Updates: Federal Student Financial Aid
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed on July 4, 2025, which made significant changes to the federal student financial aid programs effective July 1, 2026.
This page provides information about these changes and how they might affect recipients of federal student aid. This information reflects the most current guidance available but is subject to change. The Kansas State University Office of Student Financial Assistance will update this page as additional guidance becomes available.
Federal Student Loan Borrowing Rules
Students who were already enrolled and borrowing in their current academic program before July 1, 2026, may qualify to continue borrowing under the previous federal loan limits.
Legacy Borrower Limits
Students who did not receive a Federal Direct Loan (Subsidized, Unsubsidized, or Grad PLUS) for a degree or certificate program prior to July 1, 2026, or those who change their academic program in the future, will be subject to new guidelines under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
New Borrower Limits
Note: K-State’s Office of Student Financial Assistance will make the final determination on which rules apply premised on federal statutes, regulations, and U.S. Department of Education guidance.
Changes to Federal Direct Loans
Beginning July 1, 2026, the Federal Graduate PLUS Loan program, which currently allows graduate students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance for their program of study, will be discontinued for new borrowers.
Legacy Provision: If a student has a Federal Direct Federal Loan disbursed before July 1, 2026, they can continue to borrow under this loan program until the degree/credential has been earned OR for three (3) academic years – whichever comes first.
Annual Loan Limit: Parents may only borrow up to $20,000 per year for a dependent student beginning July 1, 2026.
Lifetime Aggregate Limit: Parents are limited to a lifetime total aggregate of $65,000 per dependent student beginning July 1, 2026.
Legacy Provision: If a parent has a Parent PLUS loan disbursed before July 1, 2026, they can continue to borrow under this loan program until the degree/credential has been earned OR for three (3) academic years – whichever comes first.
Annual Loan Limit: The annual unsubsidized loan limit remains at $20,500.
Lifetime Aggregate Limit: Unsubsidized loans are now limited to $100,000 for graduate students.
Legacy Provision: If a grad student has an unsubsidized loan disbursed before July 1, 2026, they can continue to borrow under this loan program until the degree/credential has been earned OR for three (3) academic years – whichever comes first.
Annual Loan Limit: The annual unsubsidized loan limit is $50,000.
Lifetime Aggregate Limit: Unsubsidized loans now limited to $200,000 for professional students.
Legacy Provision: If a professional student has an unsubsidized loan disbursed before July 1, 2026, they can continue to borrow under this loan program until the degree/credential has been earned OR for three (3) academic years – whichever comes first.
Under a new provision a student’s loan amount for an academic year must be prorated if the student is enrolled in less than a full-time class load.
Changes to Federal Pell Grants
Students who receive grants/scholarships from non-federal sources that meet or exceed their full Cost of Attendance (COA) will NOT be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant.
Students with a Student Aid Index (SAI) that exceeds twice the maximum Pell Grant award will NOT be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant.
FAQs
No. Earlier versions of the bill proposed changing the definition of full-time enrollment for Pell eligibility, as well as eliminating Pell eligibility for less than-half time enrollment. These provisions were not included in the final legislation.
No. An earlier version of the bill proposed eliminating the subsidized loan program. However, this provision was not included in the final legislation.
Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year, federal law requires schools to use Enrollment Intensity when determining a student borrower’s eligibility for Federal Direct Loans.
Your Enrollment Intensity is based on the number of credit hours you are enrolled in during each semester and is expressed as a percentage of full-time enrollment. The higher your Enrollment Intensity, the greater the portion of your annual Direct Loan eligibility you may qualify to receive.
Example: Undergraduate Student
Maria is an undergraduate student whose annual Direct Loan eligibility is determined using the applicable federal annual loan limits.
During the fall semester, she enrolls in 7 credit hours. Because full-time enrollment for undergraduates is 12 credit hours, Maria's Enrollment Intensity is 59%. As a result, she is eligible to receive 59% of the maximum Direct Loan amount available for that semester.
If Maria enrolls full-time during the spring semester, her spring loan eligibility will be based on a 100% Enrollment Intensity for that semester.
Example: Graduate Student
David is a graduate student whose annual Direct Loan eligibility is determined using the applicable federal annual loan limits.
During the fall semester, he enrolls in 5 credit hours. Because full-time enrollment for graduate students at K-State is 9 credit hours, David's Enrollment Intensity is 56%. As a result, he is eligible to receive 56% of the maximum Direct Loan amount available for that semester.
If David enrolls full-time during the spring semester, his spring loan eligibility will be based on a 100% Enrollment Intensity for that semester.
If you reduce your enrollment after your Federal Direct Loan has been disbursed for a semester, and your Enrollment Intensity decreases, federal regulations may require K-State to recalculate your loan eligibility for that semester using the Schedule of Reduction (SOR).
If the recalculation results in a lower loan amount than you already received for that semester, K-State may be required to return all or a portion of your Federal Direct Loan funds to the U.S. Department of Education.
While this reduces your outstanding Federal Direct Loan debt, it may also create a balance owed to K-State for the returned loan funds.
Federal Direct Loans are subject to annual loan limits, which establish the maximum amount you may borrow during an academic year.
Legacy Borrower
New Borrower