Graduate students are considered independent and have a lifetime loan limit of $138,500 for federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans. No more than $65,500 of this amount can be in subsidized loans. Annual limits for Direct Unsubsidized Loans for graduate students are set at $20,500.
There are no fixed annual or aggregate loan limits for Direct PLUS Loans. The maximum Direct PLUS Loan amount that a graduate/professional student or parent can borrow is the cost of attendance minus other financial aid received. See the annual and aggregate limits for subsidized and unsubsidized loans.
There's a general rule floating around stating that your total student loan balance should not exceed your expected starting salary out of college. So if, based on your desired profession, you anticipate making $50,000 your first year after college, you wouldn't want your student loan balance to exceed $50,000.
Unlike other federal direct student loans, there's no borrowing limit—it's up to your grad school's cost of attendance. The interest rate for a Grad PLUS Loan is higher than for a direct unsubsidized loan.
Note: You can request an increase in the amount of a Direct PLUS Loan you previously requested if it's for the same school and same award year. The loan can't exceed the cost of attendance (COA) minus other aid.
Unlike other federal loans, which have set annual and lifetime limits, the Grad PLUS Loan is designed to cover the full cost of attendance.
Overall, only 1% of all U.S. adults owed at least $100,000. Young college graduates with student loans are more likely than those without this kind of debt to say they struggle financially.
Your potential savings from refinancing will vary based on your loan terms. For example, say you have a $50,000 loan balance with a 6.22% interest rate — the average student loan interest rate for graduate students. On the standard 10-year repayment plan, you'd pay $561 per month and $17,277 in interest over time.
Student loan borrowers pursuing undergraduate postsecondary education owe an average of $25,670. Borrowers who hold master's degrees owe an average of $69,140 each.
Graduate PLUS Loans have much more forgiving credit criteria than most (if not all) private alternative loans. They simply require the 'absence of negative credit history' and do not require any sort of income level or debt-to-income ratios like all other loans require.
Can Grad PLUS Loans Be Forgiven? Grad PLUS Loans are technically eligible for income-driven repayment (IDR) plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), but those programs are not a guarantee. For starters, IDR plans typically take about 20–25 years to complete.
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 amount of a scheduled Pell Grant award you can receive each award year is equal to 100%, the six-year equivalent is 600%.
On average, it takes about 10–20 years to pay off a student loan.
Unlike undergraduate loans, graduate student loans do not have subsidized options, meaning interest accrues even while studying. Borrowing limits for graduate students are significantly higher than for undergraduates, allowing for greater financial support but also leading to larger debt burdens.
For grad school you can usually borrow up to the cost of attendance (minus any scholarships, etc,) each term.
This can leave borrowers with six-figure education debt worried that typical student loan advice may not apply to their situation. And the number of borrowers with high education debt is growing. As of 2023, there are one million federal student loan borrowers who owe $200,000 or more, according to StudentAid.gov.
Credible takeaways. Graduate students can borrow as much as $20,500 per year in federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, with a lifetime limit of $138,500, including undergraduate loans. Federal graduate PLUS loans provide financing beyond Direct Unsubsidized Loans but they require a credit check.
$57,500 for undergraduates-No more than $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. $138,500 for graduate or professional students-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.
Unlike other types of federal student loans, grad PLUS loans don't have a specific limit on how much you can borrow per year, nor do they have an aggregate limit. Instead, you might be able to borrow up to your school's certified cost of attendance, minus other financial aid you've received.
Who Is Eligible. Federal Pell Grants usually are awarded only to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need and have not earned a bachelor's, graduate, or professional degree.
If your credit report indicates you are 90 days or more delinquent on any debt, are in default, have a bankruptcy, foreclosure, repossession, tax lien, wage garnishment or a write-off of any Title IV federal financial aid during the last five years, you will not be eligible to borrow a Grad PLUS Loan.