For years, graduate and professional students could borrow up to the full cost of attendance through Grad PLUS loans. That ended on July 1, 2026: new borrowers now face hard federal caps for the first time in over a decade. This guide explains the new graduate and professional limits, how a funding gap opens up, and what it really costs to fill that gap with private debt.

The new federal caps

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, new graduate borrowers are limited to $20,500 per year and $100,000 in total, while professional-degree students in defined fields (medicine, law, dentistry, and others) can borrow $50,000 per year up to $200,000 total. Grad PLUS — which previously covered any remaining cost — is gone for new borrowers. Both the annual and the aggregate limit matter: on a long or expensive program, you can exhaust the aggregate cap before you graduate, and every year after that must be funded entirely from savings, scholarships, or private loans.

How the funding gap works

This calculator builds a year-by-year schedule. Each year it grows your cost of attendance by your chosen rate, subtracts savings and scholarships, then applies federal loans up to the annual cap and your remaining aggregate room. Whatever is left is the funding gap. Because professional caps are more than double the graduate caps, the same tuition can leave a very different gap depending on your program type — which is why the tool compares graduate and professional side by side, and flags the exact year the aggregate cap binds.

Filling the gap — and what it costs

You can fill the gap with private loans, more scholarships, savings, or family help. Private loans carry higher, often variable rates and lack federal protections such as income-driven repayment and forgiveness, so the calculator amortizes your gap at the APR and term you choose to show the monthly payment and total interest. It also computes how much extra annual savings or scholarships would close the gap with no private debt at all. If you borrowed Grad PLUS for your current program before July 1, 2026, a legacy exception may let you keep borrowing under the old rules for a limited time — confirm your status with your school's financial-aid office. This is an educational estimate; verify every figure with Federal Student Aid before committing.