Effective July 1, 2026, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated the Federal Graduate PLUS Loan program for all students who had not borrowed a Direct Loan at NLU before that date. Under certain rules, the law allows current borrowers to continue borrowing from the program for 3 years or until they complete their program, whichever is shorter.

 If you meet the criteria to be considered a legacy borrower, then you can continue using the Federal Graduate PLUS Loan Program.

A legacy borrower is:

• A current NLU student who has borrowed any Federal Direct Loan (i.e., Subsidized, Unsubsidized, or Graduate PLUS) before July 1, 2026. Borrowing a loan before July 1, 2026, means the loan was disbursed before that date.
• Student is continuously enrolled in (and has not withdrawn from) a program of study at an institution and received a Direct Loan prior to June 30, 2026, for that program of study, they are eligible for the interim exception during their expected time to credential. 
• Student begins enrollment in a term and withdraws from all classes after the add/drop period. 

No, you cannot be considered a legacy borrower because you are starting a new program after July 1, 2026.

Yes. There are a few ways these borrowers can lose eligibility. 

Continuous Enrollment Requirement

Legacy borrowers must be continuously enrolled. For example, legacy borrowers will lose eligibility to continue using the Graduate PLUS Loan program if they:

• Student is continuously enrolled in (and has not withdrawn from) a program of study at an institution and received a Direct Loan prior to June 30, 2026, for that program of study, they are eligible for the interim exception during their expected time to credential. 
• Student begins enrollment in a term and withdraws from all classes after the add/drop period. 

If attendance in the summer term is not required as part of a student's academic degree requirements, then summer is excluded from the continuous enrollment requirement, so a borrower will not lose eligibility for not taking classes in the summer.

Three Years of Eligibility

Legacy borrowers can retain eligibility for the Graduate PLUS Loan for only 3 academic years after July 1, 2026, or for the remainder of their program of study, whichever is shorter.

Changing Programs

Legacy borrowers will lose eligibility if they change to a different graduate or professional program after July 1, 2026.

Legacy borrowers must be continuously enrolled. For example, legacy borrowers will lose eligibility to continue using the Graduate PLUS Loan program if they:

• Take a fall or spring term off
• Begin enrollment in a fall or spring term and withdraw partially through it

Summer is excluded from the continuous enrollment requirement, so a borrower will not lose eligibility for not taking classes in the summer.

A “year” is an academic year, not a calendar year.

The Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan remains available for all graduate students. You can learn more about that program by reviewing the Graduate Direct Loan Updates portion of our One Big Beautiful Bill Updates website.

Other loan options may be available through private/alternative loan lenders. You can view information about this and NLU's Preferred Lender List on our website.

Graduate, professional and doctoral programs have varying program lengths. For example, if you in a program with a 2 year published program length, this means the program is designed to be completed in no more than 2 years on a full-time basis. To calculate your remaining eligibility, NLU must use this as the maximum time allowed to receive Grad PLUS Loans under this status.

Example 1:

• The student is in a graduate program that has a published program length of 2 years
• The student completes his first year at the end of 2025-26 and is scheduled to return for his 2^nd year in 2026-27
• According to the program length, he should be enrolled:
  • 2025-26 – Year 1
  • 2026-27 – Year 2 (graduate)
• Student borrowed $30,000 in Grad PLUS Loan funds for the 2025-26 year
• 2 year program – 1 year of attendance = 2 years remaining under the current Grad PLUS Loan rules

 Example 2:

• The student is in a graduate program that has a published program length of 2 years
• The student completes his second year at the end of 2025-26, but needs to return for a 3^rd year in 2026-27 to complete his program
• According to the program length, he should be enrolled:
  • 2024-25 – Year 1
  • 2025-26 – Year 2 (should have graduated, but needs to return for one more year)
  • 2026-27 – Year 3 (graduate)
• Student borrowed $60,000 in Grad PLUS Loan funds by the end of the 2025-26 year
• 2 year program – 2 years of attendance = 0 years remaining under the current Grad PLUS Loan rules
• This student will return in 2026-27 with no eligibility, as the Grad PLUS Loan program has been eliminated for non-legacy borrowers