By Nadra Nittle, The 19th, This story was originally published by The 19th
This story was originally reported by Nadra Nittle of The 19th. Meet Nadra and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.
New student loan rules took effect Wednesday — and the changes may heavily impact women pursuing higher education, particularly those in graduate programs like social work.
Critics warn that the new guidelines, ushered in by the Trump administration’s sweeping tax-and-spending bill known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” will worsen gender, racial and class inequities.
Graduate students used to be able to borrow up to the full cost of tuition over the course of their degree programs.
Now, those pursuing non-professional graduate degrees may borrow $20,500 annually, but no more than $100,000 over their lifetimes. Students in professional programs will be limited to $50,000 annually and $200,000 total.
A major point of contention is which programs qualify as “professional.” While fields like medicine and law have the “professional” designation, programs that have traditionally attracted women, such as education and social work, do not.
Facing lower borrowing limits, women pursuing caregiving professions may struggle to cover the education expenses needed to earn degrees in these fields.
This is especially true for Black women, who rely more on student loans than other demographics. Overall, women hold an estimated two-thirds of the nation’s over $1.8 trillion in student loan debt.
The new guidelines for student loans also have implications for parents. Previously, parents could borrow all the money needed to cover their child’s higher education costs. Now, they can’t borrow more than $20,000 annually and up to $65,000 per student.
Borrowers in repayment face challenges, too.
About 7.2 million borrowers were enrolled in the Biden-era SAVE plan, which drastically lowered loans’ monthly payments and interest. That plan has ended. Affected borrowers have to choose a new repayment option in 90 days or be auto-enrolled in the Repayment Assistance Plan, which increases payments and extends repayment for up to 30 years.
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At The Good Men Project, we are proud to syndicate reporting from The 19th, an independent nonprofit newsroom covering gender, politics, policy, and power. We value their work because it helps make visible something that is too often treated as secondary or niche: you cannot fully understand public life without understanding how gender and race shape who gets heard, who gets protected, and who is asked to carry the consequences when systems fail.
We believe these stories belong here because the questions The 19th raises are also human questions. They affect families, schools, health care, faith communities, citizenship, safety, and the everyday experience of belonging in a democracy. They also intersect with many of the conversations we care about at GMP, including masculinity, identity, care, fairness, and the social expectations that shape people’s lives long before they have language for them. If we want a more honest conversation about how to live well in a rapidly changing world, we need reporting that looks clearly at power, rights, and whose stories get centered. That is one reason we are glad to share their work.
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At The Good Men Project, we are proud to syndicate reporting from The 19th, an independent nonprofit newsroom covering gender, politics, policy, and power. We value their work because it helps make visible something that is too often treated as secondary or niche: you cannot fully understand public life without understanding how gender and race shape who gets heard, who gets protected, and who is asked to carry the consequences when systems fail.
We believe these stories belong here because the questions The 19th raises are also human questions. They affect families, schools, health care, faith communities, citizenship, safety, and the everyday experience of belonging in a democracy. They also intersect with many of the conversations we care about at GMP, including masculinity, identity, care, fairness, and the social expectations that shape people’s lives long before they have language for them. If we want a more honest conversation about how to live well in a rapidly changing world, we need reporting that looks clearly at power, rights, and whose stories get centered. That is one reason we are glad to share their work.
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