New research coverage highlights how enrollment management strategies can contribute to higher debt burdens for low-income families through Parent PLUS reliance and mismatched institutional aid targeting. The reporting describes analysis from New America that examines institutions offering large tuition discounts to higher-income students while lower-income students often face gaps covered by Parent PLUS loans. The report identifies 41 institutions where families without financial need were charged about $18,000 on average after aid in 2023, while those families relied on PLUS borrowing to cover remaining costs. The coverage ties the incentives to “enrollment management” approaches that use financial aid awards to hit enrollment and revenue goals—often with consultant support—rather than to neutralize affordability impacts. It also notes that a new lifetime cap of $65,000 on Parent PLUS loans takes effect this summer, intended to reduce debt burdens. The analysis suggests that even reduced borrowing limits may not resolve the core affordability mismatch for families with limited capacity to repay.