Hello all, long time lurker here, first time poster. First off, i’d just like to say you all are doing a fantastic job answering questions, and I’ve learned quite a bit here over the years reading reading through various posts. So kudos, you rock :).
I’ve searched quite a bit for this, and found things that seem to hint at it, but never anything outright. I apologize in advance if I’ve missed something super obvious.
My question is this. I attended and graduated from an undergraduate university and accumulated an amount of loans less than the maximum of $57,500 for undergraduates. After that, I entered graduate school at which point I also received federal loans, however I was eventually forced to drop out due to outside circumstances. If you combine my federal loans accumulated during both degrees together, they exceed $57,500, but not the maximum for graduate students of $138,500. My question then is if I decided to attend another undergraduate university and seek an additional bachelors degree, would I be eligible for additional federal loans in the amount equal to the difference between the loans from my first bachelors degree and the maximum, $57,500, or would the loans from my graduate program prevent this? Additionally, if after receiving this second undergraduate degree, I attended a second graduate program, I assume at that point I would be able to receive federal loans in the amount difference between the maximum, $138,500, and the combined total of what I had received for both undergraduate degrees as well as from the first graduate degree?
Thank you very much for taking the time to read. I apologize for the long-windedness of this question. I would ask for no comments along of the lines of recommending not to get a second bachelors degree or anything of that sort. I have spent dozens of hours researching, a lot of it on this forum, and am quite comfortable with my decision, assuming I can in fact receive more Stafford loans.
There is an aggregate amount of federal loan money you can receive (Direct Loans). I don’t believe it matters whether you did this as an undergrad or a grad…there is an aggregate maximum.
If you have exceeded that amount, you cannot take out any more Dorect Loans. At all.
I also have to ask…what is your current balance on these loans? I think that you can get loans in amounts up to,the aggregate amount…you can’t owe more than that amount.
So…have you paid back any of the (huge) loans you have already taken?
If not, I will offer this free advice…stop taking loans, get a job, and repay the debt before you amass any more.
Thanks for your response. I understand there is an aggregate maximum. That number is listed at $138,500 for graduates. My confusion is it doesn’t state explicitly if the amount you draw for a graduate degree draws first from whatever you didn’t use for the bachelors degree. It states on the student aid government website that the graduate maximum is the aggregate amount of your graduate and undergraduate loans, but it doesn’t state that undergraduate maximum of $57,500 is the aggregate amount of your graduate and undergraduate loans, it simply says that it’s the maximum for undergraduate loans.
Also, you are both correct that it is often an unreasonable and irrational step, especially in this current economy, to take additional loans in any form. Let us hope I am not one privy to irrational decisions :).
You can borrow up to $138,500 total between undergrad and grad loans. Your grad loans do not count against your undergrad maximum of $57,500. You will be able to borrow up to the $57,500 in undergrad loans as long as the total of your grad and undergrad loans does not exceed $138,500.
As long as you are enrolled in a degree program, your annual loan limit will be that of your year in school for the program (freshman=$9500; sophomore=$10,500; junior & senior=$12,500 each year). Again, up to the $138,500 aggregate maximum of all loans.
You will owe a lot of money that will affect your future. I hope you will be able to live with parents or someone who won’t charge a lot of rent.
If you are going into CS or Engineering, some companies will conduct credit checks along with security checks. They won’t hire people that are in huge debt because it compromises their proprietary licenses.
What career would require going back for an additional BA vs. just getting a second Master’s in that particular discipline??? There are multiple “alternative credentialing” for virtually every career path I can think of- and none require a second BA.
OP- why not just apply for a Master’s program in your desired field? You’d likely be able to do a semester or two online; faster and cheaper than a BA.
You don’t want the peanut gallery asking questions- but you are really looking at a lifetime of debt repayment here and I can’t think of a career path where that would pay off. Are you getting professional advice from people actually in this field- or just advice from a college admissions person???
What field are you trying to break into and have you considered less expensive alternatives (including the opportunity costs of all those years of you out of the workforce and back at school… lost income, lost years of professional advancement, etc.)