Federal Loan Limit?

[BobLJ99]

I was curious if someone could apprise me of the federal loan limit? I am concerned about this because I have finished undergraduate study, will have a master's in May (two year program, full-time), am starting the Health Careers Program this summer, will then apply to an SMP program (Georgetown possibly), and then hopefully medical school. In doing all of this, I think knowing the federal loan limit would be significant. I have heard somewhere around 189,000 for federal loans and unlimited for private loans. Is this true?

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[azileretsis]

I'm in the same boat. But, fortunately, my Masters in a MBA, this May too (Yoohoo!). So, I have been crunching the numbers.

It's true about the federal loan limit. This is true for medical school loans and if they don't raise it up in the next five years. The government may raise the limit since the costs of a higher education is only going to grow in the next few years.

But, from a personal financing point of view, I would look at what your payback period for your degrees will be. Do you really want to work five to ten years after residency living off what you made in residency to pay off your loans? Keep in mind that average physicians salaries may decrease in our lifetime (depending on your specialty). Watch out for how much you pay in interest in any loan that you get.

But, you have other options for loans as well. Depending what other degrees, you have, you might want to enter the lucrative private physician services market or work at a large corporation. You might be able to get loans from these sources to finish up your degree. Keep in mind, they will "own" you for a period of time.

"the borrower is servant to the lender"

 

[Febrifuge]

For federal Stafford loans, it's $138,500 total aggregate over your lifetime; that's $65,500 in Subsidized, and $73,000 in Unsubsidized.

Call the Dept of Ed at 1-800-4-FED-AID with questions. Be sure to mention you're heading to med school, because I think there may be different limits, and there are definitely different sources.

 

[91Bravo]

For federal Stafford loans, it's $138,500 total aggregate over your lifetime; that's $65,500 in Subsidized, and $73,000 in Unsubsidized.

Call the Dept of Ed at 1-800-4-FED-AID with questions. Be sure to mention you're heading to med school, because I think there may be different limits, and there are definitely different sources.

I believe that to be incorrect. The aggregate limit for Federal Stafford loans is $189,125 (source: Wells Fargo)
http://www.wellsfargo.com/student/loans/undergrad/stafford?

The total aggregate for graduate school is $138,500 as you indicated. But the total aggregate for allopathic/osteopathic/dentistry/optometry is $189,125.