Undergraduate Direct Student Loan Updates
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1), signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025. For students, families, and institutions like NLU, this bill is significant because it changes some rules related to the federal aid (Title IV) programs. Some of those changes impact Federal Direct Loans available to undergraduate students.
As of the development of this webpage, these changes are scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2026, and/or with the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student.
Current Limits
(Before July 1st, 2026)
Annual and aggregate limits are based on dependency status.
Dependent students:- Freshman: $5,500
- Sophomore: $6,500
- Junior/Senior: $7,500
- Freshman: $9,500
- Sophomore: $10,500
- Junior/Senior: $12,500
- Dependent: $31,000 total
- Independent: $57,500 total
Incoming Changes
(Effective July 1st, 2026)
Loans must be reduced when students are not enrolled full-time. The reduction is based on their enrollment status.
- Undergraduate Annual Limits: Unchanged
- Undergraduate Aggregate Limit: Unchanged
- Total Aggregate Limit: $257,500 across all federal loan programs (undergraduate and graduate)
