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report • April 2026

Advanced Degrees and the Financing Squeeze

Advanced degrees are increasingly becoming a prerequisite for a comfortable standard of living in a growing number of American metros, but the process of financing those degrees is changing.

• In many major metro areas, bachelor’s degrees alone no longer guarantee wages that support comfortable standards of living. Advanced degrees are becoming increasingly necessary to access wages that support those standards.
• Newly proposed federal loan caps that are scheduled to take effect in fall 2026 will shift the landscape of financing large swaths of degree programs. For students without significant financial aid, their options will either be restricted to institutions with lower prices, or they may have to seek alternative loan sources.
• Private institutions and advanced healthcare programs will likely be impacted most by these changes. Higher education programs must strategize new revenue optimization and justify their ROI as federal loans will no longer cover the full cost of attending many programs.