Big Beautiful Bill Guts Graduate Federal Loans; Law & Medicine among most affected.
Higher education has long been one of Massachusetts’ greatest strengths, a cornerstone of its economy and a defining feature of its national reputation. But a series of sweeping changes under the so-called Big Beautiful Bill threatens to unravel that foundation, reshaping how students pay for college and how institutions survive in an already challenging environment. Massachusetts currently ranks 25th in the nation for net full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment—a measure that converts student credit hours into the number of full-time students, excluding medical programs. While the state saw a modest 4.4% increase in FTE enrollment this past year, it follows years of steep declines. Historically, enrollment trends in Massachusetts have moved counter to the economy: when jobs are scarce, more people return to school; when the economy improves, enrollment drops. During
