Chapter	7
Annual	Loan	Limits	for	Students	Who	Transfer	or	Change	Programs
Overview
The	Direct	Loan	annual	loan	limits	apply	to	an	academic	year.	If	a	student	who	received	a	Direct	Loan	transfers	from	one
school	to	another	school,	or	changes	to	a	different	program	at	the	same	school,	and	there	is	an	overlap	between	the
academic	year	associated	with	the	loan	received	at	the	first	school	or	for	the	first	program	and	the	academic	year	for	the
new	school	or	program,	this	overlap	may	affect	the	amount	that	the	student	is	initially	eligible	to	borrow	at	the	new	school
or	for	the	new	program.
An	overlap	in	academic	years	exists	if	the	academic	year	at	the	new	school	(or	the	academic	year	for	the	new	program	at
the	same	school)	begins	before	the	calendar	end	date	of	the	academic	year	at	the	prior	school	or	program.	In	the	case	of
a	transfer	student	from	another	school,	you	may	obtain	documentation	from	the	prior	school	of	the	specific	beginning	and
ending	dates	for	the	prior	academic	year,	or	look	for	the	academic	year	dates	of	Direct	Loans	originated	by	the	prior
school	on	the	<award	detail	information	page=	in	the	COD	Web	interface.
Transfer	Into	a	Standard	Term	or	SE9W	Nonstandard	Term	Program	(SAY,	BBAY	1,	or	BBAY	2)
Transfers	Between	Schools
Example	1	below	illustrates	the	determination	of	the	annual	loan	limit	for	a	student	who	transfers	from	one	school	into	a
standard-term	program	at	another	school	with	an	overlap	in	academic	years.
Transfers	Between	Programs	at	the	Same	School
If	a	student	transfers	to	a	different	program	at	the	same	school	at	the	beginning	of	a	new	term	within	the	same	academic
Volume	8,	Chapter	7,	Example	1:	Transfer	Into	a	Standard-Term	Program
A	student	receives	a	$2,000	Direct	Subsidized	Loan	at	School	A	for	a	loan	period	from	May	1	to	August	31.	School
A	reports	the	academic	year	for	this	loan	as	May	1	to	November	27.	The	student,	a	dependent	undergraduate,
transfers	to	a	program	at	School	B	in	September	and	is	admitted	at	grade	level	2.	The	student	requests	a	loan	for
the	fall	and	spring	semesters	(September-May).	The	program	at	School	B	uses	an	SAY	consisting	of	fall	and	spring
semesters,	followed	by	a	summer	trailer	term.
Because	the	academic	year	at	School	B	begins	before	the	end	of	the	academic	year	at	School	A,	the	student	may
initially	receive	only	up	to	a	maximum	of	$4,500	for	the	fall	semester	at	School	B,	not	more	than	$2,500	of	which
may	be	subsidized.	This	amount	represents	the	difference	between	the	annual	loan	limit	of	$6,500	(maximum
$4,500	subsidized),	and	the	amount	received	at	School	A	($2,000	subsidized)	for	the	overlapping	academic	year
period.
The	initial	loan	period	at	School	B	corresponds	with	the	fall	term.	If	the	student	receives	the	maximum	of	$4,500
for	the	fall	semester,	at	the	start	of	the	spring	semester	in	January	the	student	may	borrow	up	to	an	additional
$2,000	(the	difference	between	the	second-year	dependent	undergraduate	annual	loan	limit	and	the	amount
already	borrowed	for	the	fall-spring	academic	year	at	School	B).	If	the	student	received	the	maximum	$2,500	in
subsidized	loan	funds	for	the	fall	term,	the	additional	$2,000	would	be	limited	to	unsubsidized	loan	funds.
As	an	alternative,	School	B	could	choose	to	change	the	student	from	an	SAY	schedule	to	a	BBAY	1	schedule
beginning	with	the	spring	semester.	The	student	would	then	be	eligible	to	borrow	up	to	the	full	annual	loan	limit
for	a	spring-summer	BBAY	1.	Although	this	might	appear	to	result	in	an	overlap	between	the	SAY	and	BBAY	1	at
School	B,	in	this	limited	transfer	student	circumstance	the	fall	semester	at	School	B	can	be	considered	the	last
term	of	the	academic	year	that	began	at	School	A.
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