Listen Here
By Victoria Hansen
hansenv@findlay.edu
On July 4, 2025, the sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill, or OB3, was signed into law by Donald Trump. The 870-page-long bill enacted sweeping legislation across all facets of American life, including higher education.
“I’m not new to financial aid, obviously,” said Brianna Griffey, director of financial aid, who has been working at the University of Findlay since 2024. “But this is the craziest fall I’ve ever had.”
“The Department of Education has been holding bi-weekly information sessions for financial aid professionals,” Griffey said. “But for some of these details, we have received a lot of conflicting information. We’ve had them change their mind. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
“How do we help our students when we don’t even have the proper guidance?” Griffey said.
The changes implemented in OB3 for incoming students include placing a $20,000 per year cap for parents of undergraduate students on the Parent PLUS loan, which previously could borrow the full cost of attendance. The Grad PLUS loan, a loan for graduate students, has been eliminated.
“Initially, the Department of Education had put out a list of students they considered professional, which means they are eligible for increased amounts of unsubsidized loans,” Griffey said. “PharmD is included, but the list that was released did not include degrees such as nursing, PT, OT, MPA; all of those got left out.”
Occupational therapy requires at least a master’s degree, and physical therapy requires a PhD to be board-certified in the state of Ohio. A later update to the bill in June 2026 added both PT and OT to the list of professional degrees, but implementation is currently on hold due to a federal stay.
Another new addition to the 26-27 school year is the schedule of reductions.
“Now, because of the Schedule of Reductions, if you are enrolled less than full time, we’re required to reduce the amount you were being offered,” Griffey said.
Before OB3, students enrolled with a half-time semester or more were eligible for a full Federal Direct Loan. As of July 2026, a percentage based on full-time credit load is multiplied by the loan amount to find the reduced loan amount. Griffey says that while most students will not be affected by these rules, students should be mindful when adding and dropping classes.
“If you drop a class without thinking about it because you’re like, man, my grade is not going to be great in this, now we’re going to have to do a calculation that might impact those loans.”
Griffey says that a major problem with OB3 has been a lack of communication between the government and financial aid workers and students with financial aid.
“Please, just please, please, please keep open communication with us,” Griffey said. “IF you’re not sure if anything has to do with financial aid, we’re always more than happy to have a conversation.”
“Just be patient with us,” Griffey said. “We’re doing our best.”
