WASHINGTON, June 28, 2026, 18:06 (EDT)
- From July 1, most grad students can borrow up to $20,500 a year in federal loans, with a lifetime max set at $100,000. For professional track programs, the limit is $50,000 a year, capped at $200,000.
- A federal judge stopped the Education Department’s tighter “professional degree” rule, but left the loan caps in place. Reuters
- SLM Corp NASDAQ:SLM, which owns Sallie Mae, and SoFi Technologies NASDAQ:SOFI are the main public names to track among originators. Nelnet NYSE:NNI is mostly linked to servicing.
- U.S. stocks traded outside their usual hours in Washington. Latest prices below are from the most recent U.S. session.
The July 1 student loan rewrite gives investors a clearer look than most recent fights in Washington: how much demand will shift from unlimited federal credit to private student loans, and how much drops off thanks to price cuts, lower enrollment or tougher credit. The law cuts off new Grad PLUS loans for a lot of grad and professional students, ending the run where eligible students have been able to borrow up to full cost of attendance.
At the dateline, U.S. stocks were not trading during normal hours. The NYSE core session is 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, and Nasdaq’s listed hours show Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern.
| Company | Last available quote / market cap | Student-loan read | Investor issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLM Corp NASDAQ:SLM, parent of Sallie Mae | $25.45 / $5.04 billion | Private education loan originations hit about $2.9 billion in Q1, up 5%. Graduate originations jumped 14%. | Main public pure-play in private student loans |
| SoFi Technologies NASDAQ:SOFI | $17.88 / $24.64 billion | SoFi posted $2.6 billion in student-loan originations in Q1, up 119% and a company record. | Student loans are sizable, but only part of SoFi’s larger fintech model |
| Nelnet NYSE:NNI | $134.41 / $4.85 billion | Serviced $525.7 billion in loans for 15.5 million borrowers, as of March 31. | Exposure is mostly loan servicing and systems, not direct loan origination |
| Navient NASDAQ:NAVI | $8.70 / $835.2 million | Agreed to stop federal student-loan servicing in 2024 CFPB settlement. | Heavy legal and legacy baggage clouds clean student-loan exposure |
Sallie Mae is pitching federal loan limits as a driver for more originations in the next few years. CEO Jon Witter said in April that federal reforms might boost originations “by up to 70%” in that time, citing an earnings call transcript. Investing.com Nigeria
SoFi is making the same move but on a bigger consumer-finance base. CEO Anthony Noto said in April that “Members grew 35% and products increased 39%.” The company reported $2.6 billion in student-loan volume for the first quarter. Annualized student-loan charge-offs dropped to 65 basis points. SEC
The number of borrowers is sizable. In the 2023-24 school year, 442,000 grad students used Grad PLUS loans, up from 353,000 in 2013-14, the Council of Graduate Schools said. Kelley Karnes, spokesperson for CGS, said more students could end up needing private loans. “We think this will negatively impact low-income students,” Karnes said. CGS
A federal judge split the Education Department’s rule on private-lender loan caps. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell stopped the agency from using a tighter definition for professional degrees that would have put advanced nursing and some health programs under the $100,000 ceiling, but she allowed the rest of the new loan limits to stand. Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward said the decision helps students in nursing, public health, education and family therapy. “These are key services that the federal government should be supporting,” Perryman said. Reuters
| Borrower lane | Federal rule from July 1 | Private-credit issue |
|---|---|---|
| Most graduate programs | $20,500 yearly cap, $100,000 total max | High-priced master’s and PhD tracks could see a funding shortfall |
| Professional programs | $50,000 per year, total limit $200,000 | Court decision keeps higher loan limits open to more healthcare borrowers while litigation unfolds |
| Parent PLUS | $20,000 a year, $65,000 lifetime for each dependent | Families of undergraduates also get new borrowing caps |
| Lifetime student borrowing | New federal aggregate limit is $257,500, Parent PLUS not included | Some may run up against the cap before finishing high-cost degrees |
Federal rates don’t close off private loan options. For the 2026-27 year, Direct Unsubsidized Loans for grad and professional students have a fixed 8.07% rate, while Direct PLUS loans come in at 9.07%. Private lenders still target borrowers with strong credit or co-signers. But many of those at the cap may struggle to get through the tougher underwriting private loans require.
SAVE poses a unique risk to loan servicers and borrower cash flow. The Education Department in March said over 7.5 million borrowers were enrolled in SAVE, which has since been discontinued. Servicers were told to start notices July 1, but a June 26 court filing said borrowers won’t have to leave SAVE until Sept. 29 “at the earliest,” and most will get even more time. U.S. Department of Education
Servicer names move differently than lenders. Nelnet’s Loan Servicing and Systems revenue hit $127.8 million in Q1, getting a lift from a Canada deal. Nelnet serviced loans for the Department of Education, Canada Student Loan Program, FFELP, plus private education and consumer loans. After a 2024 CFPB settlement, Navient is still cloudier, with the bar on federal student loan servicing making its position less clear.
Investors are focused on timing. The July 1 caps start to pull in private-loan applications for 2026-27, but with the court order, some healthcare borrowers still face the higher federal cap. The delay in SAVE could ease some near-term servicing pressure. First data to watch: fall originations, loan sale pricing, and how grad collateral performs on early delinquency.
