Young professionals are facing a perfect storm of financial burdens: student debt , stagnant wages , and a shaky job market . Now, sweeping changes signed into law by President Donald Trump threaten to make graduate degrees—a traditional path to higher earnings and stability—an even riskier bet.

At the center of the overhaul enshrined in the One Big Beautiful Bill is the phaseout of the federal Grad PLUS loan program, which for two decades allowed graduates to borrow up to the full cost of attendance. Beginning summer 2026, new federal borrowers will be capped:

Graduate students can borrow $20,500 per year ($100,000 lifetime maximum).

Professional students (e.g. law, medical and dental school) can borrow $50,000 per year ($200,000 lifetime maximum).

A separate lifetime limi

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