If you are one of millions of Americans with student loan debt, listen up: There are big changes coming July 1 you need to know about.
From the end of old repayment plans to the addition of new ones, as well as new borrowing limits, there are a lot borrowers can do before these changes take effect.
Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors, joined Texas Standard to break down a few of those changes.
If you were on the SAVE Plan
The Biden-era Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan dramatically brought down the amount borrowers had to pay monthly. But challenges in the courts put some 7 million borrowers who were on the plan into a sort of limbo, or "SAVE malaise," as Mayotte put it.
That's because loans for SAVE Plan borrowers were put into forbearance, meaning some haven't had payments due for about two years.
But with the SAVE Plan now going away under the Trump administration, that's all about to change.
Mayotte says these borrowers will start receiving a notice on or after July 1 that they will have a 90-day window to switch to a new active repayment plan.
"If they don't switch by their particular deadline, the Department of Ed is probably gonna put them in what we call a standard or a level repayment plan," Mayotte said.
Mayotte did emphasize that July 1 is not the deadline by which borrowers had to be in a new plan. That deadline is still further out, but it does mean borrowers need to start considering their options.
"Watch the communications and make sure you know when your deadline is to switch," Mayotte said.
What are the new plans?
While the SAVE plan — and in 2028, the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans — is going away, the Trump administration will roll out two new options for borrowers:
Tiered Standard plan
Similar to the current Standard plan, with fixed repayments every month. Under this plan, the length of the repayment period grows with the amount of debt a borrower has.
Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)
A new income-driven repayment plan, RAP determines how much a borrower pays based on their income. The plan waives any monthly interest that exceeds the plan's monthly payment but could mean a longer repayment period.
"For borrowers that don't take out any new debt or don't consolidate on or after July 1, they will have access to that RAP plan as well as the existing plans: Income-Based Repayment, Extended Repayment, Pay-As-You-Earn… They'll still have access to those," Mayotte said.
How do I find the right plan for me?
The Department of Education has a Repayment Calculator that borrowers can use to type in their income, loan balance and other information to help find and compare which plans are best for their situation.
Mayotte also highlighted the work they do at freestudentloanadvice.org to help borrowers navigate changes and find the best options for them.
I'm about to start school. Are there changes I should know about?
For folks looking to begin their own path in higher education, there are changes they'll want to be aware of regarding limits on how much they can borrow.
Pell grant borrowers
Pell grants, which do not have to be repaid, have been extended slightly, Mayotte said — particularly around who can apply for them.
"Traditionally, Pell grants are for people that are in more what we would consider traditional college," Mayotte said. "But they expanded it to allow students that were in more what they're calling 'workforce-generated programs' to be able to receive them."
These include short-term workforce programs for skilled jobs.
Mayotte did stress that one snag that hasn't been address is the Pell grant shortfall.
"In other words, the Pell program could run out of money," Mayotte said. "But I've never seen Congress actually let that happen, and I think they're working on that now."
Graduate students
Under the Graduate PLUS program, borrowers could borrow up to the cost of attendance for people in graduate programs or people in professional programs like medical school and law school, Mayotte said.
Congress axed the program as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill.
"And so it was limited for people that were in graduate programs to $20,500 a year — no more than $100,000. And for people in so-called professional programs, $50,000 a year — no more than $200,000," Mayotte said.
But, Mayotte said, a judge is putting an injunction on how a professional program is defined.
"And because of that, I think at least temporarily, who can get that $50,000 versus the $20,000 a year is gonna be expanded. But we're still waiting to see how that's gonna shake out," Mayotte said.
For an expanded list of all the other student loan borrowing and repayment changes, check out NPR's full guide here.
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