The limits for fed loans are set where they are probably because the total is considered a reasonable amount of debt for a student to take on by themselves. More loans than that at least requires parents to get involved, either taking on Parent Plus loans themselves(or at least applying for them) or cosigning private loans. If the federal limits aren’t enough to get your niece through college, I think your niece and her family need to seriously examine whether there are more affordable schools as alternatives. Taking on more debt than the federal limits is dubious depending on the school, major, expected graduate income, other family financial issues and other factors.