Loans

Student Loans

Student loans provide funding for college that must be repaid with interest. Federal student loans are offered through the U.S. government, while private loans are available through external lenders.

Important Fall 2026 Update:

Due to ongoing federal regulatory changes, De Anza College is currently awaiting finalized processing guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education. As a result, student loans for the 2026–2027 academic year cannot be certified or disbursed at this time.

We appreciate your patience as we work through these federal updates. This page will be updated as soon as official disbursement schedules are finalized.

Below is a link to FAQ's shared by the U.S. Department of Education.

FAQ's for Reducing Annual Loan Limits

What Students and Parents Need to Know 

The federal student aid landscape is undergoing its biggest overhaul in decades due to a new federal law called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3). Signed into law in July 2025, the vast majority of these sweeping changes officially take effect on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

Because federal funding is now tied to strict program timelines, it is more important than ever to plan your academic pathway early, map out your transfer goals, and finish your degree efficiently to protect your financial aid runway.

What’s Changing?

The OB3 law brings massive structural shifts to federal student loans, lifetime borrowing caps, and how payments are handled later. The U.S. Department of Education is still finalizing some of the smaller administrative details, so we will update this page as new rules drop.

📊 Key Changes for Student Borrowers

The biggest shift under OB3 is that federal student loans are no longer an open-ended safety net. Loan eligibility is now directly tied to your official program length.

If you are enrolled in a standard two-year associate degree or transfer program, you are granted exactly two years of federal loan eligibility—even if it takes you longer to finish. This makes part-time pacing highly risky:

The Part-Time Trap: If you take 9 units per term instead of 15, you stretch a two-year degree into a four-year timeline. However, your federal student loans will completely cut off after year two.

Furthermore, loan amounts are now legally prorated by your credit load, mimicking how the Pell Grant works.

Rule Category	Rules Before July 1, 2026	Rules After July 1, 2026	What it Means for You
Pacing & Deadlines	Students could borrow as long as they were enrolled half-time (6 units).	Loans are locked to the official program length (e.g., 2 years of funding for a 2-year track).	If you repeat classes or change majors late, you run a high risk of losing your loans entirely.
Part-Time Funding	Part-time students could borrow the exact same annual amounts as full-time students.	Loan amounts are strictly prorated by unit load.	Enrolling in 6 units (half-time) means you will only receive 50% of your annual loan maximum.
Undergrad Limits	$5,500 to $7,500/year. Lifetime cap of $31,000 (dependent) or $57,500 (independent).	Annual and lifetime undergraduate limits remain unchanged.	Direct impact at DeAnza College is minimal, but you must conserve your limits if you plan to transfer.
Graduate Limits	$20,500/year. Lifetime cap of $138,500. Unlimited Grad PLUS loans up to cost of attendance.	$20,500/year. New $100,000 lifetime graduate cap. Grad PLUS loans are eliminated.	If you plan to transfer and pursue a Master's degree later, you will face strict caps and no longer have Grad PLUS to lean on.
Professional Tracks (MD, JD, PharmD)	$20,500/year base limits. Unlimited Grad PLUS loans up to cost of attendance.	$50,000/year limit. New $200,000 lifetime cap. Grad PLUS loans are eliminated.	Strict federal limits now apply to medical and law tracks, requiring careful financial planning.
The Ultimate Ceiling	No single, unified lifetime limit combining all undergraduate and graduate federal loan types.	$257,500 absolute lifetime max across all undergraduate, graduate, and professional loans combined.	Every dollar you borrow for your undergraduate degree directly eats into the total amount of federal aid available for your lifetime education.

👨‍👩‍👧 Key Changes for Parent Borrowers

Historically, the Parent PLUS loan program allowed parents to borrow an unlimited amount of money up to the university’s total Cost of Attendance (COA). OB3 completely eliminates unlimited borrowing.

Parents are now limited to a maximum of $20,000 per year and a $65,000 lifetime ceiling per child.

Because our tuition and fees at DeAnza College are affordable, standard local families are unlikely to hit this ceiling while attending here. However, if you are an out-of-state student paying non-resident fees, or if your family is planning for your eventual transfer to a costly four-year university, these absolute caps must be factored into your long-term household budget today.

Loan Type	Rules Before July 1, 2026	Rules After July 1, 2026
Parent PLUS Caps	Parents could borrow up to the full Cost of Attendance minus other financial aid. No lifetime cap.	$20,000 per year maximum per student. $65,000 lifetime maximum per student.
The Payer Rule	Caps apply per student, not per parent.	If both parents apply for a loan for the same student, their combined total cannot cross the $20,000 annual limit.

Are You a "Legacy" Borrower? If you or your parents successfully received a federal student loan disbursement for your current academic program before July 1, 2026, you are temporarily grandfathered under the old rules for up to three years or until you graduate—whichever comes first. If you change your major or degree track after July 1, 2026, you will instantly lose your legacy status and move to the new rules.

Federal Direct Loan Program

Federal Direct Loans are intended to help students from both low- and middle-income families. Students must meet the minimum eligibility requirements, which include being enrolled in at least six units at the college.

Direct subsidized loans are made to eligible students who demonstrate financial need. The college will determine the amount you can borrow, based on your need. You will not have to pay interest on this type of loan

• as long as you are attending school at least half-time

• during the first six months after you leave school

• or during a period in which you have qualified for a deferment or postponement of loan payments. 

Direct unsubsidized loans are made to eligible students without a required demonstration of financial need. The college will determine the amount you can borrow. You must pay the interest on this type of loan, even while you are in school.

Direct Plus loans are made to parents of dependent students, who wish to borrow money to help pay for their student’s education.

For more information, see the studentaid.gov website.

Prorated Loans

Students attending De Anza College for one or two terms are subject to prorated loan amounts. Students attending for one quarter will have their loan disburse in two equal disbursements on the scheduled refund days.

Exit Counseling

All students who receive a federal loan are required to complete an online session known as “exit counseling” when they graduate, leave school or drop below half-time enrollment. This counseling is designed to give students information about repaying their loans and help them understand their rights and responsibilities as a borrower.

If you are leaving school after receiving a federal loan, you will receive an email with a link to the website where you can complete the counseling session. You will also see a notification when you log onto MyPortal. (You can also find a link to the exit counseling site at studentaid.gov.) You will have 30 days to complete the online session. If you don’t, the college may place a hold on your student records, including transcripts.

To get started on your exit counseling, you should have the following information ready for each of your student loans:

• Name, address and telephone number of nearest relative

• Name, address and telephone number of two additional references

• Name, address and telephone number of employer (if employed)

After you have answered all questions, you will see a completed form online, which you can print for your records. 

National Student Loan Data System

If you are a student or parent borrower, De Anza is required to submit information about your loan to the National Student Loan Data System. This information will be available to guaranty agencies, lenders and other institutions that qualify as authorized users of the data system.

Terms and Conditions

Please note: Each type of financial aid has important terms and conditions that you must follow. See this page for details.

READY TO APPLY? HERE'S HOW!