Federal Update
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) (H.R.1) (“BBB”) was signed into law by President Trump in July 2025. Changes that impact federal financial aid are scheduled to be in effect starting July 1, 2026, unless specifically noted.
Florida State University and the Office of Financial Aid are closely following the federal updates to determine how the legislation will impact students.
Updates from the Reimagining Innovative Student Engagement Committee (RISE) negotiated rulemaking sessions are noted below.
Undergraduate Students
Pell Grant Eligibility
- Maximum Pell Grant amount remains unchanged.
- Continued access for part-time students.
- Students receiving scholarships or grants that meet the full cost of attendance are no longer eligible for Pell Grant.
Stafford Loans
- No changes to subsidized or unsubsidized annual loan limits or aggregate limits.
- Students not enrolled full-time (12 hours/term) will have loans pro-rated based on enrolled hours.
Parent PLUS Loans
- Parents of dependent undergraduate students now are limited to $20,000/per year per student.
- Aggregate limit of $65,000 per student.
Repayment Plan Changes
- Eliminated the SAVE plan.
- New and simplified Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).
- Federal Loan Repayment Information can be found here: Loan Repayment Plans
Graduate/Professional Students
Loan Limits
- $20,500 per academic year for graduate students.
- $100,000 lifetime limit for graduate students.
- Professional students $50,000 per academic year.
- Professional lifetime limit of $200,000.
- The bill currently defines professional students as those pursuing a degree in Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.), Law (L.L.B. or J.D.), Medicine (M.D.), Optometry (O.D.), Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.), Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.), and Clinical Psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.).
Graduate PLUS loans
- Eliminated if you begin a program after July 1, 2026
Student Loan Proration
- Students not enrolled full-time (9 hours/term) will have loans pro-rated based on enrolled hours.
Repayment Plan Changes
- Extended forgiveness periods to 30 years.
- Eliminated the SAVE plan.
- New and simplified Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).
- Federal Loan Repayment Information can be found here: Loan Repayment Plans
All information contained herein is tentative, pending final regulatory guidance from the US Department of Education. For further information or updates, please refer to the Federal Student Aid website: One Big Beautiful Bill Act