As federal Grad PLUS lending is phased out, colleges are increasingly turning to state-based nonprofit lenders, which expanded graduate loan programs in response to enrollment risk and affordability gaps. Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) reported direct outreach from roughly two dozen colleges, with institutions seeking guidance on how state-affiliated financing authorities could mitigate impacts—especially in health-care fields. Reporting indicates expansions across Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and a Minnesota state agency, including profession-specific loans and revised eligibility terms such as options without co-signers. The coverage estimates Grad PLUS lending totaled about $15.5 billion in 2024–25, underscoring the scale of the funding gap that states are now trying to fill with more limited, jurisdiction-bound offerings.