Alright, let's get this straight. Another freakin' "big, beautiful" something-or-other from the guy who promised us a wall Mexico would pay for. This time it's student loans. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Seriously? Did they even TRY to come up with a less ridiculous name?
So, Trump signed this OBBBA thing in July 2025, and now the Department of Education is patting itself on the back for "reforming" student loans. They're saying they're simplifying repayment, capping borrowing, and holding universities accountable. Yeah, right. Color me skeptical.
The Grad PLUS Scam Gets Axed (Finally)
Okay, I'll give them some credit. Axing the Grad PLUS program is a step in the right direction. That thing was a predatory lending scheme disguised as an education opportunity. Letting grad students borrow up to the cost of attendance? Insane. It incentivized universities to jack up tuition and offer useless degrees.
Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent is quoted saying these changes will "drive a sea change in higher education by holding universities accountable for outcomes and putting significant downward pressure on the cost of tuition."
"Sea change"? More like a ripple in a stagnant pond. Let's be real. Universities are gonna find ways around this. They always do. They'll just create new fees, or "restructure" programs, or whatever other BS they can dream up to keep the money flowing.
And get this: the new caps for grad students are $20,500 per year, with a $100,000 lifetime max. For professional students, it's $50,000 annually and $200,000 total. Fine, but what about the people already drowning in debt? This doesn't help them one bit. It's like putting a band-aid on a severed limb. These changes to student debt rules could impact many. Grad PLUS Loans cancelled, Parent PLUS capped — How new US student debt rules could impact you
It's all supposed to come into effect in July 2026. Plenty of time for the next administration to muck it all up again, offcourse.
The "Simplified" Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)
Oh, and let's not forget the "simplified" Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). Because that's what we need, another acronym to throw into the alphabet soup of government programs. They're sunsetting all the "confusing maze" of repayment plans created by Obama and Biden, apparently. As if that's the problem.
The problem is that tuition is too damn high, wages are too damn low, and the whole system is rigged to keep people indebted for life. But sure, let's shuffle the deck chairs on the Titanic. That'll fix everything.
Alex Beene, some financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek that students will have to "keep track of the changes, for many years ahead." No freakin' kidding. It's like we need a PhD in student loan policy just to figure out how to pay back our loans.
Speaking of keeping track of things, I'm still waiting for Wendy's to bring back the spicy chicken nuggets. Priorities, people!
Public Engagement? Give Me a Break
The Department of Education is touting this whole process as "collaborative" and involving "public engagement." They held a virtual public hearing on August 7th. A virtual hearing. How many people do you think actually participated? And how much of their feedback actually made it into the final regulations? I'm guessing not much.
They're gonna publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register. Which, let's be honest, is basically shouting into the void. Who actually reads that stuff? And who believes that the government is actually listening?
So, What's the Real Agenda?
Look, I'm not saying all of this is bad. Capping borrowing and getting rid of the Grad PLUS program are good things. But let's not pretend this is some kind of revolutionary change that's going to solve the student debt crisis.
It's just another political football being kicked around. Another way for politicians to score points and pretend they're doing something to help the American people. Meanwhile, millions of people are still struggling to pay off their loans, and the cost of college keeps going up.
Maybe, just maybe, I'm being too cynical. Maybe this really is a step in the right direction. But I doubt it.