The federal cap on the amounts people can borrow means some of them will fall short. That’s especially true for students in professional schools.

The road map for families paying for higher education used to read something like this: Step one, save if you can. Step two, apply for aid and hope the schools will help.

Step three, borrow money from the federal government, up to the total cost of attending, if you’re sure that is prudent and can’t pay the cost out of current income.

Now, step three is changing, thanks to President Trump’s domestic policy bill. Starting July 1, 2026, the federal government will add new limits to what many people can borrow for college and graduate school.

Parents will be able to borrow only $20,000 per year, or $65,000 total per student, from the federal Parent PLUS program. Graduate students will have a $20,500 annual cap on their federal loans and