1. Vet And Medical Students Face Loan Disbursement Delays As OBBBA Rollout Stalls Aid

Over the past several weeks, we've heard multiple reports from graduate students about financial aid delays and miscommunication as they start summer classes. For medical, dental, and veterinary schools that begin in May or June with a "summer header" semester, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act rollout is causing real chaos. 

One student reported receiving an inaccurate notice claiming they hit the updated graduate borrowing limits despite being grandfathered in while another reported delayed loan disbursements that pushed past tuition due dates and orientation supply windows. 

Our full reporting is here.

➡️ Impact: If you're starting a med, dental, or vet program this summer and you're a current borrower expecting grandfathering protection, double-check your financial aid notice against your enrollment records. If you've been incorrectly flagged as capped, contact your financial aid office immediately — the issue is fixable but requires manual intervention. 

Health professional students should budget for $1,500 to $4,000 in first-year supply costs (stethoscopes, instruments, scrubs, dissection kits, required technology) and have a backup plan in case loan disbursements slip past your orientation window. 

2. Harvard's Largest School Lays Off Three Administrative Deans In $365M Restructuring

Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences laid off three divisional administrative deans on June 2 as part of a sweeping summer restructuring aimed at closing the school's $365 million structural deficit. The cuts were the first confirmed step in a plan developed with McKinsey & Company (Harvard paid the consulting firm $250,000) that could lay off up to 25% of FAS staff. The deficit is driven primarily by the federal endowment tax hike Congress imposed last year and deferred capital expenses.

➡️ Impact: If you have a student at Harvard or another elite research university, expect changes in administrative responsiveness, department-level support, and possibly course offerings as schools consolidate.

More broadly, the Harvard story is a warning shot for parents and students evaluating prestige private universities: the federal funding environment is squeezing institutions that families have long assumed were financially bulletproof. Endowment size alone doesn't tell you how stable a school's operations will be over the next four years. Ask specific questions on tours and during admitted-student events about hiring freezes, program cuts, and graduate program contractions.

3. Ursinus College Lays Off 15% Of Staff In Latest Pennsylvania Small-College Cut

Ursinus College, a small private liberal arts school about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia, laid off 15% of its staff this week (26 full-time and 10 part-time workers) as part of a $10 million budget reduction. The college had already cut 29 faculty positions earlier this year. Enrollment has fallen 11% over the past four years. Ursinus sits in one of the most crowded higher-ed markets in the country, per Chronicle analysis, and is the latest in a string of Pennsylvania institutions under acute financial stress.

Last month, the AAUP chapter at nearby Muhlenberg College warned that the school's $10 million budget deficit would also lead to layoffs. The pattern is consistent: small, tuition-dependent liberal arts colleges in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, facing enrollment declines of 10% or more over the past few years, are running out of room to cut.

➡️ Impact: If you have a student enrolled at (or admitted to) a small private liberal arts college, financial stability is no longer a soft factor in the decision. Pull the school's IRS Form 990, check Moody's or S&P credit ratings if available, look at enrollment trends over the past five years, and watch for warning signs like deferred capital maintenance, program cuts, faculty buyouts, or auditor "going concern" qualifications. Students already enrolled at a financially stressed school should make sure their credits are transferable and have a backup plan if their program is cut. Our 2026 college closures tracker is here.

Related Reading:

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies released its fiscal year 2027 spending bill (PDF File), and it pays for a Pell Grant increase by permanently ending subsidized federal student loans.

The bill cuts the U.S. Department of Education's budget by 10%, or roughly $8 billion, with deep reductions to K-12 programs, Federal Work Study, and education research. It is the first step in a long appropriations process, but the headline tradeoff is clear: students gain a small Pell bump and lose one of the most affordable loans available to them.

By The Numbers

• $7,445: new maximum Pell Grant award, a $50 increase
• $15 billion+:  mandatory spending added to close the Pell shortfall
• $16 billion: projected 10-year savings from eliminating subsidized loans, redirected entirely to Pell
• $6,000: average increase in student debt per borrower from losing the subsidy, per a National College Attainment Network (NCAN) analysis
• 84%: share of Pell recipients who take out student loans, compared with under half of non-Pell students

What The Proposed Changes Look Like

Subsidized loans go to undergraduates with demonstrated financial need, and the government covers the interest while the student is in school. Under the bill, no new subsidized loans would be issued after July 1, 2027. There's a grandfathering clause where students already borrowing would keep their eligibility through the end of their program.

In place of subsidized loans, undergraduates could borrow the same amount in unsubsidized loans — but interest would accrue from day one, adding thousands in cost over the life of the loan. The bill also cuts Federal Work-Study by 26% to $908 million and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) by 40% to $546 million.

Michele Zampini, Associate Vice President for Federal Policy & Advocacy at TICAS, warned the math doesn't favor low-income students: "Eliminating subsidized loans, which go to undergraduate students with high financial need, could increase overall college costs for these students by thousands of dollars."

How This Connects

The proposal revives an idea from last year's One Big Beautiful Bill debate that didn't make the final law. But the broader trend is already locked in. The reconciliation bill enacted in 2025 cut more than $300 billion from federal student loans over a decade, and a wave of changes takes effect July 1, 2026: including a new $257,500 lifetime borrowing limit, annual and lifetime caps on Parent PLUS loans, loan proration for part-time students, and the end of Grad PLUS loans.

Eliminating subsidized loans on top of those changes would potentially push more students toward private student loans, where rates are higher and protections are weaker, or prevent them from borrowing for college at all. For families weighing how to pay for college, the affordability gap that subsidized loans were designed to fill is shrinking fast.

It's important to remember that this is a subcommittee proposal, not law. It must clear the full Appropriations Committee, the House floor, the Senate, before anything reaches the president.

Expect the subsidized loan provision to be a flashpoint as negotiations continue.

Don't Miss These Other Stories:

1. Credible - Credible is a marketplace of student loan lenders that has some options you may not be able to find anywhere else. You can also get up to a $1,000 gift card bonus if you refinance through their platform. You can get variable rates as low as 3.59% APR. Read our full Credible review.

2. Earnest - Earnest is one of the best known online student loan lenders and they have been offering consistently competitive rates for years. Right now, you can get the lowest fixed rate APR at 3.90%. Read our full Earnest student loans review.

3. ELFI - ELFI is one of the oldest student loan lenders, and offers competitive rates, along with a bonus offer of up to $599 if you refinance a student loan with them. You can get rates as low as 4.29% APR. Read our full ELFI Student Loans Review.

4. LendKey - LendKey is a private lender that pools money from community banks and credit unions to offer lower rate student loans. They are also offering up to a $750 bonus if you refinance a student loan. You can get rates as low as 4.19% APR. Read our full LendKey review.

5. Splash - Splash is a student loan marketplace as well that offers some lenders that Credible doesn't.They have a fixed rate offer starting at 3.99% APR. Furthermore, you can up to a $500 bonus if you refinance with Splash. Read our full Splash Student Loans review.

You can find a full list of the best student loan refinance lenders here >>

Why Should You Refinance Your Student Loan?

Refinancing replaces one or more existing loans with a new private loan — ideally at a lower interest rate.

Borrowers typically refinance to:

• Reduce their monthly payments
• Lower their overall interest cost
• Combine multiple loans into one
• Shorten or extend repayment terms

Refinancing can make sense for private loan borrowers or federal borrowers who no longer need federal benefits such as income-driven repayment or forgiveness. Remember, refinancing a federal loan will cause you to lose federal benefits like student loan forgiveness!

For example, refinancing a $60,000 loan from 7.50% to 5.50% over 10 years saves roughly $7,000 in interest.

Fixed vs. Variable Rates: Which Should You Choose?

There's a lot of uncertainty that borrowers don't like with variable rates, which can make sense, but in a declining rate environment, it also opens the potential for future savings. Here's what to know:

• Fixed rates stay the same for the life of the loan, offering predictable monthly payments. They’re better for borrowers who plan to repay over many years.
• Variable rates can change with market conditions, starting lower but carrying risk if the Fed raises rates again. They can make sense for borrowers who expect to pay off loans quickly.

Most private lenders allow you to check rates without affecting your credit score. Always compare both options before signing.

What To Know Before Refinancing

Before refinancing your student loans, make sure you understand exactly what you're signing up for.

• Loss of federal benefits: Once refinanced, federal loans are no longer eligible for PSLF, IBR, or other income-driven plans.
• Cosigner options: A creditworthy cosigner can unlock lower rates. Check if the lender offers cosigner release after a set number of on-time payments.
• Term flexibility: Many lenders allow terms from 5 to 20 years; shorter terms usually mean lower rates.
• Autopay discounts: Most lenders offer a 0.25% rate reduction when you enroll in automatic payments.
• Fees: The best refinance lenders charge no origination fees or prepayment penalties.

How We Track And Verify Student Loan Rates

At The College Investor, our editorial team reviews student loan rates daily from more than a dozen major lenders. We verify data using official lender disclosures, regulatory filings, and real-time rate sheets.

We only include lenders offering loans to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. All rates are updated regularly and represent the lowest available APRs with autopay discounts applied.

Our coverage is independent and not influenced by compensation. While we may earn a referral fee when you open a loan through certain links, this never affects our editorial recommendations. Our goal is simple: to help you find the most affordable path to borrow responsibly.

FAQs

Can you refinance federal student loans?

Yes, but doing so converts them into private loans, meaning you’ll lose access to forgiveness and income-driven plans.

How often can you refinance?

There’s no limit - you can refinance multiple times as long as you qualify for better terms.

Does refinancing hurt your credit?

A small, temporary drop in your credit score may occur after the hard inquiry, but steady payments improve your score over time.

Do refinance rates change daily?

Yes, lenders adjust rates frequently based on market conditions and Treasury yields.

Is there a best time to refinance?

The best time is when your credit and income qualify you for significantly better rates than your current loans.

A pledged asset line or portfolio line of credit allow you to borrow against the value of your investment portfolio, typically at a low rate.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could make better use of money tied in your investment portfolio? Maybe for an emergency or to pay down a high-interest credit card?

After all, the money is sitting there waiting for investments to appreciate or collecting dividends from investments.

But to access that capital, you’ll have to close out of your investments. That’s basically your only option. Closing out of your investments, depending on what they are valued at, could mean realizing a loss or a short-term gain and the tax consequences that go along with it.

However, there are better alternatives. It's called using a margin loan, or using margin to access a portfolio line of credit.

Our favorite brokerage for a portfolio line of credit is Interactive Brokers. Interactive Brokers allows you to borrow against your investments without closing your positions (as do some other firms). Sure, you could make a loan or use other lending alternatives. But, using a portfolio line of credit can be smart due to the low interest.

See the typical interest of the alternatives:

• Credit Cards: 22.93% APR
• Student Loan: 7.05% APR
• HELOC: 8.5% APR
• Auto Loan: 7.1% to 11.30% APR
• Mortgage: 7.50% APR

With IBKR, you can borrow against your portfolio as low as 4.390% APR. That's compelling - so let's look at what using a portfolio line of credit looks like, why you would want to, and how to do it.

What Is A Margin Portfolio Line Of Credit

A portfolio line of credit is a type of margin loan that lets investors borrow against their stock portfolio at a low interest rate. The idea is that the loan is collateralized by your stock positions. 

With that money, you can use your line of credit to pay for anything really - from home improvement, to paying down other debt, and more.

If you have a large amount of money tied up in your portfolio (maybe through your own investing, or you received stocks as part of an IPO), you may not want to sell your positions if you need cash. That's where the portfolio line of credit comes in. You can simply borrow against your positions, without having to sell.

Furthermore, by not having to sell your positions, you also can avoid taxes - which if you have highly appreciated stock, can be huge.

You're allowed to borrow up to 50% to purchase securities, and each broker has different levels for borrowing cash. For example,  M1 Finance allows you to borrow up to 35% of your portfolio as a Portfolio Line of Credit. The other cool thing is that there is no set repayment period. Your loan accrues interest, but you can pay it back anytime - either through a cash deposit or by actually selling some securities and using that cash.

What Are The Risks Of Borrowing From Your Portfolio

It's important to realize that there are risks involved in a margin loan - just like any other type of debt.

There are three main risks when it comes to a margin loan or portfolio line of credit.

First, if you use the money to invest, you could lose the money (and as a result, your losses are magnified). 

Second, interest rates on the loan could change. Right now, we're at historical lows for interest, but rates could rise in the future. Theoretically, they could also go down as well - which would be a small win.

Finally, you could be subject to a maintenance call. If your portfolio value declines, your account can trigger a maintenance call and you either have to deposit new cash or sell a portion of your portfolio to cover the loan. While you'll usually be notified of the need to deposit extra money, if your portfolio experiences significant losses, the brokerage may sell your stocks automatically to cover the loan (due to being legally required to).

What Are The Best Use Cases

There are a few use cases where we see using a portfolio line of credit as making a lot of sense. These use cases do rely on you having a solid portfolio position (likely at least $100,000 or more), and most of the portfolio is highly appreciated stocks - meaning you don't want to sell them.

Plus, we're also working under the assumption that you can afford the loan whether or not it's a margin loan.

Debt Consolidation: If you have other debt (such as credit cards), it could make a lot of sense to consolidate your debt into a margin loan. You would likely save huge amounts in interest - since the best margin loans are at 6% or less, while credit cards are double-digits. 

Auto Financing: If you need to purchase a new car, using a margin loan could make sense. The rates are likely lower than you could get for a purchase.

Home Improvement: If you're looking to do a renovation or addition, it could make sense to use a portfolio line of credit instead of a HELOC. Especially if you don't have enough equity in your home do justify a HELOC.

We don't like using a margin loan to purchase more stocks. Yes, it can magnify your returns, but it can also magnify your losses as well - and that can hurt financially.

Where To Find The Best Margin Loans

Most of the major stock brokers offer margin loans or portfolio lines of credit. However, we strongly thing that M1 Finance is the best place to get a margin loan right now.

Robinhood

Yes, Robinhood. In Robinhood's growing battle to attract high net worth investors, they recently launched a competitive margin product that has some of the lowest rates available currently.

When you combine these attractive margin rates with their bonus incentives for bringing assets to the platform, Robinhood has a compelling offer.

You can read our full Robinhood review here.

Open an account at Robinhood here >>

Interactive Brokers (IBKR)

Interactive Brokers is a platform geared towards higher net worth and/or more active traders. In addition to a solid trading platform, IBKR is known for their highly competitive margin loans and portfolio lines of credit. In fact, they are typically better than most "large" or "traditional" brokerage firms.

The minimum floor on IBKR loans is 4.120%, but most loans will see rates around 5.120%, depending on the balance and amount of assets at the firm. The lowest currently advertised rate of 4.120% is for over $50,000,000 in assets. But even having $100,000 or less can get you 5.120% (or the BM + 2.50%).

The great thing about IBKR is that you don't have to negotiate or fight for a great rate - simply deposit the assets and borrow. This is unlike the Fidelity or Schwab's, where you can sometimes get a great rate, but it requires negotiation and approval.

You can read our full Interactive Brokers review here.

Open an account at Interactive Brokers here >>

Pledged Asset Line Rates

M1 Finance and IBKR consistently fight for the lowest rates. But Robinhood is also in the chase.

Here's how other companies compare (Note: many companies have smaller tiers, so we tried to pick the most common rounded numbers to make the chart legible): 

Note: These rates were last updated on June 4, 2026

Remember, portfolio loan rates are closely tied to the Fed Funds Rate. As it rises and falls, so will the loan rates posted.

Is Using A Portfolio Line Of Credit Worth It?

If you believe that borrowing against your investments is something you need, then M1 Finance, with its low lending rates, is a good deal. It can be a better option than a credit card, auto loan, or HELOC, and it has several benefits from a tax perspective.

Just be careful not to push your brokerage account into a maintenance call as that can result in your holdings being liquidated to satisfy the call. That would not just be annoying, but potentially costly.

Over the past several weeks we've heard multiple reports from graduate students about financial aid delays and miscommunication as they start summer classes. For medical, dental, and veterinary schools that start as early as May, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) changes are causing delays and chaos.

One student reported that they received an inaccurate notice claiming they hit the updated graduate borrowing limits, while another was experiencing delayed loan disbursements. The result is fear, uncertainty, and in the case of delayed disbursements, true financial risk as many graduate students rely on their student loans to pay rent, buy food, and more.

Here's what's happening.

A Compressed Timeline Created a National Bottleneck

The OBBBA made the largest set of changes to federal graduate borrowing in two decades. Grad PLUS loans will no longer be available to new borrowers as of July 1, 2026. A new $50,000 annual cap and $200,000 lifetime cap apply to professional programs including medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine. Graduate programs face a $100,000 lifetime cap, with only $20,500 per year limits.

The current problems aren't with the policy itself - it's the timeline schools were given to implement it.

"We're seeing the repercussions of the short timelines to implement the rules from OBBBA," said Karen McCarthy, vice president for public policy and federal relations at NASFAA. "Usually we have eight months — we'd have final rules by November 1 for a July 1 effective date. But this year was May 19, six weeks before July."

McCarthy added: "In some cases, there were students already enrolled in [graduate] programs, but we didn't even have the final rules yet. So schools couldn't even apply them."

Looking at the behind the scenes logistics, financial aid offices (and their technology vendors) have less than six weeks to rebuild systems, train staff, and create financial aid awards for hundreds of thousands of returning and incoming graduate students

Grandfathered Grad PLUS Students And Incorrect Caps

Some graduate students are being incorrectly flagged as being capped on graduate borrowing, despite being grandfathered in. 

On April 26, ED launched updates to the FAFSA Partner Portal, the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), and the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System to implement OBBBA. The agency added a new "Loan Limit Exception" flag designed to identify borrowers grandfathered into pre-OBBBA limits.

However, by ED's own admission, that flag did not populate immediately. In an electronic announcement, Federal Student Aid stated the field would "display a null value" until NSLDS received a confirmation file from COD. NSLDS post-screening was paused for a week and did not resume until the weekend of May 3.

Any school pulling a student's NSLDS record during that window (or running financial aid software that referenced stale data) could see a grandfathered borrower appear as subject to the new caps. Schools with automated settings may have automatically sent notices, even when the student qualifies for the exception.

Why Early Loan Disbursements Have Been Impacted

Medical, dental, and veterinary schools usually start with a "summer header" semester - an academic year that begins in May or June.

However, because of these system updates, colleges were not able to submit loan documents and disbursement requests. The result is, student have been enrolled in school, but the college is still waiting on the loan disbursement.

For graduate students, this has a real impact. Many rely on financial aid refunds to cover qualifying non-direct expenses like rent, food, and supplies. Inside Higher Ed reported that UCLA's dental and medical schools committed to emergency funding for students caught in the gap. 

For health professional graduate students, the cash crunch is immediate. First-year supply costs (stethoscopes, instruments, scrubs, textbooks, dissection kits, and required technology) can run $1,500 to $4,000 before classes begin. When loan disbursements miss the orientation window by even two weeks, students who budgeted around the federal disbursement schedule have to put supplies on credit cards or pull from emergency savings.

What This Means For Graduate Students

For households planning around graduate or professional school borrowing this year, the impact is real. Financial aid notifications may not reflect a student's actual borrowing eligibility. Disbursement timing may slip past tuition due dates, supply purchase windows, or move-in dates. Students may need to cover short-term costs out of pocket or through emergency lending.

McCarthy urged schools to absorb some of the strain rather than pass it to students: "Schools can help their students by not assessing late fees."

She was clearer on the undergraduate side. "For the undergraduate season, I don't see any major systemic problems. Everyone is playing catch-up, so the summer will be very, very busy."

Undergraduate borrowers should still not assume their accounts are immune. The same FAFSA updates power undergraduate aid, and manual workarounds increase the chance of errors anywhere in the system.

Don't Miss These Other Stories: