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Overview

ED has special limits on the total loan amounts for Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans. Limits apply for per-AY amounts, and aggregate (total lifetime) limits.

Annual and Aggregate Limits - Federal Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans

UPDATED The following table shows some typical annual and aggregate limits for subsidized (Sub) and unsubsidized (Unsub) loans in standard programs.

Year

Dependent Students (except students whose parents are unable to obtain PLUS Loans)

Independent Students (and dependent undergraduate students whose parents are unable to obtain PLUS Loans)

First-Year Undergraduate Annual Loan Limit

$5,500—No more than $3,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.

$9,500—No more than $3,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.

Second-Year Undergraduate Annual Loan Limit

$6,500—No more than $4,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.

$10,500—No more than $4,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.

Third-Year and Beyond  Undergraduate Annual Loan Limit

$7,500—No more than $5,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.

$12,500—No more than $5,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.

Graduate or Professional Students Annual Loan Limit

Not Applicable (all graduate and professional students are considered independent)

$20,500 (unsubsidized only)

Subsidized and Unsubsidized Aggregate Loan Limit

$31,000—No more than $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.

$57,500 for undergraduates—No more than $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.

$138,500 for graduate or professional students—No more than $65,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. UPDATED The graduate aggregate limit also includes all federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans received for undergraduate study. Graduate students are no longer eligible for new Subsidized loans after July 1, 2012.

From Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans | Federal Student Aid, https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized accessed June 10, 2019

Sub and Unsub loan limits are based on principal (gross amounts only) and they do not include interest or fees. UPDATEDSome specialized programs, such as certain health professions, may have higher limits; refer to detailed guidance from the US Department of Education. Other federal loans, such as PLUS and Perkins, have separate processes and those loans do not use these limits.

Other Factors Affecting Loan Amounts

A student will not always have loans matching the annual limits. Other factors can affect a loan's actual amounts. A few common factors are:

  • Remaining COA, EFC, and Need:
  • If the loan has any overlapping loan periods
  • Whether the school is configured to automatically award Grade Level Progression - see Institution Setup Data Elements UPDATED
  • If the student is reaching their Aggregate limits - see /wiki/spaces/REM/pages/847708209 UPDATED
  • If the student has part of the AY ineligible for loans, and the school is configured to not "Award Full Eligibility for Eligible Periods Only" - see Fund Setup Data Elements UPDATED
  • If the amount is paid before eligibility changes, and the school does not Allow Auto-Adjustment of Paid Disbursements - see Fund Setup Data Elements UPDATED

Unsub loans do not require financial need, but they are limited by COA. For example, a fourth-year independent undergraduate might have a $50,000 EFC and $10,000 COA. The student could not borrow any Sub loans, but they could borrow Unsubsidized loans up to $10,000 because the loan amount cannot exceed COA.

The exact amounts (Sub or Unsub) may be different for each student. The amounts depend on the student's Financial Need.  If the student has no financial need (for example, if EFC > COA), the student would not have any Subsidized loans. However, a high-EFC student can still borrow Unsubsidized loans up to COA or the relevant annual limit, whichever amount is lower.

 View examples of Sub and Unsub amounts based on EFC

Examples:

  • Grade 1 (first-year) Independent Undergraduate, (Sub + Unsub) = $9500 max per AY.
    • Has Financial Need: $0 EFC:  $3500 Sub + $6000 Unsub = $9500 max per AY
    • No Financial Need: If EFC > COA, student will not have any Sub.  ($0 Sub + $9500 Unsub) = $9500 max per AY, all Unsub
  • Grade 3 (third-year), Independent Undergraduate, (Sub + Unsub) = $12500 max per AY
    • Has Financial Need, $0 EFC:  $5500 Sub + $7000 Unsub = $12500 max per AY
    • No Financial Need:  $0 Sub + $12500 Unsub = $12500 max per AY, all Unsub

UPDATED  JFB: I removed the duplicated "View where to find dependency status" section and kept what looked like the new/correct one (includes the "At a Glance"). I also updated all the links to point to the CZ pages instead of our internal requirements pages.

 View where to find dependency status and grade level in Regent Award

Student's Awards tab, under "FM Contribution Details" Dependency status is

  • Student's ISIR tab, Current FAY active ISIR, Dependency column

First-year, second-year, etc. is called "Grade Level." Several screens display the student's Grade Level.

  • Awards screen, Grade Level on each Payment Period
  • Academic Plan screen, Grade Level on each Payment Period
  • Loans screen, select a loan, and then view the "Student Level" field from the "General" tab
  • Student Summary screen, under "At a Glance" section, Grade Level

A loan's grade level is based on the student's cumulative units at the start of the loan period; see Program Setup Data Elements. A student may gain additional eligibility during an Academic Year, such as a student earning enough units to change from first-year to second-year status. Regent Award may create an additional loan covering the period with the additional eligibility, depending on the school's configuration. See Automatically Award Grade Level Progression in Institution Setup Data Elements.



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