What’s the Maximum Student Loan Amount You Can Borrow?

According to the latest statistics from The College Board, the average annual tuition at a public four-year college in 2019-2020 was $10,440. Meanwhile, the published tuition and fee prices for private four-year universities averaged $36,880 for that academic year.

This means that the average total cost of a bachelor’s degree today ranges from $41,760 to $147,520. Many students simply can’t afford to pay that kind of money up front, which is why so many turn to student loans to help them afford their college bills.

But student loans aren’t blank checks. In many cases, students are restricted from borrowing more than a specified student loan maximum.

How much can you take out in student loans? And should you borrow up to the maximum amount? Here’s what you need to know.

How much in student loans can I get?

Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized federal student loans come with both annual and lifetime borrowing limits. As of October 2020, the maximum amount that an undergraduate can borrow over four years is $31,500 for dependent students and $57,500 for independent students.

Private loans tend to have more flexible student loan limits. But it’s not uncommon for private lenders to set aggregate borrowing maximums, too. Below, we take a closer look at the student loan limits for subsidized and unsubsidized loans, PLUS loans, and private loans.

Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans

The max federal student loans you can take out is much lower if you’re considered a dependent student (unless your parents aren’t able to take out Parent PLUS loans).

The tables below break down the yearly and aggregate limits on student loan amounts for both types of students.

First-year undergraduate yearly student loan maximum

Loan type	Dependent students	Independent students (and students whose parents can't obtain PLUS loans)
Subsidized loan maximum	$3,500	$3,500
Unsubsidized loan maximum	$2,000	$6,000
Total loan maximum	$5,500	$9,500

Second-year undergraduate yearly student loan maximum

Loan type	Dependent students	Independent students (and students whose parents can't obtain PLUS loans)
Subsidized loan maximum	$4,500	$4,500
Unsubsidized loan maximum	$2,000	$6,000
Total loan maximum	$6,500	$10,500

Third-year undergraduate (and beyond) yearly student loan maximum

Loan type	Dependent students	Independent students (and students whose parents can't obtain PLUS loans)
Subsidized loan maximum	$5,500	$5,500
Unsubsidized loan maximum	$2,000	$7,000
Total loan maximum	$7,500	$12,500

Graduate or professional student yearly student loan maximum

Loan type	Dependent students	Independent students (and students whose parents can't obtain PLUS loans)
Subsidized loan maximum	N/A	N/A
Unsubsidized loan maximum	N/A	$20,500
Total loan maximum	N/A	$20,500

Lifetime student loan maximum

Loan type	Dependent students	Independent students (and students whose parents can't obtain PLUS loans)	Independent graduate or professional students
Subsidized loan maximum	$23,000	$23,000	$65,500
Unsubsidized loan maximum	$8,000	$34,500	$73,000
Total loan maximum	$31,000	$57,500	$138,500

Federal Direct PLUS loans

Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS loans come with more flexible FAFSA loan limits than their subsidized and unsubsidized federal student loan counterparts.

With PLUS loans, parents or graduate students can borrow up to the full cost of attendance minus any other financial aid received. This means that there is no set limit to how much you can borrow.

Like subsidized and unsubsidized loans, PLUS loans come with fixed interest rates that aren’t credit-based. However, PLUS loan rates are the highest of all federal student loan types. And borrowers with an adverse credit history may not be able to obtain a PLUS loan without a creditworthy cosigner.

Private student loan maximums

Like PLUS loans, many private student loan lenders also allow students (or parents) to borrow up to the full cost of attendance. Cost of attendance (COA) estimates are set by your school and typically include books, equipment, room and board, and tuition and fees.

But even in the absence of annual loan limits, some private lenders set aggregate loan limits. Here are the lifetime borrowing limits of a few private student loan lenders:

Lender	Lifetime borrowing limits
Ascent	$200,000
Citizens	$150,000
CommonBond	$500,000
PNC Bank	$225,000
Wells Fargo	$120,000

Approval changes and interest rates offered on private student loans both depend on the borrower’s creditworthiness. For this reason, more than 90% of private loans are cosigned according to a 2017 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) study.

It should be noted, however, that the CFPB study also found that 40% of private loans made to graduate students were successfully secured without a cosigner.

Related: Private Student Loans Without a Cosigner: Our Top Picks

How much should you borrow for college?

Just because you can borrow up to a certain amount to pay for college, doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. How do you know when a certain amount of student loans is too much? Here are two rules of thumb to keep in mind:

• Annual income. Keeping your cumulative student loan total below what you expect to make per year during your early career can be a smart target. So if the average starting salary in your field is $75,000, strive to keep your student loan borrowing below that level.
• Monthly salary. The College Board recommends that students aim to keep their monthly student loan payments below 10% to 15% of their starting monthly income (without joining an Income-Driven Repayment plan). You can use our calculator to estimate your monthly payments.

If you’re pursuing a career that requires a lot of postgraduate education, it might be OK to push past these general guidelines.

But no matter your career path, you’ll want to avoid borrowing more than you can repay from your working income without causing financial hardship. And beware of graduate degrees that tend to produce more debt than income.

Ways to avoid limits on student loan amounts

To keep your student loan borrowing under federal or private lender maximums, submit your FAFSA by the deadline each year. In addition to being required for federal financial aid assistance, a completed FAFSA could help you qualify for scholarships or grants that are specific to your school or state.

Other ways to cut back on education spending include switching to a less expensive school or scaling back your class load to reduce your per-semester tuition cost. Starting a side hustle with flexible hours could also help you cover more of your out-of-pocket education costs.

Get a game plan for your student loans

If you’re trying to find the maximum you can borrow in student loans, you might already be on the high side of the borrowing spectrum. And that makes you exactly the kind of borrower that Student Loan Planner® advisers could help the most.

If you owe $20,000 to $1 million in student loans, our consultants would love to help you develop a comprehensive plan to tackle your student loans. They’ve already helped over 4,000 clients find millions in forecasted student loan savings. Book your own custom student loan plan today.

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