Office of Student Financial Aid & Student Employment Federal Stafford Loans,
Subsidized & Unsubsidized
Eligiblity You must be enrolled in at least 6 credits (undergraduate) or 5 credits (graduate/law) for each term of the loan period to be eligible for these loans. There are two types of loans in this program. The first loan is subsidized. In this type of loan, the interest is paid by the federal government while you are a student, or in the six-month grace period that occurs whenever your attendance falls below half-time (6 credit hours) or when you graduate.
The second is unsubsidized and the government will not pay interest during the period you are enrolled; therefore, you are responsible for paying the interest on this loan even during enrollment or it can be deferred until after you graduate or stop attending. The subsidized loan is need-based, while the unsubsidized is not. The rate on Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans is fixed at 6.8% for loans taken after 7/1/06.
Note: Stafford Loans taken BEFORE 7/1/2006 will remain as VARIABLE RATE LOANS with an interest rate based on the value of the 90-day T-bill and changes each year on July 1. The rate for loans in repayment is somewhat higher.Please, remember that rate for the VARIABLE RATE LOANS is capped at 8.25%.
Interest accrual for the subsidized loan starts at the end of the grace period while interest begins accumulating as soon as you borrow an unsubsidized loan.
The annual borrowing limits are maximums for both loan types combined. You cannot borrow the maximum in each. For enrollment periods beginning after July 1, 2007, those maximums are:
| First Year (Less than 32 hrs. complete |
$3,500 |
| Second Year (32-63.99 hrs. complete) |
$4,500 |
| Junior* |
$5,500 |
| Senior * |
$5,500 |
| Graduate and Professional (Law) |
$8,500 |
*By federal regulation, 2+2 students are not considered to be in a 4 year program until they have been accepted into their 4 year program and their records have been updated to indicate this by the Office of the Registrar.
A student enrolled in a 2-year undergraduate program is eligible each year only for the appropriate first year or second year annual limit, regardless of the number of years the student attends.
If you are a first-year, first-time borrower, federal regulations require that you attend classes for 30 days before you are eligible to receive any loan funds; however, the amount of your approved loan can be used to hold your classes. Additional Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
| Freshmen and Sophomore |
$4,000 |
$2000 |
| Junior and Senior |
$5,000 |
$2000 |
| Graduate and Professional |
$12,000 |
n/a |
This loan is for educational purposes only and can never exceed the cost of attendance (determined by the financial aid office) less any other financial aid.
Undergraduate students considered independent on the FAFSA; undergraduate students whose parents have been denied for the PLUS within the current academic year; graduate students and law students are eligible to borrow this loan in addition to the other Stafford loan amounts mentioned above.
Graduate and Professional Students may also be eligible for funding through the GRAD PLUS loan Program. For more information, visit the "GRAD PLUS" section of the "Loan Programs" page (link is listed in the "Financial Aid Links" on the left side of this page.)
08-09 Additional Unsubsidized Loan Request Form
Effective July 1, 2008, eligible all undergraduate students may borrow up to an additional $2,000 (see 3rd column of chart above) from the Federal Stafford Unsubsidized Loan Program. These additional loan amounts were recently approved by the Department of Education and were not included in the initial financial aid award packet for the 2008-2009 award year.
The Unsubsidized Loan is similar to the Subsidized Loan in that a student may defer payment on the loan while s/he is in school. Both loan programs offer a six month grace period before the loan goes into repayment either after graduation or when the student ceases to be enrolled as a half-time student. However, the Unsubsidized Loan differs from a Subsidized Loan in that the student is responsible for all interest that accrues on the unsubsidized loan from the time of disbursement through repayment of the loan. The Federal Stafford Unsubsidized Loan has a 6.8% fixed interest rate.The interest accrued on an Unsubsidized Loan can also be paid while the student is in school.
If you have not already requested this funding for 08-09, and you would like to, please click on the Link above, print the form, complete it and send it to our office as described on the form. |
