Higher Education

To help students and their families pay for higher education, the Department of Education (Education) provides billions of dollars in federal student loans each year through programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. As of September 2017, over 42 million borrowers held nearly $1.4 trillion in federal student loans. Graduate students have been eligible for Graduate PLUS (Grad PLUS) loans to help finance their education since July 1, 2006. Grad PLUS loans are not need-based and students can borrow up to the cost of attendance, such as tuition, fees, and room and board, minus any other estimated financial assistance. Grad PLUS loans are also different than many other federal student loans because they do not have fixed annual or aggregate—referred to in this report as “lifetime”—limits....