Maximum Federal Loans

Dependent Undergraduate Students

If you're a dependent undergraduate student you can borrow up to:
$5,500 if you're a first-year student (up to 29 credit hours earned) enrolled in a program of study that is at least a full academic year (of which $3,500 maybe in subsidized loans)
$6,500 if you've completed your first year of study (up to 59 credit hours earned), and the remainder of your program is at least a full academic year (of which $4,500 maybe in subsidized loans)
$7,500 a year* if you've completed two years of study (60+ credit hours earned), and the remainder of your program is at least a full academic year (of which $5,500 maybe in subsidized loans)

Independent Undergraduate Students

If you're an independent undergraduate student, or a dependent student whose parents have been denied a PLUS Loan, you can borrow up to:
$9,500 if you're a first-year student (up to 29 credit hours earned) enrolled in a program of study that is at least a full academic year (of which $3,500 may be in subsidized loans)
$10,500 if you've completed your first year of study (up to 29 credit hours earned), and the remainder of your program is at least a full academic year (of which $4,500 may be in subsidized loans)
$12,500 a year if you've completed two years of study*, and the remainder of your program is at least a full academic year (of which $5,500 may be in subsidized loans)
Generally, if you're a graduate student, you can borrow up to $20,500 each academic year. (of which $8,500 may be in subsidized Stafford loans)
A second bachelors degree seeking student's loan limits are identical to the first bachelors degree seeking students loan limits.

Maximum Aggregate (Combined Total) Federal Loan Amounts

These aggregate maximum loan amounts cannot be waived or exceeded. The total debt you can have outstanding from all federal loans combined is:

$31,000 as a dependent undergraduate student (of which $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans)

$57,500 as an independent undergraduate student (of which $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans)

$138,500 as a graduate or professional student (only $65,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans). The graduate debt limit includes any Stafford Loans received for undergraduate study

Parent Loans

Each academic year, parents of dependent students can borrow up to the cost of attendance minus other financial aid received in a Federal Direct Parent Loan.

Exceeding Maximum Loan Amounts

A student who borrows in excess of an allowable aggregate loan limit for Federal Direct and/or Federal Family Educational Loan Programs is ineligible for further federal financial aid, state aid where applicable, or institutional aid where appropriate until he/she repays the amount of the excess of the aggregate loan limit received to the Department of Education.