Parent PLUS funding gap at major colleges

With Parent PLUS capped at $20,000 a year and $65,000 per student, the cost of the college decides how big the family’s gap is. Here is the gap at 80 large public and private universities, using federal cost data for 2024–25.

Updated October 31, 2026 · Based on official sources listed below · How we research

colleges: 40 public flagships and large publics, 40 private universities

$64,193

median first-year gap at these private universities, before grants

$8,317

median first-year gap at these publics for in-state students, before grants

78 of 80

cost more than federal loans can cover in year one, before grants

Cost of attendance and the Parent PLUS gap, by college

Each row uses the College Scorecard cost of attendance for 2024–25 (in-state for public universities) and assumes the student borrows the maximum dependent Direct Loan and the parents borrow the most Parent PLUS allowed under the 2026 caps. The gap columns are before grants and scholarships, so they show the most a family could be left to cover. Click a column heading to sort.

College	State	Type	Cost of attendance 2024–25	Out-of-state tuition 2025–26	Avg net price 2024–25	Year-1 gap before grants	4-year gap before grants
University of Southern California	CA	Private	$95,048	—	$33,056	$69,548	$288,192
University of Chicago	IL	Private	$94,971	—	$16,776	$69,471	$287,884
Northwestern University	IL	Private	$94,854	—	$34,420	$69,354	$287,416
Vanderbilt University	TN	Private	$94,142	—	$15,497	$68,642	$284,568
Boston College	MA	Private	$93,039	—	$38,930	$67,539	$280,156
Stanford University	CA	Private	$92,892	—	$12,307	$67,392	$279,568
Georgetown University	DC	Private	$92,563	—	$33,661	$67,063	$278,252
Washington University in St. Louis	MO	Private	$92,523	—	$13,360	$67,023	$278,092
University of Pennsylvania	PA	Private	$92,288	—	$29,577	$66,788	$277,152
Columbia University	NY	Private	$92,198	—	$15,370	$66,698	$276,792
Cornell University	NY	Private	$92,093	—	$33,934	$66,593	$276,372
Tufts University	MA	Private	$92,054	—	$38,797	$66,554	$276,216
Yale University	CT	Private	$91,950	—	$11,340	$66,450	$275,800
Brown University	RI	Private	$91,676	—	$26,976	$66,176	$274,704
Dartmouth College	NH	Private	$91,312	—	$26,707	$65,812	$273,248
Wake Forest University	NC	Private	$91,202	—	$28,165	$65,702	$272,808
Tulane University	LA	Private	$91,156	—	$40,693	$65,656	$272,624
Duke University	NC	Private	$90,696	—	$23,706	$65,196	$270,784
University of Miami	FL	Private	$90,646	—	$36,483	$65,146	$270,584
Boston University	MA	Private	$90,106	—	$36,503	$64,606	$268,424
Harvard University	MA	Private	$89,279	—	$19,148	$63,779	$265,116
Southern Methodist University	TX	Private	$88,892	—	$39,816	$63,392	$263,568
Johns Hopkins University	MD	Private	$88,834	—	$18,431	$63,334	$263,336
Emory University	GA	Private	$88,414	—	$16,754	$62,914	$261,656
Northeastern University	MA	Private	$88,412	—	$29,060	$62,912	$261,648
Case Western Reserve University	OH	Private	$88,326	—	$44,622	$62,826	$261,304
Villanova University	PA	Private	$88,293	—	$41,536	$62,793	$261,172
Princeton University	NJ	Private	$87,888	—	$7,815	$62,388	$259,552
Syracuse University	NY	Private	$87,852	—	$43,336	$62,352	$259,408
Rice University	TX	Private	$87,824	—	$11,164	$62,324	$259,296
George Washington University	DC	Private	$87,253	—	$35,760	$61,753	$257,012
Carnegie Mellon University	PA	Private	$86,759	—	$35,780	$61,259	$255,036
New York University	NY	Private	$86,574	—	$35,737	$61,074	$254,296
University of Notre Dame	IN	Private	$86,125	—	$25,339	$60,625	$252,500
MIT	MA	Private	$85,960	—	$14,815	$60,460	$251,840
Fordham University	NY	Private	$85,904	—	$42,760	$60,404	$251,616
Lehigh University	PA	Private	$84,497	—	$25,272	$58,997	$245,988
Texas Christian University	TX	Private	$83,017	—	$35,045	$57,517	$240,068
Baylor University	TX	Private	$78,816	—	$44,441	$53,316	$223,264
Howard University	DC	Private	$58,032	—	$33,002	$32,532	$140,128
UC Berkeley	CA	Public	$47,842	$54,800	$14,538	$22,342	$99,368
University of Virginia	VA	Public	$41,803	$61,457	$18,056	$16,303	$75,212
UC San Diego	CA	Public	$41,664	$54,939	$14,794	$16,164	$74,656
UCLA	CA	Public	$41,373	$53,331	$14,659	$15,873	$73,492
Penn State University Park	PA	Public	$41,003	$43,490	$33,675	$15,503	$72,012
University of Connecticut	CT	Public	$40,744	$44,002	$24,342	$15,244	$70,976
Virginia Tech	VA	Public	$39,324	$38,914	$25,808	$13,824	$65,296
University of Pittsburgh	PA	Public	$38,719	$43,432	$29,362	$13,219	$62,876
University of Colorado Boulder	CO	Public	$37,189	$47,142	$23,708	$11,689	$56,756
UMass Amherst	MA	Public	$36,842	$41,759	$22,857	$11,342	$55,368
University of Michigan	MI	Public	$36,613	$63,962	$14,362	$11,113	$54,452
University of Vermont	VT	Public	$36,569	$47,554	$20,277	$11,069	$54,276
Auburn University	AL	Public	$36,285	$36,022	$25,424	$10,785	$53,140
Rutgers University–New Brunswick	NJ	Public	$36,096	$39,649	$24,897	$10,596	$52,384
Louisiana State University	LA	Public	$35,774	$29,228	$19,286	$10,274	$51,096
University of Oregon	OR	Public	$35,556	$46,077	$22,547	$10,056	$50,224
Clemson University	SC	Public	$35,250	$42,378	$22,032	$9,750	$49,000
University of Tennessee, Knoxville	TN	Public	$35,064	$33,256	$18,314	$9,564	$48,256
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	Public	$34,226	$36,706	$13,042	$8,726	$44,904
University of Alabama	AL	Public	$33,924	$35,342	$20,202	$8,424	$43,696
Michigan State University	MI	Public	$33,710	$44,640	$21,322	$8,210	$42,840
University of Washington	WA	Public	$33,524	$44,640	$13,663	$8,024	$42,096
Texas A&M University	TX	Public	$32,796	$39,974	$21,527	$7,296	$39,184
University of South Carolina	SC	Public	$32,193	$37,376	$22,197	$6,693	$36,772
University of Minnesota Twin Cities	MN	Public	$32,137	$41,368	$17,330	$6,637	$36,548
University of Texas at Austin	TX	Public	$31,951	$44,816	$18,554	$6,451	$35,804
Ohio State University	OH	Public	$31,162	$42,423	$17,269	$5,662	$32,648
University of Arizona	AZ	Public	$31,018	$43,068	$17,125	$5,518	$32,072
Arizona State University	AZ	Public	$30,823	$35,167	$14,694	$5,323	$31,292
Indiana University Bloomington	IN	Public	$30,517	$42,295	$16,003	$5,017	$30,068
University of Delaware	DE	Public	$30,294	$43,220	$16,337	$4,794	$29,176
University of Wisconsin–Madison	WI	Public	$29,943	$44,191	$16,600	$4,443	$27,772
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)	MS	Public	$29,845	$30,310	$13,752	$4,345	$27,380
University of Maryland	MD	Public	$29,816	$42,053	$14,296	$4,316	$27,264
Georgia Tech	GA	Public	$29,041	$35,092	$12,028	$3,541	$24,164
University of Georgia	GA	Public	$28,728	$32,336	$13,636	$3,228	$22,912
UNC Chapel Hill	NC	Public	$26,949	$45,228	$11,305	$1,449	$15,796
Purdue University	IN	Public	$25,610	$28,794	$14,851	$110	$10,440
Florida State University	FL	Public	$25,144	$20,116	$8,605	$0	$8,576
University of Florida	FL	Public	$23,197	$30,886	$5,969	$0	$788

Year-1 gap = cost of attendance − $5,500 student Direct Loan − Parent PLUS up to $20,000. The 4-year gap holds the 2024–25 cost flat and stops Parent PLUS at $65,000 in total, so the fourth year has at most $5,000 of Parent PLUS. Out-of-state tuition is shown for public universities only. Average net price is for first-time, full-time students who received federal aid (in-state students at public universities).

What the table shows

At expensive private universities the caps bind every year. 20 of the 40 private universities listed had a cost of attendance of $90,000 or more in 2024–25. At that price, maximum federal loans leave more than $64,000 of the first year uncovered before grants, and the gap widens in the final year when only $5,000 of the $65,000 Parent PLUS limit remains.
Net price matters more than sticker price. Several of the most expensive schools have some of the lowest average net prices because of large grant budgets. Each college page breaks the net price down by family income.
In-state students at public universities face smaller gaps, but most still have one. 2 of the 40 public universities listed cost little enough in 2024–25 that maximum federal loans cover the full in-state first year before grants. Out-of-state students face a much larger gap; each public university page estimates it.

How to use these numbers

Find your college in the table and open its page for the year-by-year plan, the net price by income and the out-of-state estimate.
Swap in your aid offer. Each page links to the gap calculator prefilled with that college’s cost. Enter your grants and what your family can pay.
Check legacy status. If your student was enrolled with a federal loan before July 1, 2026, the legacy rule may lift the caps for up to three years.
Plan the whole degree. The $65,000 limit usually runs out in senior year. Review options to cover a gap and private loan trade-offs before the first bill.

About the data

Figures come from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard API, retrieved 2026-10-31 (Scorecard data last updated October 15, 2026). Scorecard’s cost of attendance is an average for first-time, full-time undergraduates who receive federal aid, weighted across on-campus, off-campus and at-home students, and it uses in-state tuition at public universities. It matches the 2024–25 totals in NCES College Navigator. Tuition and on-campus components are from 2025–26. Schools’ own 2026–27 budgets will generally be higher, and the cost of attendance on your aid offer is the number that sets your Parent PLUS limit. Colleges were chosen for size, search interest and cost; the list is not a ranking.

Frequently asked questions

Which colleges have the biggest Parent PLUS gap?

The most expensive private universities. In 2024–25, University of Southern California ($95,048), University of Chicago ($94,971), Northwestern University ($94,854) had the highest cost of attendance on this list, leaving first-year gaps of $69,548, $69,471, $69,354 before grants after maximum federal loans.

Is the gap in the table what I will actually pay?

No. It is before grants and scholarships, so it is the most you could be left to cover, not a prediction. Most students at these schools receive some grant aid. Use the average net price column, the college page’s income table, and the school’s net price calculator for a closer estimate.

Why does the table use 2024–25 costs?

It is the most recent cost of attendance in the College Scorecard, which is built from the federal IPEDS survey. Tuition figures are from 2025–26. Costs for 2026–27 are higher at most schools, so the real gaps are likely somewhat larger.

Does the cap depend on the college?

No. The $20,000 annual and $65,000 total Parent PLUS limits are the same at every school. What changes is the cost: the cap covers a much larger share of the bill at a low-cost public university than at a private one.