TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jun 23, 2025

Those who cannot afford law school tuition could end up paying more for their degrees — or be shut out altogether — under a proposed congressional cap on student loan borrowing, Reuters reports. The budget reconciliation bill, passed by the U.S. House in May and now under consideration in the Senate, includes proposed annual loan caps ranging from $50,000 to $77,000, with aggregate limits between $150,000 and $200,000 for professional degrees. The Senate proposal differs slightly. Under the current federal loan system, students may borrow the full cost of tuition and living expenses at fixed interest rates. Under the proposed changes, students who reach the cap would need to seek private loans to cover additional costs. The cap would apply to all professional degree programs, with students in high-cost fields such as law and medicine expected to be most affected. Law students on average borrowed $146,800 in 2020, according to the most recent data from AccessLex Institute. It was the second highest amount borrowed. Only those pursuing medical degree programs borrowed more.