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FAFSA:
www.fafsa.ed.gov
Help
completing the FAFSA:
www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/FAFSA
Federal
school codes (used to complete FAFSA):
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/fotw0203/fslookup.htm
Student Aid
Home Page:
www.ed.gov/studentaid
Government
services (Including education) available to
students:
www.students.gov
College
search based on various criteria:
www.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool
The student
guide:
www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/StudentGuide
Overview
of ED Programs and Services:
www.ed.gov/about/programs.jsp
Stafford Loans:
Notice: You must
complete a FAFSA before applying for a Stafford
Loan! If you don't want to do a FAFSA or know that you
won't qualify for federal aid,
apply for an alternative student loan instead!
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The
maximum amount that a
student may borrow under the
Federal subsidized Stafford
Loan is based on his or
her grade level. First year
students may borrow a
maximum of $2,625. Second
year students may borrow an
additional $3,500 while
juniors and seniors may
borrow $5,500 each year.
Graduate and professional
students may borrow $8,500
per year under the
subsidized Stafford Loan.
Because of limited grant
funds, most colleges will
award every student who
completes the
FAFSA a Stafford Loan as
part of their aid package.
There is also the Federal
unsubsidized Stafford Loan
which is available to most
every student, regardless of
their income. A family can
earn $300,000 a year and the
student may still borrow an
unsubsidized Stafford Loan
as long as he or she is a
U.S. citizen or eligible
non-citizen, is enrolled at
least half-time at a school
that is eligible to
participate in the Stafford
Loan program, the student
does not have
a drug offense, is not in
default on a previous
federal educational loan and
does not owe a repayment on
a federal grant, and the
student is making
satisfactory academic
progress as defined by his
or her school.
Type of
Student |
Year 1
Limit |
Year 2
Limit |
Year 3-5
Limits |
Cumulative
Limit |
|
Dependent
Undergraduates |
$2,625 |
$3,500 |
$5,500 |
$23,000 |
|
Independent
Undergraduates |
$6,625 |
$7,500 |
$10,500 |
$46,000 |
|
Graduate Student
- Subsidized
Loan |
$8,500
/year |
|
|
$138,500
(sub and unsub) |
|
Graduate Student
- Unsubsidized
Loan |
$10,000
/year |
|
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$138,500
(sub and unsub) |
Certain health professions
students may borrow more
then the graduate student
limit above, up to $38,500
per year. |
Interest Rates
-
Interest rates for the
2005-06 award year for
loans disbursed after
July 1, 1998 are
4.70% during
in-school, grace and
deferment and 5/30%
during repayment
Loan Fees
-
Origination Fee up to 3%
-
Guarantee Fee up to 1%
A student who does not
demonstrate financial need
for the subsidized
Stafford/Direct Loan may
still borrow the same
amounts under the
unsubsidized Stafford/Direct
Loan ($2,625 to $8,500 as
noted above). However, a
dependent student cannot
borrow more than the maximum
award amount under both the
subsidized and unsubsidized
Stafford Loan programs,
combined. For example, a
freshmen student may
demonstrate financial need
for $1,000. In that case,
the student could borrow
$1,000 under the subsidized
Stafford Loan and $1,625
under the unsubsidized
Stafford Loan for a total of
$2,625, the maximum amount
for a first-year dependent
student. |
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Independent students (those who
were born before January 1, 1980 for
the 2004-05 school year or who are
married, have and support a child,
will be graduate or professional
students, are qualified veterans of
the military, are orphans or were a
ward of the court before age 18, or
who have special circumstances that
can be documented) are eligible for
an additional amount each year
through the unsubsidized Stafford
Loan.
Independent students who are in
their first two years of
undergraduate study may borrow up to
$4,000 beyond the normal amounts
listed above. Juniors and seniors
who are independent may borrow up to
$5,500 more than the amounts listed
above while graduate and
professional students (law and
medicine) may borrow an additional
$10,000 through the unsubsidized
Stafford Loan each year. Some
medical students may borrow a
maximum of approximately $37,500 per
year if their school participates in
the Health and Human Services (HHS)
programs. However, a student cannot
borrow or receive any form of
financial aid greater than his or
her total estimated cost of
attendance as determined by the
college's financial aid
administrators.
The cumulative, aggregate amount a
dependent undergraduate student may
borrow under the Stafford Loan is
$23,000. Independent undergraduates
(or those whose parents are denied
the PLUS) may borrow an additional
$23,000 or $46,000 total through the
unsubsidized and subsidized Stafford
Loans combined. Graduate students
may borrow a cumulative aggregate
total of $138,500 through
undergraduate and graduate school,
including the subsidized and
unsubsidized Stafford Loans. For
graduate students, no more than
$65,500 may be borrowed under the
subsidized Stafford Loan. For
graduate students, these totals
include Stafford Loans received
while undergraduates. A select
number of medical students who
borrowed under the old Health
Professions Student Loan program (HPSL)
may borrow an additional amount if
their school participated in the
HPSL program. Contact an experienced
financial aid administrator at your
college for more details.
It is likely that Stafford/Direct
annual and cumulative loan limits
will increase upon passage of the
Reauthorization of the Higher
Education Act during 2005. |
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