Take Action: Federal Student Loan Caps Threaten Access to Counseling Programs

Starting July 1, 2026, as part of provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the U.S. Department of Education (ED) could begin making significant changes to federal student loan limits. According to the ED, “OBBBA caps annual loans for new borrowers at $20,500 for graduate students ($100,000 aggregate limit), and $50,000 for professional students ($200,000 aggregate limit).”

Under these guidelines, non-doctorate counseling programs are considered graduate programs, and therefore capping student borrowing power to $20,500 a year in federal student loans.  

ED has established very narrow criteria for what qualifies as a professional program. To be eligible, the program must be at the doctoral level, lead to licensure, and fall under specific Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes. The approved CIP codes do include counseling psychology and applied psychology, so students enrolled in doctoral programs within these fields should be eligible for the higher loan limit of $50,000 per year.

These changes are incredibly disruptive and challenging for students. While the Administration intends for these policies to encourage schools to reduce tuition, we are deeply concerned that the burden will instead fall on students. These federal loan limits may push some towards expensive private lenders and discourage others from pursuing counseling altogether.

ED is required to consider public comments—generally open for at least a 30-day period—before issuing a final rule. ACA will submit formal comments to the Department of Education during the comment period and will be engaging with federal legislators to address this alarming policy shift.

We strongly encourage counselors to advocate for the reversal of these provisions by also submitting comments to the Department of Education once the comment period opens. Counselors should also contact their federal lawmakers to explain how these proposed loan limits would impose significant burdens on individuals pursuing counseling degrees and undermine the counseling profession.

ACA will continue to advocate on behalf of the counseling community and will provide updates as new information becomes available. We also invite counselors to share how student loans have supported their journeys toward becoming licensed professional counselors and how these proposed loan limits would negatively impact educational and professional trajectories. Your stories are essential to strengthening our advocacy efforts. We will use this information to provide lawmakers with the real-world, lived experiences they need to fully understand the impact of these proposed changes.

If you would like to become involved in ACA’s advocacy efforts, please contact the ACA Government Affairs and Public Policy team at advocacy@counseling.org.