Who IS impacted by this announcement? 

• Students receiving federal subsidized, unsubsidized, parent PLUS and Grad PLUS loans for the:
  • Summer – undergraduate and graduate students
  • M.D. – summer,  second-year electives
  • M.D. – fall, third- and fourth-year

What options exist for impacted students?

• KU Endowment Association Loans and private loans are not impacted by the new rules. 
• Students may apply for up to $3,000/semester from KU Endowment. KU Endowment does have a $12,000 lifetime limit (or $24,000 for MD students).
• Private loans are available up to the Cost of Attendance.  There are different preferred lender lists for undergraduate, graduate, M.D., international/DACA, and parent borrowers.
• Please note that students may not exceed the Cost of Attendance, so any KUEA or private loans will reduce the amount of federal loans a student can borrow.
• Please contact FinancialAid@kumc.edu or (913) 588-5170, if you have additional concerns or questions.

What other activities are impacted by the OBBBA?

• Since April 26 we have received new 2026-27 FAFSAs, but we are unable to process them until the new software updates are working.
• We cannot download Grad PLUS or parent PLUS applications until the new software updates are working.

What about the June 15 tuition deadline for summer undergraduate and graduate students?

• We will automatically deferment payments to July 15.
• Students will not incur a late fee.
• This applies to all KU Medical Center students, regardless of whether you are applying for financial aid.

What about new graduate students who want to borrow an unsubsidized loan to qualify for the legacy borrowing provision in the OBBBA?

• In order for students to qualify as a legacy borrower and retain the ability to borrow Grad PLUS for up to three years, a student whose program begins in summer 2026 must have one loan disburse before July 1, 2026.
• We are working as quickly as possible to ensure these students can achieve legacy borrower status by June 30.

What is the cause of the delay?

• In July 2025 the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was signed into law and created enormous changes to federal loans nationwide.
• The effective date of the loan changes is July 1, 2026.
• The Higher Education Act 482(c) states that new regulations should have been published on November 1, 2025, for an effective date of July 1, 2026.
• The U.S. Department of Education released their final rules seven months later, on May 1, 2026.
• Software vendors that support final aid processing hurried to update coding over a two-week period. 
• The updated software has new errors.  Additionally, we cannot create valid loans that will disburse aid to students. Schools are conducting testing and sharing feedback with vendors so that federal loan processing can work with the new rules.

Who is NOT impacted:

• Undergraduate and graduate students whose next semester is fall 2026.
• First-year M.D. students
• Second-year M.D. students who are not enrolled in summer electives.
• Institutional and private aid, such as scholarships, KU Endowment Association Loans and private loans.