Paying for Graduate School Is Going To Get Harder

Paying for Graduate School Is Going To Get Harder

From KQED's Forum by KQED

April 21, 2026 · 55 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of new federal loan system changes on graduate school funding and access.

Going to graduate school has never been cheap. But sweeping new changes to the federal loan system – which will now have caps on how much you can borrow – may make it even harder. What do these changes mean for aspiring nurses, teachers, doctors and lawyers — and could they reshape who gets to pursue advanced degrees in America? We’ll talk about student loans, and look at the broader landscape, from income-driven repayment overhauls to the future of public service forgiveness. Guests: Aissa Canchola Bañez, policy director, Protect Borrowers, an advocacy group focused on policy solutions for debt issues facing consumers Jordan Matsudaira, professor at the School of Public Affairs, American University; Matsudaira served as Deputy Undersecretary and Chief Economist at the Department of Education during the Biden Administration Eileen Fry-Bowers, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of San Francisco Jessica Blake, policy reporter, Inside Higher Ed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Guests: Aissa Canchola Bañez, Jordan Matsudaira, Eileen Fry-Bowers, Jessica Blake

Topics covered

  • graduate school
  • student loans
  • federal loan system
  • income-driven repayment
  • public service forgiveness

Keywords

  • graduate school
  • student loans
  • federal loan changes
  • income-driven repayment
  • public service forgiveness

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Inside Higher Ed, Protect Borrowers, American University, Department of Education, University of San Francisco

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