Figures on this site can go out of date
This is the most important thing on this page, so it is first. Every figure we publish carries the date it was last checked. Federal student aid rules and amounts change — sometimes with very little notice — and a figure that was correct when we checked it may not be correct when you read it.
Before you act on any amount, rate, limit or deadline you read here, confirm it with the official source we link to. We link the source on every figure precisely so you can do that.
The rules changed on 1 July 2026
The federal student aid system changed substantially on that date. Borrowing limits, the available repayment plans and eligibility for certain programmes now depend on when a borrower’s loans were first disbursed, and a grandfather window applies to some continuing borrowers.
This means a great deal of student aid content published online — including on established and otherwise reliable sites — describes rules that no longer apply to new borrowers, or applies new rules to people they do not govern. Where we know a figure differs by group, we show both. Where you read a single figure anywhere, including here in a search snippet or an AI-generated summary, check which group it applies to.
This is information, not advice
Education Spot publishes general educational information about how paying for school works and how schools work. We are not your financial adviser, your accountant, your attorney, your school counsellor or your child’s clinician, and reading this site does not create any professional relationship.
We cannot and do not give advice about your specific circumstances. We do not know your income, your family situation, your student’s record, your state’s rules or your school’s policies, and all of those change the answer.
We are not a lender, a school or an aid office
We do not originate, service, broker or arrange loans. We do not award financial aid, process applications, or have any access to your aid file. We cannot look up your application, check your status, or intervene with a school or servicer on your behalf.
On children, learning and mental health
Parts of this site discuss learning differences, school support plans and student wellbeing. That content describes how schools and evaluations work and how to access help. It is not clinical advice and it is not a diagnostic tool.
We will never tell you what your child has, is, or might have. Nothing on this site should be used to reach a conclusion about a child, to delay seeking help, or in place of an evaluation by a qualified professional. If you are worried about your child, speak to their school, their doctor, or a qualified clinician.
If you or someone you care about is in crisis, contact your local emergency services or a crisis line in your area immediately rather than looking for an answer on a website.
Education law varies
Special education law, homeschool regulation, student records law and school enrolment rules differ by state and often by district. We describe processes and rights in general terms. Nothing here is legal advice, and a general description of a right is not a substitute for advice about your situation.
Nobody official will call you
Impersonation of federal aid offices and loan servicers is an active and widespread fraud. There are people who will call, text or email claiming to be from the Department of Education, offering forgiveness, faster processing or a special programme, usually for a fee.
Federal student aid programmes are free to apply for. You never have to pay to apply for aid, to consolidate federal loans, or to enrol in a repayment or forgiveness programme.
For this reason we do not publish telephone numbers for aid offices or servicers anywhere on this site — search results for those numbers are contested ground and we will not risk sending you to the wrong one. Sign in to your account on the official site and use the contact details shown there.
State availability
Grant programmes, 529 plan terms, tuition rules and homeschool requirements vary by state, and some programmes are unavailable in particular states. Unless we say otherwise, assume a description is general and check your own state.
External links
We link to federal, state and other external sites because we want you to check our work. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content, and a link is not an endorsement of anything else on the page.
Limitation
Education Spot is provided as is. To the fullest extent permitted by law we accept no liability for any loss arising from reliance on the information published here. Verify before you act.