Federal Direct Stafford Loans - Confused!

[jon62690]

Hey guys, so I need some clarification on the amount I can get from Federal Direct (Stafford) Loans. I just filed my FAFSA, and in the end it said I am eligible for Direct Stafford Loans with a max of $20,500 per year. However, this is MUCH less than what I originally thought we could get through the direct loans, so I did some researching and found the following:

On the government's website (link), it states:

The aggregate (total) limits for Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans: [...] $138,500 for graduate or professional students (no more than $65,500 may be subsidized; includes loans for undergraduate study). $20,500 per year ($8500 max subsidized)

In my Penn SDM handbook and website (link), it states:

Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loan - Full-time students may borrow up to $40,500 per academic year. This includes $8,500 subsidized loan [...] and $32,000 unsubsidized. [...] maximum aggregate eligibility is $224,000, including undergraduate borrowing

In my Tufts SDM handbook and website (link), it states:

Federal Direct Loans - amount varies with length of enrollment, maximum being $47,167 [...] and up to $8,500 may be subsidized

In my Baylor handbook, it states:

Federal Stafford Subsidized Loans - [...] The annual loan limit is [...] $8500 for DDS programs. Federal Stafford Unsubsidized Loan - [...] the annual loan limit for DDS up to $38,667 depending on the length of the academic year

So! The one thing that remains consistent and clear is that we can borrow max of $8,500 per year in the form of subsidized loans. What is unclear and confusing to me is the max amount available to us. Why does the gov say the max is only $20,500 per year where other schools list much high numbers? Am I missing something or just not getting it?

My situation - I just need to borrow ~40K per year, and was planning to do so entirely from direct loans. Furthermore, I filed my FAFSA only with my info, and no parental info (though to my understanding, parental info doesn't affect amount I can get through Direct Loans). I am also not borrowing anything for my current undergrad studies. Can anyone help clarify? Or perhaps did the gov just suddenly lower the max amounts we can get?!

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