Changes are coming to student loans. How might it affect you?

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Consider This from NPR

Episode: Changes Are Coming to Student Loans. How Might It Affect You?

Date: June 10, 2026
Host: Mary Louise Kelly
Guest: Cory Turner, NPR Education Correspondent

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the sweeping changes coming to the U.S. federal student loan system on July 1st, 2026. With over 43 million borrowers affected, the discussion unpacks how legislative changes—chiefly through the Republicans’ "One Big Beautiful Bill Act"—will overhaul grad and parent loan limits, repayment plans, and student loan forgiveness, and how the Pell Grant program will expand. Education correspondent Cory Turner joins Mary Louise Kelly to break down what it all means for undergrads, graduate students, parents, and current borrowers.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Changes to Student Loan Limits

• Graduate Loan Limits (03:17)
  • Until now, grad students could borrow as much as their program cost.
  • New law: Borrowing capped at $20,500/year for grad students.
    • Exceptions: Those already enrolled in current programs (as of end of June) are grandfathered in.
    • Professional degrees (dentistry, law, medicine) capped at $50,000/year.
  • Potential outcome: May push some to riskier private loans, or deter lower-income students from grad school.

"After July 1, though, grad students will be limited to $20,500 a year. That is a big change that many economists worry is going to drive some borrowers into the private student loan market and maybe some lower income borrowers away from grad school altogether."
— Cory Turner (03:38)

• Parent PLUS Loan Caps (04:25)
  • Previously unlimited; now capped at $20,000 per dependent per year.
  • Critical change: Parents in the PLUS program will no longer qualify for income-driven repayment or federal forgiveness.
    • Monthly payments will be fixed and likely higher.

"Parents will no longer have a pathway toward loan forgiveness. And number two, it means monthly payments are gonna be fixed and probably considerably higher than they would have been on an income based plan."
— Cory Turner (04:53)

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2. Repayment Plan Overhaul

• For Current Borrowers (05:20)
  • Biden’s "SAVE" plan, the most generous with $0/month options for the lowest-income, is ending.
  • Action required: 7 million SAVE enrollees must switch plans, or they'll default into a less flexible, higher-payment plan.
  • Other repayment plans still available; borrowers have "lots of choices."

"If they don't, this is really important. Their loans will be moved into one of the least flexible standard repayment plans."
— Cory Turner (05:53)

• For New Borrowers (06:30)
  • Only two new repayment plans will be available, effectively ending the era of choosing among many.
  • Main new plan: Repayment Assistance Plan (WRAP)
    • Like SAVE, payments are income-based.
    • Not as generous; however:
      • No accumulating interest: Any leftover monthly interest is waived.
      • Household help: $50 off monthly payment per dependent.

"It's called the Repayment Assistance Plan or the wrap... if there is any monthly interest left over after you've made your monthly payment, the plan just waives that leftover interest so your loan won't grow."
— Cory Turner (06:44)

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3. Student Loan Forgiveness Changes

• For New Borrowers (07:32)
  • Forgiveness on WRAP: Only after 30 years (most will repay before qualifying).
• For Current Borrowers (07:58)
  • Income-Based Repayment (IBR): Still available. Forgiveness after 20-25 years.
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): Remains available — 10 years of qualifying service for forgiveness.
    • Applies to teachers, nurses, police, etc.

"Public service loan forgiveness is still a thing. It is still available. It offers loan forgiveness after 10 years of public service..."
— Cory Turner (08:37)

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4. Pell Grant Program Expansion (09:10)

• Expansion Details:
  • Pell Grant now supports short-term workforce training (8–15 weeks), e.g., welding or certified nursing assistant programs.
  • Still requires FAFSA; states need time to build qualifying program lists.
• Bipartisanship: The expansion had bipartisan support.

"The Pell Grant program is essentially free... Republicans expanded the Pell Grant program to include really pretty short workforce training courses or programs between roughly eight and 15 weeks."
— Cory Turner (09:16)

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5. Key Takeaway Dates

• July 1st, 2026: All discussed changes take effect.

"The date again that you've got in your sights, Corey, for when a lot of these changes we've been walking through will kick in."
— Mary Louise Kelly (10:20)
"July 1st."
— Cory Turner (10:27)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Borrower Anxiety Example (00:23):
  "I was paying under the SAVE program before and it was affordable enough for me to handle... I don't know how much they're going to ask and I don't know how they're calculating that. And that's a really scary thing."
  — Anonymous NPR listener

• Sen. Tommy Tubber’s Take (00:48, 01:03):
  "If you want a student loan, go back to your bank..."
  — Sen. Tommy Tubber

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 — Introduction & context for changes
• 03:17 — Graduate student loan limits
• 04:25 — Parent PLUS loan changes
• 05:20 — Borrowers currently repaying & the end of SAVE
• 06:30 — New repayment option (WRAP) for future borrowers
• 07:32 — Student loan forgiveness old vs. new
• 09:10 — Pell Grant expansion to workforce training
• 10:20 — Key effective date: July 1st

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Tone & Language

• The conversation remains clear, empathetic, and informative.
• Cory Turner’s explanations are practical, focused on borrower impact and next steps.
• Mary Louise Kelly guides the discussion with targeted questions that reflect widespread borrower concerns.

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Final Resource

"Corey has put together a comprehensive guide to all these student loan changes. You can find it at NPR.org."
— Mary Louise Kelly (10:35)

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This summary covers all major content from the episode for those who missed it, providing a clear timeline, implications for different types of borrowers, direct actionable advice, and pointers to more resources.

Transcript

[Mary Louise Kelly]

It's consider this where every day we go deep on one big news story today, the end of an era for student loans. On July 1st, big changes are coming for more than 43 million student borrowers in the US as part of the Republicans One Big Beautiful Bill Act. I was paying under the SAVE program before and it was affordable enough for me to handle. That's a listener who called into the NPR program 1A last year. this point, I don't know how much they're going to ask and I don't know how they're calculating that. And that's a really scary thing. In a matter of weeks, President Biden's save repayment plan will end. There will also be changes to student loan forgiveness and new limits on the amount of money the federal government will lend.

[Senator Tommy Tubber]

We got to get out of it. We tried to do it in the big beautiful bill. I was able to get half of the student loans cut for master's degrees. I couldn't get any more than that cut.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Republican Senator Tommy Tubber of Alabama speaking to Fox Business in April.

[Senator Tommy Tubber]

It'll save us millions of dollars, but we could cut it all out, all of it out at one time and say, go back to your bank. If you want a student loan, go back to your bank.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Consider this. Major changes are coming to student loans. How will they affect borrowers across the U.S. From npr, I'm Mary Louise Kelly.

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[David Remnick]

Right now, we are living through some of the most tumultuous political times our country has ever known. I'm David Remnick, and each each week on the New Yorker Radio Hour, I'll try to make sense of what's happening alongside politicians and thinkers like Cory Booker, Nancy Pelosi, Liz Cheney, and so many more. That's all on the New Yorker Radio Hour. Wherever you listen to podcasts,

[Mary Louise Kelly]

It's consider this from NPR. About 43 million Americans hold federal student loans. If you were one of them or planning to be one of them, you should know big changes are coming in July next month. Those changes include new loan limits for grad students and parents and a total overhaul of repayment plans. Here to walk us through it, NPR education correspondent Cory Turner. Hello, Cory.

[Cory Turner]

Hey, Mary Louise.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Start with new student loan limits. What should we know?

[Cory Turner]

Yeah, well, one of the few things that's not changing is undergraduate student loan limits. What is changing are limits for graduate students. Up to now, grad students could borrow essentially as much as they need it, right? Your program costs 40 grand a year. You could borrow $40,000 year after year after year. After July 1, though, grad students will be limited to $20,500 a year. That is a big change that many economists worry is going to drive some borrowers into the private student loan market and maybe some lower income borrowers away from grad school altogether. There are a few exceptions here for students who are enrolled in a program by the end of this month, Mary Louise, they get grandfathered in. Also, the education department says borrowers pursuing what it calls a professional degree in fields like dentistry, law, medicine, they can qualify for $50,000 a year in loans.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Okay, back to the undergrad college side. Up to now, parents have been able to take out unlimited loans to help their kid pay for college. That is changing.

[Cory Turner]

It is the loan program known as Parent Pl. It's not ending, but it is being scaled back. I've spoken, you know, in the past with families who because of its unlimited nature, really found themselves buried in debt and, and unable to retire in some cases. In July, Parent plus is getting new limits. It'll be capped at $20,000 per dependent per year. One more big change. Parents will no longer qualify for any repayment plan that takes their income into account. Now that might some sort of fine print wonkery. It's really important, Mary Louise, because it means number one, parents will no longer have a pathway toward loan forgiveness. And number two, it means monthly payments are gonna be fixed and probably considerably higher than they would have been on an income based plan.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Okay, I wanna jump to another set of people, people who already have loans. They may be out of school. Now they have to repay those loans. There was this Biden era save repayment plan that short lived. What do borrowers need to do now?

[Cory Turner]

It's time for them to switch plans. Essentially save was the most generous repayment plan available, low monthly payments. Also, notably for the lowest income borrowers, it offered a $0 monthly payment. But save is over and the 7 million or so borrowers who are still enrolled in IT need to know it is time for them to switch plans. And if they don't, this is really important. Their loans will be moved into one of the least flexible standard repayment plans. Their monthly payments are going to be fixed and they will be relatively high compared to the SAVE plan. The good news though is for these SAVE borrowers, if they act now or soon, they have lots of choices, lots of plans to choose from.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

Okay, so get on it. Save borrowers. Sounds like the takeaway there. What about for new borrowers? Different story, right? What do they need to know?

[Cory Turner]

Yeah, for new borrowers, we're really at the end of an era. For years, borrowers have been able to choose from many different repayment plans. But Republicans voted last year to essentially get rid of all of them for new borrowers and replace them with just two. And these are both brand new plans. I'm going to talk about one of them briefly. It's called the Repayment Assistance Plan or the wrap. And like save, it bases your monthly payment on your income. Now, it's not going to be as generous or as flexible as save, but it does come with a few interesting perks. One, if there is any monthly interest left over after you've made your monthly payment, the plan just waives that leftover interest so your loan won't grow. And two, parents and caregivers get to slash 50 bucks a month off their monthly payment for every dependent in their household.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

What about student loan forgiveness? That's been a thing. Is that still going to be a thing after July?

[Cory Turner]

Sort of. There's this kind of a dividing line or there will be between older legacy borrowers and then brand new borrowers. So for new borrowers, loan forgiveness is going to be scaled back considerably. They will be able to qualify for the WRAP plan, which I mentioned, and it technically offers loan forgiveness, but it's after 30 years. Mary Louise and so most of the experts, experts that I've talked to say like the vast majority of borrowers on the RAT plan, they're going to pay off their debts long before they approach forgiveness after 30 years. For current borrowers, though, there are still some options. The plan known as Income based repayment, or IBR, it's still available and it offers forgiveness after 25 or even 20 years, depending on how old your loans are. And then for everybody, in spite of the headlines that have suggested the Trump administration is trying to push and pull at the program. Public service loan forgiveness is still a thing. It is still available. It offers loan forgiveness after 10 years of public service as a teacher, police officer, nurse, lots of different jobs qualify. It is still available and you can find more at the Ed Department's website.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

One more thing to highlight, which is this. We've been talking a lot about programs being scaled back or eliminated, changes Republicans have made in that direction. They have expanded the Pell Grant program, federal program aimed at low income students.

[Cory Turner]

Yeah. And this was a move that actually had some bipartisan support. The Pell Grant program is essentially free. You know, we've been talking about loans. Pell Grants are free money intended to help the lowest income students pay for. Last year, Republicans expanded the Pell Grant program to include really pretty short workforce training courses or programs between roughly eight and 15 weeks. So, you know, think about training programs to become a welder or a certified nursing assistant. There are a couple caveats here, though. One, it's brand new and everyone I've been talking to says it's going to take a little time for states to figure out what programs qualify because there's some real guardrails on this thing. And then also this is more important and within the realm of control for borrowers. If you want to do this and you think you might qualify, you've got to fill out the fafsa, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. So if this sounds interesting, I would definitely recommend starting with the FAFSA and

[Mary Louise Kelly]

the date again that you've got in your sights, Corey, for when a lot of these changes we've been walking through will kick in.

[Cory Turner]

July 1st.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

July 1st. Heard it here first. Alrighty. NPR education correspondent Corey Turner. And Corey has put together a comprehensive guide to all these student loan changes. You can find [e-mail] thank you, Corey.

[Cory Turner]

You're welcome, Mary Louise.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Ten Beat, airmews and Nicole Cohen. Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dornan. It's Consider this from npr. I'm Mary Louise Kelly.

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[Cory Turner]

this American Life, one that we like is a good mystery sometimes about really big things. But most times, the little mysteries are the best. Our lost and found is currently filled with pants.

[David Remnick]

I don't know. I've never seen this happen.

[Mary Louise Kelly]

This is true.

[Cory Turner]

This is true. Mysteries of every size. Each week, this American Life. Wherever you get your podcasts.