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Kiplinger
Kiplinger
Business
Sravani Atluri

How to Find Free Money for Graduate School as Federal Loans Tighten in 2026

(Image credit: Getty Images)

For years, paying for graduate school followed a predictable pattern: Borrow what you need and deal with repayment later. Federal Grad PLUS loans made that possible by allowing students to cover nearly the full cost of attendance after other aid was applied.

According to the Education Data Initiative, in 2025 the average outstanding balance on a Federal Grad PLUS loan stood at about $66,000, which underscores how central these loans have been to graduate financing.

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