<p>Can anyone clarify for me how the maximum stafford loan amount at this school is higher than the limits stated by Stafford? I understood that the max on subsidized (at highest grade level) for INDEPENDENT students was $12,500 with max of $5500 subsidized. But this school (Florida Institute of Sonography) is able to offer $16,000 with max of $6400 subsidized.</p>
<p>Is this a special circumstances thing or am I looking at outdated information on loan maximums? Any help is appreciated.</p>
<p>Are you a graduate student? Some programs are considered to be grad/professional level after the student earns a certain number of credits. For example, where I work there are some programs that are professional level after 92 earned credits … pharmacy and physical therapy are two such programs at my school. At that point, students are no longer eligible for Pell or SEOG, and they become eligible for grad loans at grad levels ($20,500/year, of which up to $8500 may be subsidized).</p>
<p>Actually, I just pulled up their finaid page & found that they do state that they can offer up to $6400 in sub loan. This probably has to do with the length of the program … I am guessing it is more than a year in length but less than two years. They most likely do borrowed based academic year (BBAY), so it is based on that. Odd-length programs do sometimes result in unusual financial aid awards … most advice you will see on this forum is related to standard term schools.</p>