Student loan options change July 1. What you need to know : NPR

Key Points:

• Starting July 1, major student loan changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act take effect, including the end of the Biden-era SAVE repayment plan and the introduction of two new Republican-designed plans, along with new borrowing limits for some students.
• Borrowers with pre-July 1 loans and no plans for new loans have multiple repayment options, including standard, graduated, extended, and income-driven plans like IBR, ICR, PAYE, and the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), which offers principal matching but requires 30 years of repayment.
• Borrowers taking out loans on or after July 1 are limited to the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) or the new Tiered Standard Plan, which adjusts repayment periods based on loan size, while new graduate borrowers face significantly reduced annual and aggregate borrowing limits, with exceptions for certain professional degrees.
• The Pell Grant program expands to cover short-term workforce training programs for the first time, offering federal aid to students in programs lasting 8 to 15 weeks, though qualification requirements and program eligibility are still being finalized.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) remains available, but new rules may deny forgiveness to borrowers working for employers involved in activities deemed to have a "substantial illegal purpose," a contentious definition currently under legal challenge; Parent PLUS loans face new borrowing caps and repayment restrictions starting July 1.