A new survey of federal student loan borrowers by the Institute for College Access and Success, a nonprofit focused on college affordability, found that about a fifth of borrowers are currently in either delinquency or default. "These findings bring even greater urgency to ongoing concerns about a looming 'default cliff,' where an unprecedented number of borrowers struggle so much to repay their loans that they default on their payments in droves," Michele Zampini, TICAS's associate vice president for federal policy and advocacy,
The Department of Education and its rule-making committee tasked with determining how to implement Congress's latest loan caps reached consensus Thursday, but that doesn't mean everyone involved was happy with the results-or that the policy proposal is guaranteed to be legally sound, some higher education experts say. The key focus of the regulations, which should be published to the Federal Register by early next year, was to determine which degree programs should be eligible for which level of loans.
Under ED's latest proposal, in order for a degree program to count as "professional" and gain access to the highest amount of federal loans it must: Signify that students have the skills to begin practice in a particular profession Require a level of skill beyond that of a bachelor's degree Be a doctoral level degree (with the exception of a Masters in Divinity)
With these sudden changes to federal loans right when I'm about to matriculate, it's pretty discouraging. I've been striving to reach med school for what feels like all my life, and to have everything I've worked for potentially jeopardized due to the Big Beautiful Bill is disheartening.