FAFSA 2026 - 2027

Financial Aid Changes Beginning July 1, 2026

Undergraduate Students

Federal Direct Loan Reduction for Less Than Full-Time Enrollment

Historically, students have been able to borrow their full annual loan limit as long as they were enrolled at least half-time per term. Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year, loan availability will be reduced based on the number of credits a student is enrolled in.

• Full-time enrollment is 12 credits per term, for a total of 24 credits for the academic year, Fall and Spring.
• The annual loan limit for a freshman is $5,500 for a dependent student and $9,500 for an independent student.
• The annual loan limit for a sophomore is $6,500 for a dependent student and $10,500 for an independent student.

Examples

• Independent sophomore enrolled in 9 credits per term, for a total of 18 credits:
  18 ÷ 24 = 0.75
  $10,500 x 0.75 = $7,875 reduced annual loan limit
  This would be split as $3,938 for fall and $3,937 for spring.
• Dependent freshman enrolled in 12 credits in fall and 9 credits in spring, for a total of 21 credits:
  21 ÷ 24 = 0.88
  $5,500 x 0.88 = $4,840 reduced annual loan limit
  This would be split as $2,766 for fall and $2,074 for spring.

Schools will be required to reduce loan amounts in direct proportion to a student’s enrollment if they are enrolled less than full-time.

If a student drops or withdraws from a course at any point in the term and their enrollment drops below full-time, the school will be required to reduce their loan amounts. The timing of the reduction will be at the school’s discretion.

Parent PLUS Loan Limit

Parents who borrowed Parent PLUS loans for their dependent student before July 1, 2026, may be considered legacy borrowers. Legacy borrowers may continue borrowing Parent PLUS loans for that student for up to three years with no limits other than the student’s Cost of Attendance (COA), as long as the student maintains concurrent enrollment.

If the student withdraws from a semester or does not attend a semester, they are no longer considered a legacy student.

The annual Parent PLUS loan limit per student will be $20,000. This is a student limit, not a parent limit. This means a second parent cannot borrow additional Parent PLUS loans for the student once the $20,000 annual limit has been reached.

A parent may borrow the difference between the student’s Cost of Attendance (COA) budget and the student’s other financial aid, as long as the amount does not exceed the $20,000 limit.

The aggregate Parent PLUS loan limit per student will be $65,000.

Pell Grant

Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year, a student will not receive Pell Grant funds if their grants and scholarships from non-federal sources meet or exceed their Cost of Attendance (COA) budget. These sources include institutional, state, and private scholarships or grants.

For example, if a student has a $10,000 Cost of Attendance and qualifies for Pell Grant based on financial need, but receives $10,000 or more from state grants, institutional scholarships, and other private scholarships, they will not receive the Pell Grant.

What is Cost of Attendance?

The Cost of Attendance (COA) is the estimated expense to attend school. It includes direct costs billed to the student’s school account, such as tuition and fees, and indirect costs not billed to the student’s school account, such as transportation and housing.

The COA is used as a budget for financial aid calculations and may vary based on a student’s enrollment.

Workforce Pell Grant

Currently, a program of study must include at least one of the following for a student to be eligible for Pell Grant:

• 16 semester or trimester credit hours
• 24 quarter credit hours
• 600 clock hours and 15 weeks of instructional time

OB3 creates criteria for shorter programs of study to become eligible for Pell Grant. These short programs, referred to as eligible workforce programs, will need to meet requirements determined by the state, requirements determined by the Department of Education, and value-added earnings requirements.