This fall marks the first academic year since the Big Beautiful Bill’s federal student loan rules took effect. On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the act into law, which spanned several fiscal policy areas such as social welfare programs and the debt ceiling. The act affected undergraduate, graduate and professional students in different ways, generally through loan caps and repayment options.
For Shubhechchha Khadka, a USC sophomore studying business administration, changes to unit requirements have complicated her theatre minor. Over the summer, Khadka said she was told that the 12 units needed for full-time student status had to count towards her major to receive the full federal loan amount. Annenberg Media obtained an email from an academic advisor sent to Khadka that stated this rule. It is unknown whether this rule is specific to the Marshall School of Business, as any 12 units are usually enough to be considered full-time.
Khadka said she chose to change her academic plan and will graduate early to avoid part-time student status and possible aid reductions. She planned on pursuing a theatre minor and studying abroad. Without the full loan amount, Khadka chose to drop the minor.
“I want to spend my time living the college experience and also trying out different courses, which is why I also wanted to get a minor in theatre,” she said.
Khadka is considering an MBA in the future but realized federal aid caps for graduate degrees in the Big Beautiful Bill may make it harder to pay for the program.
“It makes me wonder whether … I will be able to get the loan or get [enough aid] to be able to pursue graduate school,” she said.
The Big Beautiful Bill also removed Grad PLUS loans. These allowed students to borrow the full cost of attendance. Titus Ng, a graduate student majoring in biokinesiology with a sports science emphasis, said he would have considered Grad PLUS loans if they were still a possibility.
“It would have opened up more possibilities if Grad PLUS [were] still in place,” Ng said.
On the other hand, Ng sees a silver lining in the loss of this option. He hopes to maximize his time at USC to repay his loans after graduation.
“With Grad PLUS loans gone now, there’s more of a drive to really get what I can out of the college grad experience,” he said.
Kiki Benyshek, a dental student, said she is also using private loans because, in her experience, they have lower interest rates for medical students and because she would have likely maxed out the new lifetime federal loan limit by her second year. Benyshek added that her school’s financial aid advisor helped her navigate the loan process.
“I think especially if you’re a first-time college graduate or like going into postgraduate, [it’s a] very confusing loan system,” she said. “I had to talk to my parents, a lot of other people, because I’ve never taken out a loan.”
In a statement, the USC Financial Aid Office said it “proactively prepared students well ahead” when many of these regulations took effect July 1, 2026. These efforts include a website page dedicated to financial resources and Big Beautiful Bill student aid changes, as well as outreach efforts to various academic departments and individual students.
Both the aid office and students are continuing to iron out changes brought about by the bill.
“It’s fine if I don’t get a minor. It’s fine if I can’t study abroad. It’s not the worst thing,” Khadka said. “It’s just, I guess, different from what I’d envisioned.”