Will Federal Student Loan Borrowing Limits Be a Consideration on College Lists?

Published by Stuart Nachbar at May 7, 2026

Starting now, only 11 programs requiring further education after college will be considered “professional programs.”

These include pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, theology and clinical psychology.
Borrowing limits for all loans, undergraduate and graduate, will be $231,000 for a dependent student and $257,500 for an independent student
The borrowing limit for the professional degree will be $50,000 for each year.

All other advanced degree programs will be considered “graduate programs.”

Annual borrowing limits for graduate degrees will be $20,500 per year.
The total borrowing limit for a dependent student who continues their education will be $131,000.
For an independent student it will be $157,500.

Undegraduate borrowing limits remain the same–and they have not changed since 2008.

A dependent undergraduate student may borrow up to $31,000 for college.
The limits are $5,500 for the first year, $6,500 for the second and $7,500 for each year after that.
An independent student who is emancipated from parents or guardians may borrow up to $9,500 for he first year, $10,500 for the second and $12,500 for each year after that.

What do these limits mean in terms of educational choices?

More students may flock to fields where they believe themselves to be “employable” with a bachelor’s degree.

Business programs as well as majors in mathematics, chemistry, computer science engineering and nursing are examples.
Direct admit programs to these majors would become more selective at larger public colleges, and perhaps regional public colleges as well This and the borrowing limits favor students who enter with a commitment to a major before they take a single college class.

What about trade-offs between bachelors-advanced degree options and a bachelor’s degree?

Architecture is one field that stands out.

There are schools that offer a five-year path to professional licensure as well those that offer four-year degrees that do not.
Dependent students who opt for the five-year path to licensure could borrow up to $31,000.
Those who opt for the four-year program then later pursue a masters could owe at least $27,000 for the bachelors degree and $41,000 for the two years it will take to earn the master’s degree.

Accounting is another.

State requirements to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) typically encompass 150 credits , including accounting and business courses. In New Jersey, as one example, a CPA must complete 24 credits in accounting and 24 in other business subjects,

A four-year college degree is typically 120 to 128 credits. It’s not always necessary to earn a master’s degree to get to 150 credits. The College of New Jersey, as one example, helps students to do that within a bachelors program.

Those who know that they want to study accounting might want to check to see if the bachelor’s program will have the coursework necessary to be prepared for employment and sit for the exam after working under the supervision of a CPA for at least a year.

Could five-year dual bachelors degrees in engineering and a second major become more popular?

Many schools offer 3-2 arrangements to earn an engineering degree as well as one in a second major within five years. There are also schools like Lafayette and Union where a student might be able to study engineering and a second major in four. To me it appears easier to accomplish this at schools that don’t silo engineering or computer science into separate schools.

In the past I was not crazy about programs where an engineer would leave with two bachelor’s degrees versus a bachelor’s and a masters. However, since engineering is not viewed as a “professional program” for graduate study, and either is business the idea might be worth consideration, especially if a student is interested in engineering and business. They might be an attractive alternative to finishing an engineering degree then going for a masters afterwards.

What about the health professions?

There’s a “to be continued” status here .

Nurse practicioners, occupational therapists, physical therapists, physicians assistants, athletic trainers, nutritionists, among other professions that typically require advanced degrees. There has been tremendous pushback from their professional associations, including plans for legal action against the department of Education.

For now I suggest that families plan carefully if the direction is towards an accelerated entry into these fields, among others. Try to find least cost options, even at less selective schools that might offer scholarships. at least for the undergraduate portion of the degree program or if there is the opportunity to pay undergraduate tuition and fees for the more advanced coursework during what would be a junior or senior year of college.

Regional public universities that might not have ranked high on lists in the past might rank higher today. Kean University, as one example in my home state, New Jersey, offers many options in the health fields. While Kean is not an exceptionally selective undergraduate school admissions to these programs will be exceptionally competitive due in no small part to cost concerns. Those who are cost conscious and serious about a health profession should not look down on such opportunities.

How about a three-year bachelor’s degree?

Here’s another “it depends” answer.

Three years at a private institution might cost as much, if not more than four at a public one. In addition, while students who enter college with no advanced coursework can earn a three-year degree, will they be prepared to succeed in college at the start? Anyone who believes that they will need further education to enter the career they want should be sure that a three-year journey will cover the prerequisites needed for further education.

I’m going to refer to Kean again. They have an interesting idea launched two years ago: a three-year nursing degree that leads to licensure. However, like many other accelerated college degrees, academic rigor and summer courses are expected. The number of credits required to prepare for licensure is not reduced.

What if you still want a “graduate” degree?

Many people under college undecided on a major, potential career, or both. Colleges try to accommodate undecided students by offering exploratory paths supported by academic and career advising. These enable students to choose between possible majors, ideally to graduate on time. However it’s also quite common for students and alumni to change their minds and make plans to seek a masters degree, Here are a few suggestions given the new borrowing limits:

Investigate the potential career paths available to those who earn the degree, Are they attractive opportunities? Will you able to carry the debt early in your career?
Is there potential to receive scholarships or assistantships that might help you to reduce costs?
If the program is career-related, how will the school arrange experiential opportunities such as internships to put your interests to work before you graduate? As one example, the University of Cincinnati offers co-op for graduate students as well as undergrads.
Parent PLUS Loans face greater limits. Under the new Federal guidelines, parents may borrow no more than $20,000 per student per year and no more than $65,000 across a student’s entire education. Families that plan to use Parent PLUS loans to help with an undergraduate degree will face more difficult challenges in helping to fund further education. Grad PLUS loans taken out by students. GradPLUS loans formerly taken out by independent students will cease to exist for the coming academic year.

One thing that I’ve learned after nearly four decades around higher education: opportunities change as well as disappear. It may still be possible to get the education you want. But you might need to go down a different path to get it.

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