UMass Boston

• Effective date: Applies to all federal loans processed for the 2026-2027 academic year, starting with the Fall 2026 semester.
• OBBBA requires federal loan amounts to adjust based on student enrollment status using a schedule of reductions:
  • Students enrolled less than full-time (under 12 credits for Undergraduate and under 9 credits for Graduate) receive reduced annual loan limit based on less than full-time enrollment.
  • For example, a half-time student (6 undergraduate credits, 5 to 6 graduate credits) receives 50% of their full-time loan offer.
  • Parent Plus loan program is NOT subject to enrollment proration adjustments, however, enrollment of 6 or more credits for the period of enrollment is required. 

What Stays the Same

• Undergraduates keep access to Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans.
• Annual and aggregate loan limits stay the same but count toward new lifetime loan limits.

What is New

• Annual loan amounts are pro-rated for less than full-time enrollment.
• Repaid, forgiven or discharged loans now count toward lifetime loan limits.
• Federal Direct Parent Plus loans feature new annual and aggregate loan limits. 

Effective Date: July 1, 2026, for new students, and continuing students who have not borrowed a direct loan for their course of study or who have been in their program for 3 or more years.

New Caps:

• $20,000 per year per dependent student
• $65,000 aggregate limit per dependent student (regardless of forgiveness, repayment or discharge).
  • These caps are new, replacing the ability to borrow up to the full cost of attendance without a lifetime limit.
  • Limits apply regardless of whether one or more parents are borrowing on the student’s behalf.

Legacy provision: Parents can borrow past these limits if a Direct Loan was disbursed before July 1, 2026, for a credential program, and the student stays in that same program (allowed for up to 3 academic years or until the student reaches the end of their program of study, whichever comes first).

Effective Date: July 1, 2026, for new borrowers (not previously borrowed a direct loan in their current course of study) and for many continuing graduate students who have been in their program for two or more years.

Graduate students: Limited to Direct Unsubsidized Loans:

• Annual limit: $20,500
  • Pro-rated for less than full-time (9 credit) enrollment
• Aggregate limit: $100,000 
  • Excluding Undergraduate loans

Professional students (Doctoral/Licensure): Limited to Direct Unsubsidized Loans: 

• Annual limit: $50,000
  • Pro-rated for less than full-time (9 credit) enrollment
• Aggregate Limit: $200,000 
  • Excluding Undergraduate loans

Professional program offered at UMass Boston

Nursing Practice (DNP)

• CIP code 51.3818

Legacy exception: Students continuously enrolled for fall and spring semesters in the same program of study, at the same institution, with a prior disbursed Direct Loan for that same program before July 1, 2026, may continue to borrow from the Graduate PLUS program under the pre-OBBA aggregate limit of $138,000 (which includes loans received during undergraduate and graduate study) for up to 3 academic years or their expected time to completion, whichever is less.  

• To maintain eligibility under the Legacy Provision, a student must remain enrolled in the same program of study at the same institution for which they established legacy eligibility.
• A Graduate student who remains in the same 4-digit CIP Code retains their legacy provision.  
• After 3 academic years, or earlier if the student withdraws, ceases enrollment, or completes their program of study, the student will no longer qualify for Graduate Plus loans and will become subject to the new aggregate and lifetime borrowing limits.

All federal loans (except Parent PLUS loans) have a combined lifetime cap of roughly $257,500 across all loan types— a first under federal law

• Students are not eligible for Pell Grant if their Student Aid Index (SAI) is equal to or greater than twice the maximum Pell award. 
  • For 2026-2027, with a max Pell award of $7,395, an SAI equal to or more than 14,790 disqualifies the applicant for Pell Grant funding.
• Students who receive grants or scholarships from non-federal sources covering their entire Cost of Attendance (COA) are ineligible to receive a Pell Grant, even if otherwise eligible for the program.
• Foreign income must be included in the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) used to calculate Pell Grant eligibility.

Family farm and family-owned small business assets are exempt again from the SAI calculation, and the rule now expands asset exemptions to family-owned commercial fisheries.

Starting with the 2026-2027 academic year, the federal government has modified the options available for repaying your student loans. Several older repayment plans are being phased out for new borrowers to focus on two repayment options.

You can pick from repayment plans that base your monthly payment on your income or plans that give you a fixed monthly payment. If you don’t pick a repayment plan and your loan was disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, your loan servicer will place you on the Tiered Standard Plan. 

The two primary loan repayment options for new borrowers are:

• Tiered Standard Repayment Plan This plan offers fixed monthly payments over a period of 10-25 years, with the specific term determined by total debt balance.
  • This plan might result in a higher monthly payment for you.
• Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) This is a new income-driven option where monthly payments are calculated based on a percentage of your income. The law requires a $10 minimum monthly payment for all borrowers.
  • It is specifically designed to ensure on-time payments cover at least the monthly interest, which prevents your total loan balance from growing over time.
  • Repayment plans based on your income can be a smart choice to lower your payment. The lower your income - or the larger your family size - the less you’ll pay each month.
  • Cannot be used to repay Parent Plus or Direct Consolidation loans that include Parent Plus loans made on or after July 1, 2026.

While new borrowers will primarily use these two plans, some ‘legacy’ borrowers may still have access to older plans during a transition period.

Since specific eligibility for different plans depends on when you first borrowed a federal loan and your individual financial situation, students are encouraged to contact their loan servicer for more information and to discuss the repayment plan that best fits their needs.

Unemployment & Economic Hardship Deferments: Borrowers in a short-term financial bind may qualify for a deferment to temporarily suspend loan payments. The Unemployment Deferment and Economic Hardship Deferment options for loans disbursed BEFORE July 1, 2027 allow for suspension of loan payments for up to 12 months per request and are capped at a 3-year cumulative limit.  

The law eliminates these deferment options for borrowers whose loan is disbursed on or after July 1, 2027. Borrowers whose loan are disbursed on or after July 1, 2027 may apply for a general forbearance for up to nine months within a 24-month period.