Experts warn education cuts, student loan changes could make it harder to attend college

Experts warn that President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill and cuts to the Department of Education could have huge impacts on college affordability.

The legislation and department cuts will reshape student loans, repayment options, federal financial aid programs and FAFSA accessibility, said Mark Huelsman, a fellow at Protect Borrowers.

“Overall, this is really an unprecedented time for students across the country,” Huelsman said. “This administration and this Congress has really undertaken a pretty relentless assault on higher education.”

Student loans

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping piece of federal legislation that was signed into law over the summer, introduced caps on student loan borrowing that will begin next July. The bill also reduced the number of repayment plans from seven to two.

The Grad PLUS program will be shut down for new borrowers starting next July, which could affect graduate students’ ability to afford higher education, said Megan Walter, senior policy analyst for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Parents and caregivers of undergraduate students will also face new loan limits under a similar program called Parent PLUS.

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“It’s reshaping everything,” Walter said. “It’s touching, grants, loans, repayment, accountability and all with a really quick start time of July 1, 2026.”

Walter said the act was “was easily the largest overhaul of student federal financial aid in decades.”

With fewer repayment plans available, many student loans could end up being more per month and take longer to fully pay off, Huelsman said.

These changes might lead to students and families resorting to taking out private loans, she said, which often have higher interest rates and fewer protections than federal loan programs.

“It’s going to leave a major gap in financing for a lot of students who are pursuing graduate education, as well as parents who are taking out loans for their kids,” Huelsman said.

Pell grants and federal aid

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act did not decrease any funding for Pell Grants or other forms of federal student aid because those programs are funded through appropriations bills, Walter said.

But Trump’s efforts to weaken the Department of Education have already affected the disbursement and customer service process, according to Jeongeun Kim, an associate higher education professor at the University of Maryland.

About 2,000 workers, more than half of the department, have been laid off or taken deferred resignation offers since Trump entered office in January. The president signed an executive order in March ordering education secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps” to shut down the department and return its powers to the states.

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While Trump ordered McMahon to ensure the “effective and uninterrupted delivery” of key department services, such as Pell Grant disbursement and FAFSA administration, layoffs have caused major delays in these processes for students and families, Kim said.

Delays and a weaker system could cause students to not fill out the FAFSA or abandon plans to attend four-year colleges altogether, Kim said.

What students should know

Under these changes, Kim expects to see fewer people attend graduate school and smaller universities struggle to maintain large applicant pools. She said these changes will likely have several long-lasting effects on students and higher education.

“We should be prepared for the worst case scenario,” Kim said. “Gather information, monitor what’s happening and then share resources.”

Walter said the act and department cuts will be an “on ramp to real noticeable changes” in the federal aid and loan systems and that more students will be affected by changes each year.

“The best thing students can do right now is just try to stay informed, reading the news and really paying attention to how their institutions start to communicate these changes,” Walter said.