One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)
What Students Need to Know About Financial Aid
On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) became law. This new legislation includes changes that may affect students’ financial aid, such as updates to Federal Direct Loans, repayment options for current and future borrowers, and Pell Grant eligibility.
The Financial Aid Office is here to support you through these changes. We are actively reviewing new federal guidance as it is released and will continue to share updates to help you understand how these changes may impact your financial aid.
Important reminder: Information about the OBBBA may change as additional guidance becomes available from the federal government. Please check your Berkeley College email regularly and read all messages from the Financial Aid Office carefully so you don't miss important updates.
Click here to see all the details on the Federal Student Aid Website.
What Has Changed?
Effective for Berkeley College’s Spring 2026/Fall 2026 cohort, we are now required to reduce a student’s annual federal loan eligibility based on enrollment level.
- Students enrolled half-time are eligible for only 50% of their annual loan amount.
- This change applies to all loans disbursed beginning with the 2026-2027 award year.
What Does This Mean?
Federal loans are now treated as annual loans that are tied to a student's enrollment across the full borrower-based academic year (BBAY). At Berkeley, you can be in one of the following cohorts:
- Fall/Winter
- Winter/Spring
- Spring/Fall
This new law’s impact on our students starts with the Spring 2026/Fall 2026 cohort, while it does not impact those students in the Winter 2026/Spring 2026 cohort.
- No more than 50% of a student’s annual loan eligibility can be disbursed in the first term of the award year.
- If a student’s enrollment level changes during the year, any remaining loan disbursements must be adjusted in the following semester to reflect the updated enrollment.
- Undergraduate students enrolled in fewer than 24 total credits across a BBAY will have their loan amounts adjusted during the second semester.
