The Yale School of Public Health has announced a new student loan program designed to assist borrowers affected by recent changes to federal loan options. In a social media post dated December 9, 2023, the school indicated that this initiative would provide “comparable, if not more competitive, loan terms compared to previous Grad PLUS loans.” This development follows the upcoming discontinuation of the federal Grad PLUS loan program, set to take effect on July 1, 2024, under the provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The Grad PLUS program previously allowed graduate students to borrow the full cost of attendance for their educational programs. However, the new legislation, signed into law by President Donald Trump last summer, will eliminate the Grad PLUS loans, imposing new caps on borrowing and altering eligibility criteria for many students. Current borrowers who have already taken out Grad PLUS loans will retain their original terms, but starting in the 2026-27 academic year, new students will no longer have access to this funding source.
The new loan program aims to address the financial gap left by the Grad PLUS program. According to the admissions webpage of the School of Public Health, “We also anticipate changes to annual and overall loan limits, though we’re still waiting on final guidance from the Department of Education.” Without the Grad PLUS program, graduate students will be limited to borrowing $20,500 per year, with a lifetime borrowing cap of $100,000. For professional students, the limits will be $50,000 annually, with a lifetime maximum of $200,000.
The implications of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are significant, particularly for fields like nursing, social work, and public health, which are excluded from the professional degree classifications under the new law. This exclusion means that students in these disciplines will face the lower borrowing caps, complicating their financial planning for education.
The Yale School of Public Health’s announcement, titled “Yale stepping up to fill federal loan gap,” promised that more detailed information and application materials would be released soon. As of now, the school has not provided additional updates regarding the program.
In addition to navigating the challenges posed by the Trump administration’s changes to student loans, Yale University is also facing cuts to research funding and an increased tax on investment returns from its endowment. In early December, the university raised concerns about potential layoffs to manage budget shortfalls amid these financial pressures.
As the new loan program prepares to launch, students at the Yale School of Public Health are left to consider how these changes will impact their educational pursuits and future careers in public health.
