If there’s one thing that everyone in higher ed is talking about right now, it’s the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBB) that was signed into law in July 2025.
From news headlines to administrative offices, we are all asking the same questions: how will the OBBB impact our schools, our students, and the careers of higher ed professionals?
There isn’t a simple answer. Many aspects of this complex bill will affect different groups of students in different ways. Whether we’re talking about a PhD candidate or someone enrolled in truck driving school, the regulatory changes laid out on the OBBB represent a seismic shift in federal financial aid.
Let’s take a closer look at how the OBBB will impact career, graduate, and doctoral/professional programs.
Here’s a statistic that might surprise you: the trucking industry in the US is estimated to be more than 100,000 drivers short of what it needs to function properly. This trend has been building for years, and the COVID-19 pandemic only worsened the problem.
And here’s the kicker: that number is expected to climb even higher, as of Summer 2025, there are an estimated 110,000 drivers over the age of 65 that will be looking to retire soon.
Why does this matter?
Right now, there is a tremendous opportunity for people to pursue technical, skilled trade, and blue-collar jobs—the trucking industry is just one example of many—and the regulatory changes outlined for the Pell Grant will make this option more affordable and accessible than ever before.
The OBBB directs that the Pell Grant, which is awarded based on income, should cover most tuition rates at trade and career schools—including truck driving, welding, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and more.
In other words, more tuition assistance will be available to more lower- and middle-income students who are interested in a trade career.
The idea behind this is that students should be able to pursue an education at these institutions without going into debt. While the government can’t enforce tuition limits, the bill’s language makes clear that schools should avoid charging more than Pell Grants will cover.
Many people who are interested in pursuing these careers, including 2nd- and 3rd-career adults, are now going to be able to afford these educational paths. This is a direct effect of the OBBB, because many people who weren’t going to be able to afford it now will have that opportunity.
Thousands more people will receive a great education and graduate with a high-paying job that they wouldn’t have otherwise gotten, and with the possibility of not having to go into debt.
In that regard, the OBBB’s changes are a net positive: more skilled drivers, plumbers, and technicians benefit not only the individuals themselves but society at large.
Students pursuing graduate and doctoral degrees are the ones who will be impacted the most by the changes to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Here’s what you need to know.
First, let’s take a look at how the student loan system works today, and how it will continue to work until summer 2026 when the OBBB kicks in.
Right now, undergraduates can borrow up to $57,500 in federal loans. Graduate students can borrow up to $138,500 total (this includes any undergraduate borrowing). So, whatever amount that students don’t use in undergrad (up to $57,700), they can apply toward their graduate loans.
For the Grad Plus Loan, which are for graduate and doctoral students, there is currently no maximum or lifetime limit. Students can borrow as much as they need to cover tuition and living expenses.
Let’s say for example that an undergraduate student is enrolled in a 30-week program that costs $20,000. Under the current system, they can borrow up to $57,500 in student loans and use the balance to cover their costs of living while they are a full-time student: housing, food, transportation, etc. A graduate student in the same position currently has no cap on federal borrowing.
Under the OBBB, graduate students can borrow only $100,000 above the undergraduate maximum. Professional/Doctoral students can borrow an additional $100,000.
That means:
For many students, $100,000 won’t even cover tuition, let alone living expenses.
These new limits outlined in the OBBB for graduate loans will offer two paths for those considering pursuing a graduate degree.
The first option, which will likely be the case for many people, is that many people simply won’t enroll in these graduate, doctoral, and professional programs because they can’t afford it.
In one sense, this could be a good thing if we’re creating fewer situations in which students graduate with $150,000 or more in debt with little prospect of being able to pay off their student loans.
The downside? Potential shortages of doctors, attorneys, engineers, architects, therapists, and health professionals—among others—in our not-so-distant future.
The second option is that these graduate student hopefuls will seek out loan options from private lenders. It’s possible that private financial institutions will see these regulatory changes as an opportunity to provide financial aid solutions, but they will have to be more amenable to the needs of grad students in terms of payment schedules, interest rates, and loan qualifications than they are now.
The world of financial aid is changing, there’s no doubt about that.
Many schools, such as those that offer trade, career, and vocational degrees and certification programs, will benefit from these changes because it gives their students access to more grants and other financial aid options to cover their tuition.
Other institutions, particularly those with master’s and doctorate programs, are likely (and understandably) concerned that they’re going to lose students who can’t afford tuition with these new limits.
As higher ed professionals, it’s our job to navigate these changes to create the best possible outcomes for our students. Here’s how we do that:
Remember, change is inevitable and constant. The most successful institutions adapt to change and turn it into a positive outcome.
With the OBBB’s regulatory changes, our task is to analyze, understand, and respond as a team to support students.
These ongoing regulatory changes have highlighted what most of us already knew: how important it is to have the right team and software systems at your institution. These are essential for navigating these changes successfully.
However, it’s not easy to hire and retain people with these technical skillsets and a deep understanding of how financial aid works in higher ed. This is a staffing challenge with which just about every institution is familiar.
That’s where financial aid software comes in. Your school deserves to have a trusted 3rd-party servicer that takes care of these financial aid tasks so the people on your campus can do what’s most important: focusing on your students and their experiences.
With Portico’s financial aid solutions, your school can increase efficiency, lower staff turnover, and most importantly, create better student outcomes.
Portico (formerly VerityIQ, CourseKey, Trajecsys and Campus Ivy) offer all of these financial aid solutions on a single, unified platform—plus CRM, SIS, enrollment, admissions, document management, and a whole lot more.
See it for yourself: Get Started to request a demo or talk to our sales team to see how Portico can help you manage the entire student lifecycle in one place.