Federal Aid Limits

Federal Direct Stafford Student loans and Federal Pell Grants are limited funds. 

Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility

The amount of Federal Pell Grant funds you may receive over your lifetime is limited by federal law to be the equivalent of six years of Pell Grant funding. Since the maximum amount of Pell Grant funding you can receive each year is equal to 100%, the six-year equivalent is 600%.

If your Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) equals or exceeds 600%, you may no longer receive Pell Grant funding. Similarly, if your LEU is greater than 500% but less than 600%, while you will be eligible for a Pell Grant for the next award year, you will not be able to receive a full scheduled award.

Pell Grants are only available to eligible students who have not earned a Bachelor’s degree.  Once you have earned a Bachelor’s degree, you may not receive a Pell Grant for a second Bachelor’s degree, subsequent Associate’s degree, or a Master’s degree.

You can log on to National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS®) using your FSA ID and view your LEU. The LEU will be found on the Financial Aid Review page.

 

Federal Stafford Loan Limits

There are limits on the amount in subsidized and unsubsidized loans that you may be eligible to receive each academic year (annual loan limits) and the total amounts that you may borrow for undergraduate and graduate study (aggregate loan limits).

Annual Loan Limits are determined as follows:

Year in School	Dependent Students	Independent Students
First-Year (0-30 credits earned)	$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 (31-60 credits earned)	$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 (61+ credits earned)	$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 (Masters or Doctoral Program)	Not Applicable (all graduate and professional students are considered independent)	$20,500 (unsubsidized only)

 

In addition, if you are a first-time borrower on or after July 1, 2013, there is a limit on the maximum period of time (measured in academic years) that you can receive Direct Subsidized Loans. You may not receive Direct Subsidized Loans for more than 150 percent of the published length of your program. This is called your “maximum eligibility period.” Your maximum eligibility period is generally based on the published length of your current program. You can usually find the published length of any program of study in your school’s catalog.  For example, if you are enrolled in a four-year bachelor’s degree program, the maximum period for which you can receive Direct Subsidized Loans is six years (150 percent of 4 years = 6 years).

 

Aggregate Loan Limits (total you may borrow during the course of your education):

Dependent Undergraduates	Independent Undergraduates	Graduate and Professional Students
$31,000 (No more than $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.)	$57,500 (No more than $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.)	$138,500 (No more than $65,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans.) The graduate aggregate limit includes all federal loans received for undergraduate study.

 

You can log on to National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS®) using your FSA ID and view your Federal Stafford Loan borrowing history on the Financial Aid Review page.