US Federal Student Aid

Types of Loans & Limits

Direct Loans

Subsidized Direct Loans

Subsidized loans are only available for undergraduate students.

This loan is based on financial need as demonstrated to the US Department of Education. The US Federal Government pays your interest while you are:

registered at least half time,
in the grace period and,
during an authorized period of deferment.

Repayments for the loan will begin:

six months after graduation,
if you withdraw from studies, or
if you drop below half-time registration (less then 9 credits per term at Burman)

For definitive information on loan types including repayment, go to studentloans.gov.

Unsubsidized Direct Loans

The unsubsidized loan is not based on financial need and is available to all eligible students.

The unsubsidized loan accrues interest immediately and the student is responsible for paying the interest during all periods. Options for payment are:

Making minimum monthly payments of the unpaid balance including interest while in school. The in the long run this will save you money and reduce your debt.
Deferring your interest and principal payments until you enter the repayment period (at this point the interest is ‘capitalized’) This may increase your monthly repayments when you leave university.

For definitive information on loan types including repayment, go to studentloans.gov.

Loan Limits

There are loan limits on the maximum subsidized and unsubsidized amounts yearly (annual loan limit) and over the lifetime academic career (aggregate loan limits). These limits depend on:

what is your ‘year of study’ as determined by the number of credits completed, eg year 1, 2, 3, etc.
whether you are a dependent or independent student

The actual loan amount you are eligible to receive for an academic year is determined by your school and may be less then the maximum annual amounts shown.

The following chart provides maximum annual and aggregate loan limits for Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans as of July 1, 2012

Year of Study	Annual Subsidized Loan Limits	Annual Total Combined Loan Limits (Sub & Unsub)	Aggregate Subsidized Loan Limits	Aggregate Combined Loans Limits (Sub & Unsub)
Undergraduate Dependent Students
1st Year	$3,500	$5,500	$23,000	$31,000
2nd Year	$4,500	$6,500	$23,000	$31,000
3rd Year & Above	$5,500	$7,500	$23,000	$31,000
Undergraduate Independent Students
1st Year	$3,500	$9,500	$23,000	$57,000
2nd Year	$4,500	$10,500	$23,000	$57,000
3rd Year & Above	$5,500	$12,500	$23,000	$57,000

For definitive information on loan types including repayment, go to studentloans.gov.

Direct PLUS Loans

Parent PLUS

The Parent PLUS loan enables the parents to borrow money to pay for the educational expenses of their dependent student.

This is a need-based loan.
A credit check is required.
Interest begins accruing when funds are disbursed and repayment begins 60 days after the loan has been fully disbursed.

The maximum annual PLUS loan amount you can borrow is Cost of Attendance minus any other financial assistance received.