Financial Aid

OB3 establishes new borrowing limits for federal student loans:

• Graduate PLUS Loans will be eliminated for new borrowers after July 1, 2026.
• Graduate and Professional Direct Unsubsidized Loan limits are changing to:
  • Graduate annual limit: $20,500; lifetime: $100,000
  • Professional programs: annual $50,000; lifetime $200,000
• Combined Lifetime limits of $257,500 for all federal loans will apply. 

Examples of new borrowers include:

• Members of the Class of D2030;
• Members of D2029, D2028 and D2027 who did not previously borrow Federal Student Loans while enrolled at TUSDM;
• Post-Graduate Students enrolled in their first-year of their certificate and/or degree program (even if they were previously enrolled at TUSDM and borrowed Federal Student Loans that remain outstanding as of 7/1/2026);
• Students that are returning from a leave of absence where they were previously enrolled in a different cohort; (i.e., former D2029 member returning to enroll in D3030). 

You will be considered a ‘legacy student’ if you meet all of the following: 

• Continue to be enrolled in the same program as of June 30, 2026, attending the same school AND
• Are currently borrowing or previously borrowed a Direct Unsubsidized Loan while enrolled in this program AND
• Have no future lapse of enrollment (including withdrawal or leave of absence) as of 7/1/26 until you complete the program AND
• Do not change programs

Examples of legacy students include:

• Members of the Class of 2029, 2028 and 2027 who borrowed either Unsubsidized Direct Loan or Grad PLUS and still have an outstanding balance on these loans as of 7/1/26.
• Post-Graduate students who are enrolled in the 2nd year or beyond of their certificate and/or degree program and who borrowed either Unsubsidized Direct Loan or Grad PLUS and still have an outstanding balance on these loans as of 7/1/26.
• Have been enrolled continuously in their education program with no interruptions of study except for a federally-approved leave of absence where the student was considered to remain enrolled in their TUSDM program but was on a short break from their program due to a school-approved leave of absence such as for paternity leave or brief medical illness. 

As a ‘legacy student’, you will continue to have access to both Direct Unsubsidized and Graduate PLUS loans.  This will include:

• Having access to current Direct Unsubsidized annual loan limits
  • DMD students: $42,722 - $47,167
  • PG students (Graduate and Graduate Certificate programs) : $20,500
• Having the same aggregate (lifetime) limits for Direct Unsubsidized loans
  • DMD students: $224,000
  • PG students (Graduate and Graduate Certificate programs): $138,500
• Having access to Direct Graduate PLUS loans until you receive your credential from your current program or for a maximum of 3 years, whichever is less.

OB3 introduces changes to how enrollment status affects federal loan eligibility. Any student that falls below full-time status will have their federal loans prorated to either 75% (three-quarter time) or 50% (half-time) of their full-time eligibility. Students must still be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for any federal loans.

Because these changes will affect how much students may borrow through federal loan programs after July 1, 2026, it’s important to plan ahead:

• Understand future federal borrowing limits: New annual and lifetime loan caps may reduce the amount of federal aid available.
• Consider the impact of withdrawals/leaves of absences: Current students who withdraw or take a leave of absence that requires the school to consider you to have withdrawn from the school will no longer be considered a legacy student. Upon return they will be considered new borrowers with the new Unsubsidized Loan limits and will not have access to Graduate PLUS Loans.
• Review your credit profile: Students should consider reviewing their credit reports, including their credit scores, learning how credit history may affect eligibility, interest rates, and terms for private student loans, which may become a more important financing option under OB3.
• Learn about private loan readiness: Understanding and reviewing your credit score and securing multiple co-signers will help students prepare if additional funding is needed.

The U.S. Department of Education continues to issue guidance related to OB3 implementation. TUSDM’s Financial Aid Office will share updates as more details become available.

Important Disclaimer: The content on this page is provided for informational purposes to assist Tufts students in understanding federal student aid programs and related changes. This information reflects our current interpretation of available federal guidance but does not represent official federal policy. Students and families should consult official U.S. Department of Education resources for authoritative information. Please visit StudentAid.gov for the most current guidance.

For additional resources published by Federal Student Aid (FSA) and national associations, please visit:
•    National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities (NAICU)
•    National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
•    One Big Beautiful Bill Act Updates (Federal Student Aid)
•    Federal Student Loan Program Provisions Effective Upon Enactment Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (GEN-25-04)

Once the student has reviewed their financial aid award notice and made any required updates to the loan amounts, they must submit the signed award notice through the secure box portal below. The award notice must be signed prior to submitting it.  Written or electronic signatures will be accepted but typed or font signatures will not be permitted.  Post-graduate students are required to submit their completed loan disbursement worksheets (LDW), also through the portal.

If the award notice was received via email, print out the email, initial any changes, sign it with written (inked) signature, scan it, and return to the Financial Aid Office by uploading it to the secure portal link below. If a printer or scanner is not accessible, open the email window containing the award letter, go to “File”, “Print”, select “Print to PDF,” and then select “Print”.  A prompt will follow to identify a document name and where PDF should be saved. Once document has been named (see below for proper naming configuration), click Save. The email is then saved as a PDF document to which any appropriate adjustments (initial any changes) can be added along with an electronic signature. Upload the saved document using the secure portal link below.

Regardless of chosen method to complete the award letter, when saving the document, please NAME IT USING the following configuration:

LAST NAME, FIRST NAME, PROGRAM, AND YEAR OF GRADUATION Award Notice

For instance, a D27 student should name their document: Last Name, First Name D27 Award Notice. A first-year Endodontics student should name their document: Last Name, First Name EN25 Award Notice. Loan Disbursement Worksheets (Post-Graduates only) can be submitted using a similar configuration with LDW at the end. This helps the Financial Aid Office direct your award notice to the appropriate staff member for processing.

Click this link through the secure Box portal to Submit your Award Letter electronically to the Financial Aid Office.