered a new borrower subject to the new borrowing limits.
Yes. If a student ceases enrollment for any period of time (official or unofficial),
parents will be considered new borrowers subject to the new loan limits once the student
returns.
To maintain eligibility for the Parent PLUS Loan legacy provision, students must maintain
enrollment for each of the required terms in their program (fall and spring). Summer
is treated as an optional term for undergraduate students.
Parent PLUS loam limits under the new borrowing guidelines ($20,000 per year, $65,000
aggregate amount) are per student, not per family.
No. To be eligible for the Graduate PLUS legacy provision, you must borrow a graduate-level
loan and have it disbursed to your account prior to July 1, 2026.
Keep in mind: Parent loans are no longer an unlimited backup option for all borrowers, so it’s
important to understand costs early and have a plan in place.
Graduate Loans
For all graduate students
With the OBBBA, federal loans for graduate students have new lifetime limits based
on program type. This means that there is now a maximum total amount you can borrow,
no matter how expensive your program is.
What this could mean for you:
You may not be able to borrow enough federal student loans to cover your full cost
of attendance
Once you reach your limit, you cannot borrow more in federal loans
To learn more about important updates that Graduate students need to know, please
review this handout
To learn more about important updates that PsyD students need to know, please review this handout
Frequently Asked Questions
New borrowers are students who do not qualify for the legacy loan provision described
below.
A student may qualify for the legacy loan provision if, prior to July 1, 2026, the
student borrowed a Direct Loan while the student:
was enrolled in a degree program at CLU;
will continue in the same program during the Fall 2026 term; and
is progressing toward completion within the program’s published length, as determined
by the academic program at CLU.*
Under the legacy loan provision, borrowers may remain eligible for up to three additional
academic years or through the remainder of the program’s published length—whichever
period is shorter. Eligibility under this provision will not extend beyond June 30,
2029.
* Contact your academic advisor if you have questions about, or are unsure of, your
program’s published length.
"Program of study" refers to the program you are enrolled in while in pursuit of your
graduate degree.
The only Profressional Degree offered at CLU is the Doctorate in Psychology (PsyD)
program.
If a borrower has received a Federal Direct Loan prior to July 1, 2026, while enrolled
in their program of study, the borrower can continue to borrow Graduate PLUS Loans
for up to 3 additional academic years, or the remainder of their expected time to
credential, whichever is less but not to exceed June 30, 2029.
In other words, the legacy provision applies to graduate students who borrow a Direct
Loan of any type and have it disbursed to their CLU account before July 1, 2026. As
long as the student remains enrolled in the same program of study at CLU, they may
continue borrowing for up to three additional academic years, or for the remainder
of the program’s published length—whichever is shorter.
Yes. If you withdraw or cease enrollment for any required term, you will be considered
a new borrower upon your return and will be subject to the following borrowing limits:
Graduate degree programs: $20,500 per academic year, $100,000 graduate aggregate limit, $257,500 lifetime aggregate
limit (includes undergraduate and Grad PLUS borrowing). Not eligible for Grad PLUS
loan program.
Professional degree progtams: $50,00 per academic year $200,000 prof. aggregate limit, $257,500 lifetime aggregate
limit (includes undergraduate and Grad PLUS borrowing). Not eligible for Grad PLUS
loan program.
To maintain eligibility, you must maintain enrollment for all required terms associated
with your program - if summer is a required term, you must maintain enrollment to
keep your legacy loan provision.
Annual loan limit: Total Direct loan amount a student can receive in a academic year based on degree
type.
Aggregate loan limit: The maximum amount a student can receive in Direct loans as a graduate or professional
student.
Lifetime aggregate loan limit: The combined total amount of undergraduate and graduate loans a student received
under the Direct and/or FFEL loan programs (including Grad PLUS loan debt). Combined
total includes loans forgiven, repaid, and discharged.
Keep in mind: Your federal loan eligibility will be based on your program. Use our tool to determine which federal loan limits apply to you.
Loan Repayment (All Federal Loan Borrowers)
For any federal loans (Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS Loan, or Grad PLUS Loan)
borrowed on or after July 1st, 2026, only two repayment plans will be available:
A standard repayment plan with fixed monthly payments
A single income-based repayment plan (RAP) tied to your earnings
Have more questions on what these changes mean for your aid? Visit the One Big Beautiful Bill Act webpage on the Federal Student Aid website to learn more.