UTRGV - Financial Aid Office

• Incoming Fall 2026 freshmen and new transfer students will fall completely under the new federal policy.
• Loans: Incoming and new transfer students will adhere to the new Federal Direct Loan limits as shown in the table below.
• Lifetime limits listed below exclude Parent PLUS. 

Parent PLUS Loans: will be subject to new annual and aggregate borrowing limits per dependent student. These limits apply regardless of prior loan forgiveness, repayment, cancellation, or discharge.

• Parents (combined) may borrow:
  • $20,000 per year per dependent student
  • $65,000 aggregate limit per dependent student

What’s Staying the Same:

Many students currently enrolled as of Spring and Summer 2026, who have previously borrowed federal direct loans under their current program will fall under the legacy provisions.

• Legacy Provisions: Allows current students or parents to temporarily continue to borrow under the prior federal loan rules and loan limits for 3 academic years or the remainder of their expected time to credential, whichever is less.
  • Annual: $5,500-$12,500 (based on year and dependency status)
  • Total: $31,000 (dependent) or $57,500 (independent)
  • U.S. Department of Education: Loan Amount Limits

• A Federal Direct Loan is disbursed on or before June 30, 2026.
• Undergraduates may change majors if they remain at the undergraduate level.
• There is no withdrawal or break in enrollment.

You can lose eligibility for legacy protection if you:

• Withdraw from your program or stop attending for any reason
• Transfer to a different institution (transfer students do not qualify)
• Take longer than the expected time to complete your program 

If you do not qualify for the legacy provisions, please see the Incoming Freshmen/New Transfer Undergraduate Students section for more information about the changes to federal financial aid. 

What’s Changing:

Federal Pell Grant Eligibility Changes

The following Pell changes take effect beginning July 1, 2026:

• Students meeting or exceeding their full Cost of Attendance with scholarship/waiver aid will not be eligible for any amount of Pell Grant.

• • This change will affect student-athletes on full-ride scholarships, as well as other students whose institutional, state, and/or private aid meet or exceed full COA.

• • This is a change from previous regulations, which allowed students in some circumstances to be fully funded with scholarship aid and still received their Federal Pell Grant on top.

• Students with an SAI equal to or greater than 14,790 (twice the maximum Pell Grant which is $7,395) are ineligible to receive a Pell Grant.
• Certain Assets Excluded: Family businesses (≤100 employees), family farms, and commercial fishing operation assets will be excluded in SAI calculation.
• Foreign Income Included: Income from foreign sources will be added to adjusted gross income (AGI).

Schedule of Reduction for Loans: Beginning the 2026-2027 academic year, all unsubsidized and subsidized annual loan amounts will be reduced based on enrollment status for those enrolled less than full time. Borrowers enrolled in less than full time will only be able to borrow loan amounts in direct proportion to their credit load, with a minimum half-time enrollment requirement.

Parent PLUS Loans: New Borrowers will be subject to new annual and aggregate borrowing limits per dependent student. These limits apply regardless of prior loan forgiveness, repayment, cancellation, or discharge.

• Parents (combined) may borrow:
  • $20,000 per year per dependent student
  • $65,000 aggregate limit per dependent student

Legacy Provision for Active Parent Plus Loan Borrowers: If the student or parent borrower received a Federal Direct Loan before July 1, 2026, while the dependent student was enrolled in a program of study, Parent PLUS borrowing may continue under current loan limits for up to three academic years or the remainder of the student’s expected time to credential, whichever is less.

If you are starting a new graduate program in Fall 2026 or later, you will adhere to the new federal loan policy.

• The Graduate PLUS loan is no longer available.
• The new loan limit is $20,500 annually with a program limit of $100,000. The program limit does not include undergraduate loans. The lifetime federal loan limit is $257,500 which does not include undergraduate Parent PLUS loans.

Schedule of Reduction for Loans: Beginning the 2026-2027 academic year, all unsubsidized annual loan amounts will be reduced based on enrollment status for those enrolled less than full time. Borrowers enrolled in less than full time will only be able to borrow loan amounts in direct proportion to their credit load, with a minimum half-time enrollment requirement.

What’s Staying the Same:

Many graduate students enrolled in Spring 2026 or Summer 2026 who have previously borrowed Federal Direct Loans for their current program may qualify for legacy provisions.

Legacy Provisions: Allows for continuing students to temporarily continue to borrow under the prior federal loan rules. This means that students who qualify for legacy provisions may continue using Graduate PLUS loans and the prior federal loan limits. Legacy eligibility is determined by federal law and is automatically applied if a student qualifies. It cannot be waived or declined.

• Legacy Provision Qualifications:
  • A Direct Federal Loan is disbursed on or before June 30, 2026.
  • The student must remain in the same program at the same school.
  • There is no withdrawal or break in enrollment.
  • The student must be within their expected time to complete the program (the shorter of three academic years or the remaining program length).
• You can lose eligibility for legacy protection if you:
  • Withdraw from your program or stop attending for any reason 
  • Transfer to a different institution (transfer students do not qualify)
  • Take longer than the expected time to complete your program

Legacy Loan Limits:

*Includes loans borrowed as an undergraduate.

 What’s Changing: 

Graduate PLUS loans are no longer available starting July 1, 2026.

You may continue borrowing Graduate PLUS loans under prior limits for up to 3 academic years (or the remainder of your academic program, whichever is less) if you meet the criteria below:

• Are enrolled as of June 30, 2026, and
• Previously borrowed a federal loan for your academic program, and
• Remain in the same academic program through graduation  

Schedule of Reduction for Loans: Beginning the 2026-2027 academic year, all unsubsidized annual loan amounts and Graduate PLUS loans will be reduced based on enrollment status for those enrolled less than full time. Borrowers enrolled in less than full time will only be able to borrow loan amounts in direct proportion to their credit load, with a minimum half-time enrollment requirement.

Incoming Fall 2026 Professional degree students will fall completely under the new policy. Professional degrees (as defined by the Department of Education) offered at UTRGV include Medical, Podiatric Medicine, and Clinical Psychology.

Loans:

• Graduate PLUS loans are no longer available to new borrowers.
• The new annual loan limit for professional students is $50,000 a year with a program limit of $200,000 which does not include undergraduate loans.
• The lifetime federal loan limit is $257,500 which does not include undergraduate Parent PLUS loans.

Schedule of Reduction for Loans: Beginning the 2026-2027 academic year, all unsubsidized annual loan amounts will be reduced based on enrollment status for those less than full time.

Many students currently enrolled in Spring and Summer 2026, who have previously borrowed federal direct loans, will fall under the legacy provisions. Professional degrees (as defined by the Department of Education) offered at UTRGV include Medical, Podiatric Medicine, and Clinical Psychology.

• Legacy Provisions: Allows for continuing students to temporarily continue to borrow under the prior federal loan rules. This means that students who qualify for legacy provisions may continue using Graduate PLUS loans and the prior federal loan limits. Legacy eligibility is determined by federal law and is automatically applied if a student qualifies. It cannot be waived or declined.
• Legacy Provision Qualifications:
  • A Direct Federal Loan is disbursed on or before June 30, 2026.
  • The student must remain in the same program at the same school.
  • There is no withdrawal or break in enrollment.
  • The student must be within their expected time to complete the program (the shorter of three academic years or the remaining program length).
• You can lose eligibility for legacy protection if you:
  • Withdraw from your program or stop attending for any reason 
  • Transfer to a different institution (transfer students do not qualify)
  • Take longer than the expected time to complete your program 

Schedule of Reduction for Loans: Beginning the 2026-2027 academic year, all unsubsidized annual loan amounts and Graduate PLUS loans will be reduced based on enrollment status for those enrolled in less than full-time.

If you do not qualify for the legacy provisions, please see the Incoming Professional Student section for more information about the changes to federal financial aid. 

For new loans disbursed after July 1, 2026, borrowers are ineligible for legacy plans, including Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), & Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) and replaces them with a new Repayment Assistance Program (RAP).

Students who have borrowed loans before July 1, 2026, and will borrow a new loan after July 1, 2026, are limited to the new Repayment Assistance Program (RAP) or the Tiered Standard Repayment Plan.

Borrowers with no new loans made on or after July 1, 2026, can continue to be eligible to enroll in the current Standard, current Income Based (IBR), Graduated, and Extended repayment plans, and could also opt in to the new RAP. Current borrowers enrolled in ICR, PAYE, or SAVE plans must transition to a new repayment plan by July 1, 2028. If no selection is made by that date, they will be moved into RAP.

More information on the new Repayment Assistance Program (RAP) and the Tiered Standard Repayment Plan is forthcoming.

• You can rehabilitate a defaulted federal student loan two times instead of just once
• Currently, borrowers are only allowed to rehabilitate a loan one time. Starting July 1, 2027, you will be allowed to complete the rehabilitation process twice if your loan goes into default more than once.
• The minimum monthly payment required during rehabilitation will increase from $5 to $10 dollars.
• If your calculated rehabilitation payment amount is very low, the minimum you will be required to pay each month will increase to $10.
• You must make nine on-time monthly payments within ten consecutive months. Missing a payment or paying late could restart the process.
• If you previously returned your loan to good standing through the Fresh Start initiative, that action does not count as using one of your rehabilitation opportunities.

Beginning July 1, 2027

• Economic hardship deferment will no longer be available.
  Borrowers with loans made on or after July 1, 2027, will not be able to pause their payments due to financial hardship under the economic hardship deferment option.
• Unemployment deferment will no longer be available.
  Borrowers with loans made on or after July 1, 2027, will not be able to pause their payments due to unemployment under the unemployment deferment option.
• Forbearance will be limited.
  For loans made on or after July 1, 2027, you may only receive forbearance for a maximum of nine months within any two-year period.
  Forbearance allows you to temporarily pause or reduce your payments, but interest may continue to accrue during this time.