The Trump administration clamped down on borrowing \u2014 part of its overhaul in the federal student loan<\/a> programs \u2014 saying that the previous uncapped loans for graduate school spiraled tuition upward and the limits will encourage colleges to trim costs.<\/p>\n Already, at least two graduate school programs in California, including the UC Irvine graduate business school, have lowered costs. <\/p>\n But some education experts said the changes are more likely to restrict access to learning, especially for lower-income students who have trouble qualifying for or paying private loans.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will not lock everybody out,\u201d said Jennifer Delaney, an education finance expert at UC Berkeley. \u201cBut there will be an inequitable lockout of folks from lower-income backgrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFolks who earn graduate degrees earn higher levels of income,\u201d said Wil Del Pilar, EdTrust senior vice president. If lower-income households can\u2019t afford to attend, \u201cyou are creating limits on who people can be.\u201d<\/p>\n Diego Bollo completed his undergrad at UCLA in May, and wants to return for graduate school, but new federal graduate student loan limits pose obstacles to attendance. <\/p>\n (Arwen Clemans \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n One student\u2019s dilemma<\/p>\n Diego Bollo views graduate school as a way to fast-track a career as an economic policy analyst and make him stand out to potential employers. He\u2019s already been accepted to UCLA\u2019s Luskin School of Public Affairs in the fall. <\/p>\n He\u2019s also unsure if he\u2019ll go. Federal loans, he said, will no longer cover his full cost of attendance, which he estimates would be at least $51,000 annually, including living expenses.<\/p>\n Bollo, the son of a domestic worker and a line cook, said he\u2019s applied to work as a teaching assistant and graduate researcher, which would waive the cost of his tuition. But if those don\u2019t come through, he said he would have to turn to expensive private loans, which he doesn\u2019t consider worth the return on investment.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t do the program,\u201d said Bollo, who served as president of the UCLA Undergraduate Students Assn. Council before graduating this year. \u201cIt\u2019s been a bit stressful … I think the education would be super beneficial.\u201d <\/p>\n Part of that benefit, Bollo said, would be to gain connections he didn\u2019t have growing up in Los Angeles\u2019 Pico-Union neighborhood.<\/p>\n \u201cEducation for me has always been a pillar for socioeconomic mobility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A few colleges lower costs<\/p>\n At least several colleges have already trimmed costs. The Education Department highlighted several Wednesday in a news release<\/a> proclaiming that the \u201ccycle of over-borrowing is over.\u201d <\/p>\n Among them is the UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business, which cut tuition for two of its MBA programs by tens of thousands of dollars. One degree with flexible hours for mid-level professionals is now under the new limits. <\/p>\n Ian Williamson, dean of the business school, said the new federal policy played a role in the decision as well as student scheduling preferences. He said the college lowered costs in part by requiring fewer courses and focusing on what \u201cthe students really need to be productive in their workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n At Santa Clara University School of Law, where tuition is roughly $66,000 a year for full-time students and $52,000 for part-time, Dean Michael Kaufman said he asked donors to step up. The donors delivered. All incoming full-time students will now receive a $16,000 scholarship, with part-time students receiving $12,500.<\/p>\n Concerns about the future<\/p>\n Delaney at UC Berkeley said she doubts colleges will take such action at a large scale, because educating students is people-intensive with limited ways to cut costs. <\/p>\n \u201cThere hasn\u2019t been a technological solution that has … really made us profoundly more productive than the teaching and learning function from the Middle Ages,\u201d Delaney said. \u201cIt\u2019s a sage on the stage in a lecture hall.\u201d<\/p>\n Some professional programs such as nursing cap how many students can be supervised by one instructor, which means schools can\u2019t easily jam-pack additional students into one class, she said.<\/p>\n John Aubrey Douglass, a senior research fellow at UC Berkeley\u2019s Center for Studies in Higher Education, tied the loan caps to a broader assault on higher education by the Trump administration that \u201cwill further erode the financial model of higher education institutions.\u201d <\/p>\n He said while there might be some \u201cmodest\u201d tuition reductions, the changes will likely \u201clead to further labor shortages in key professional fields, such as healthcare.\u201d <\/p>\n According to the Assn. of American Medical Colleges, the median cost<\/a> for four years of medical school is nearly $300,000 at public institutions and nearly $410,000 at private schools.<\/p>\n Bradley Curs, an associate professor of higher education policy at the University of Missouri, predicted some programs \u2014 especially at costlier private institutions \u2014 could close as people choose not to enroll because they can\u2019t access big enough loans. He thinks students might opt instead for less expensive public schools close to home. <\/p>\n Sandy Baum, an expert in education finance with the Urban Institute, said the new loan limits are unreasonably low, but uncapped borrowing was a real problem and some restrictions are necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could be in graduate school getting a master\u2019s degree in history and borrow $100,000 a year for three years and you were never going to pay that back,\u201d she said. \u201cThey needed limits, but the legislation that they passed is not well thought out.\u201d<\/p>\n Schools that charge more than the new federal limits for degrees in fields that tend not to be high-paying \u2014 like journalism, teaching or social work \u2014 could face significant obstacles in recruiting students.<\/p>\n How California universities will ultimately adjust<\/p>\n USC spokesperson Megan Jordan said in a statement the university has been informing students of the new loan limits and provided a list of \u201cpreferred\u201d private lenders they can use.<\/p>\n The financial aid office has also \u201cmet with academic departments and University leadership to review the implications of the new rules, so faculty and administrators are equipped to support students appropriately,\u201d Jordan said. <\/p>\n According to a breakdown on USC\u2019s website<\/a>, estimated tuition for a master\u2019s in journalism was $74,010 for the 2025-26 school year. The one-year master of arts in teaching costs about $66,500, said Estevan Hernandez, with the USC Rossier School of Education.<\/p>\n A doctorate in dental surgery, a higher-paying field, is estimated to cost $128,547 for this coming school year, USC estimates<\/a>. <\/p>\n A spokesperson for UCLA directed questions to the University of California Office of the President. <\/p>\n Stett Holbrook, a spokesperson for the office, said in an email that the \u201cUniversity of California remains deeply concerned about the financial impact\u201d of the changes on students and \u201cwill continue to do all we can to ensure that cost is not a barrier for anyone who wants to pursue a higher education,\u201d including by pursing legislative changes.<\/p>\n Loan uncertainties remain<\/p>\n The changes stem from President Trump\u2019s \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d passed by Congress last year.<\/p>\n In addition to new limits for graduate students, the student loan overhaul includes caps for parents who take out education loans for their children under a federal program<\/a>. <\/p>\n People who were enrolled in graduate school and received a federal loan before July 1 will not face the new limits, according to the Education Department.<\/p>\n Much controversy emerged over what fields the government would designate as \u201cprofessional\u201d degrees for the highest loan level. The Education Department initially classified only 11 fields as professional, leaving out areas including nursing, physical therapy and education.<\/p>\n![\"Diego](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783335433_887_.jpeg\")
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