Student Loans - Effective July 1, 2026

Disclaimer: The information provided is current as of April 28, 2026, and is subject to change pending publication of the final rule regarding federal student loans and proration. 

The maximum Federal Direct Unsubsidized loan is $50,000 per academic year or the student’s cost of attendance budget, whichever is lower. The FAFSA is considered the application for federal student aid of loans and federal work study. The unsub loan is offered automatically via the offer letter once the federal FAFSA and SJCL Financial Aid Application are submitted. As of July 1, 2026, incoming or transfer students are no longer eligible for a grad plus loan.

As of July 1, 2026, the lifetime maximum set by law to $200,000, is a total of graduate, professional, and grad plus loans combined. The maximum undergrad loans remains the same $57,500, making the total lifetime loan limit a student may borrow is $257,500, undergrad and grad/professional + grad plus.

When a student has reached the lifetime maximum aggregate loan limit of $200,000, they will need to obtain a private student loan. SJCL will not have a preferred lender so the student will need to research private student loan lenders on their own. It is highly recommended to contact several different private loan lenders to compare interest rates, repayment terms, and credit requirements.

New Loan Limits - Effective July 1, 2026

• Unsubsidized loan only, $50,000 max per year
• Lifetime aggregate limit of $200,000. This amount includes all previous graduate/professional loans including all grad plus loans. Total maximum of $257,500 for both undergrad and grad/professional loans
• If student borrower reaches the lifetime limit of $200K maximum of graduate/professional + grad plus loans, they will need to obtain private student loans on their own. SJCL will not have a preferred lender for private loans
• Loan fee is 1.057% for 2026-27
• Maximum of $50,000 per academic/award year, even if COA is higher
• Loan is subject to proration. Proration is based on percentage of full-time units enrolled. Full-time is 20 units for all levels of the program. If a student enrolls in less than 20-units during an academic year the loans are prorated. 

Loan Proration – Effective July 1, 2026

Besides the changes to the maximum amount of unsub loans and elimination of the grad plus loan, there is a new regulation that requires all loans to be prorated based on the percentage of full-time enrollment for an academic year. All academic years at SJCL are June – May, summer being our header semester. Full-time is at least 20 units in an academic year; Summer, 2-units; Fall and Spring, 10-units each. A student must also be enrolled in at least half-time to be eligible for a loan disbursement in the individual semester. 
If a student enrolls in less than 20-units for the academic year, the maximum loan amount will be prorated by the percentage of full-time.

At this time Federal Student Aid has not published the final federal regulation on proration, but it is expected to be published by the end of May 2026. More information regarding how the proration will be calculated will be provided after guidance has been provided by FSA.

Example (1L)

1L enrolls in 10-units for Fall semester, but fails/drops a course during the semester. Student will enroll in 7-units for Spring semester. Student is no longer considered full-time for loan purposes, will only be eligible for percentage of maximum loan (17/20= 85% of loan. $50,000 X 85% = $42,500 loan eligibility). 

If the student elects to take the maximum amount of loans, the spring loan disbursement will be adjusted to ensure there is no over award of loan funds (If in Fall you take $25,000 then in Spring you would be eligible for $17,500).

2026-27 Tuition and Fees/Unsubsidized Loans

For the first year of the 4-year Program, Fall & Spring semester loans are required to be disbursed in equal disbursements for each semester (½ in Fall and ½ in Spring)

Example: Fall 2026

Example: Spring 2027

*Fall 2026 Overage Checks are Available 8/21/2026
**Spring 2027 Overage Checks are Available 1/15/2027

The following is an example of the total amounts available for the first academic year.

Example: Fall 2026 & Spring 2027 Combined

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Posted: April 6, 2026

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