The One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced updates to how federal student loans work. These changes are in effect July 1, 2026 and include:

• All students taking less than a full-time course load will have prorated loans, meaning you will not receive the maximum loan amount that you may have previously received. For instance, as an undergraduate student taking 6 credits — a part-time course load — you may only receive about half the amount in loans you may have received the previous year before the rule changes.
• Annual and lifetime federal loan borrowing limits will apply to new undergraduate, graduate and Parent PLUS borrowers. If you previously enrolled in a program and received a federal loan for it, then you may qualify for legacy borrowing rules for up to three academic years or until you complete the program, whichever occurs first.

Learn more about these changes here.

For federal aid purposes, students under 24 years old who are single and have no children are considered dependent. Learn more about dependency status.

A prorated loan is when your loan amount is based on the number of credits you’re taking instead of the annual limit. This impacts all less than full-time students.

• Before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act student loan rule changes, you could receive the full annual loan limit as a part-time student.
• Now, all less than full-time students have prorated loans, which bases your annual loan total on the number of credits you’re taking.

Here’s how to know if your loan will be prorated:

• Undergraduate students impacted by loan proration are any students taking less than 12 credits each semester.
• Graduate students impacted are any students taking less than nine credits each semester.

How much you receive each semester depends on:

• Whether you’re an undergraduate or graduate student
• Your dependency status if you’re an undergraduate student.
• Your completed credits if you’re an undergraduate student.
• How many credits you take each semester
• How much of your annual eligibility is still available

If you’re an undergraduate student, the loan amount you’re eligible for also depends on your dependency status in addition to your credit load. As an example, if you’re a dependent first-year student, you can receive a maximum amount of $5,500 in loans annually. If you’re an independent first-year student, you can receive a maximum of $9,500 annually.

If you’re a graduate student, the same annual limit structure applies each year. For example, a graduate student can receive a maximum of $20,500 annually.

You can only receive the maximum amount of loan funding if you’re attending full-time. As a part-time student, your loans will be prorated and based on your credit load. Whatever funding you receive, it will be split across the semesters you’re enrolled based off of the number of credits you are enrolled in until you reach your annual limit. Explore this studentaid.gov resource to find all the annual limits and additional details.

It depends on how much of your annual loan eligibility you’ve used between fall and spring. Your total loan amount for the year cannot exceed your annual limit, regardless of how many semesters you enroll in. Here’s a breakdown of how summer funding works:

• If you borrow the full annual amount in fall and spring, you won’t have any remaining eligibility for summer.
• If you borrow less during fall and spring, you may have remaining eligibility that can be used in summer.

No, the rule changes do not impact your Pell Grant eligibility. Eligible students may still receive up to $7,395 annually. The amount you receive depends on your credit load and is split between fall and spring. If you enroll in summer you could be eligible for an additional Pell grant. Our loan estimator does not currently account for any Pell Grant funding, so keep any potential Pell Grant funding in mind as you plan your costs.

The new loan proration rules apply to all students and the lifetime loan limits apply to new students.

If you’ve enrolled in a program and had federal loans disbursed prior July 1, 2026, then the loan limits may not apply to you for three years or until you complete your program, whichever is first.

You may have to repay some or all of your financial aid funds, depending on how many classes you withdraw from and if you decide to continue. It’s recommended you talk with a financial aid representative to discuss your options and specific situation. Learn more about withdrawing as a financial aid recipient.

There are a variety of ways you can cover any remaining costs, including scholarships, employer assistance, military funding and more. Review the ways to pay for college on our financial aid page.