I attended a full fall semester in 2017, and received Stafford loans (subsidized and unsubsidized) for the fall and spring. But I became really sick (working two jobs and commuting everyday didn’t help) and took a semester off. So I only used a small portion of the loan I received. I’m returning this fall at a different university (in the same state) and I’m apply for loans, but I was wondering if I could use the rest of the loan that I hadn’t used towards this upcoming semester at my new university.
Thank you for any help or advice!
No. The Direct (Stafford) loans are for the academic year AND college you were attending at that time. You can’t now take out those 2017-2018 loans for next year.
If you didn’t attend college in the spring term, you are not entitled to the Direct Loan money for that term. You have to be enrolled in college for the term when you are taking out the loan. You aren’t enrolled now…so you have no entitlement to any further loan money for 2017-2018.
Okay! Thank you, I was just curious. I had received a letter in the mail telling me that the loans were dispersed.
So does that mean that I have to pay back the second loan as well, even if I hadn’t used it?
Check with your old college to see if they received loan money on your account- if they did and it wasn’t used since you were not attending, maybe you have a credit balance that could be refunded to you? I’d just want to make sure where the money went since they said it was disbursed.
Alrighty, I’ll go ahead and give them a call today. Thank you guys for your help! 
Did you withdraw before the second semester began? If so, the college should not have taken receipt of your Dorect Loan money.
Absolutely, contact them and find out.
If you still have access to your student portal there, you can check the bursars account yourself.
Did you withdraw completely from your college (registration, meal plan, and room and board)? If not, you may have been charged for the last semester. Definitely contact the school to find out the status of your account.
I will add my voice to those saying you need to contact the school. If you withdrew properly, your spring loans should have been returned. It is possible they were…maybe they were returned after disbursement…but you need to make sure.
You also should have done exit counseling for the loans, learning about when they’d be in repayment status and how to set that up.
Yes, I withdrew before the second semester. I finished up the first and didn’t register for classes in the spring. I was really sick and had to take a leave of absence from school and work as a result. Thank you guys for all your advice!