Updates to Federal Loans and Financial Aid

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:30:00 -0400

Greetings Retrievers,

We are writing to share important updates regarding upcoming changes to federal financial aid as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

What Is Changing?

Federal Loan Eligibility & Enrollment: Part-time enrollment will reduce a student's borrowing eligibility for federal loans.

Grad PLUS Loans: This loan program will be eliminated. Students who have already received Grad PLUS funding for the current academic year may be eligible to continue borrowing from the program for the remainder of their current program (maximum 3 years).

Parent PLUS Loans: New borrowing limits will be implemented for Parent PLUS Loans beginning with the 2026–2027 academic year. These changes may impact the amount families can borrow to support educational costs.

Please note that this message is intended as a general overview. We encourage you to regularly check your UMBC email and our Federal Updates page for the most up-to-date information.

We will begin making financial aid offers in the coming days for the 2026-2027 award year. If you have not already submitted your FAFSA or provided requested documentation to our office, please do so as soon as you can. Our office will continue sharing loan updates via messaging to impacted students.

If you have any immediate questions, please contact us—we are here to support you through these changes.

Sincerely,
UMBC Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships