{"id":1626,"date":"2026-06-16T11:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T11:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1626"},"modified":"2026-06-16T11:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T11:06:11","slug":"this-federal-student-loan-program-ends-soon-heres-what-that-means-for-sc-college-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1626","title":{"rendered":"This federal student loan program ends soon. Here\u2019s what that means for SC college students"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n

A federal student loan program is being phased out on July 1, impacting nearly half a million students per year who rely on the direct loan for their school\u2019s attendance costs.<\/p>\n

Read more Columbia developers\u2019 long-vacant Decker buildings see 3 fire calls in 4 nights<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Education will discontinue Grad PLUS Loans, a type of Direct PLUS Loan, for new borrowers and will place stricter borrowing limits on graduate students, almost a year after Trump\u2019s signature One Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law on July 4, 2025.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Graduate students may not find the law as beautiful, as it puts a halt to the federal direct loan program that allowed them to fund up to the total cost of attendance of their school, no matter how expensive it was, minus any other financial assistance received, with no lifetime aggregate cap. The federal loans helped graduate and professional students pay for their education for 20 years.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Trump administration fought to change the current higher education financing options due to the nation\u2019s staggering student loan debt. According to the latest data from the Education Data Initiative, an independent education research group, national student debt reached $1.833 trillion in 2025, and there were over 42.8 million borrowers. There was a decline in student debt between 2023 and 2024, but annual growth resumed since then.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Additionally, federal student loan debt represents 90.9%<\/b> of all student loan debt, and 10.0%<\/b> of federal student loan dollars were delinquent as of 2025\u2019s fourth financial quarter.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Under the new limitations, Grad PLUS Loans will be unavailable for new graduate student borrowers after July 1, and current recipients of federal financial aid will see caps on how much they can borrow. Here\u2019s everything borrowers should know:<\/p>\n

Read more A Trump endorsee vs Clemson legacy. Will famous name impact SC GOP ag race?<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Changes for borrowers<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

If you already borrowed a Graduate PLUS Loan for your current program of study before July 1, 2026, you can continue borrowing for up to 3 more years<\/b> (or until your program ends), according to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Program, a leading student aid organization in the nation.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Graduate students will still have access to federal financial aid through the Federal Direct Loan Program, but the amount they can borrow will be limited and will differ based on what program they\u2019re in:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n