Aggregate (Lifetime) Loan Limits Exceeded

A student who has inadvertently overborrowed Federal Student Loans is not eligible for additional Title IV Federal Student Aid until they have resolved the overpayment. A student who has inadvertently overborrowed may regain Title IV eligibility by making satisfactory repayment arrangements acceptable to the loan servicer. Learn more at studentaid.gov or by contacting your loan servicer.

This requirement can be met if the student agrees in writing by completing the reaffirmation agreement form to their lender that requires a student to repay the excess amount according to the terms and conditions of the promissory note that supported the loan. This is called “reaffirmation.”

The Office of Student Financial Assistance can only help complete reaffirmation forms for students who are enrolled and seeking aid at NTC.

To get complete information about your loan(s) or contact information regarding your loan holder(s), you may visit your student aid account at studentaid.gov.

Lifetime Borrowing Limits for Federal Direct Student Loans (Subsidized and Unsubsidized):

  • Dependent undergraduates: Up to $31,000 total, with no more than $23,000 in subsidized loans
  • Independent undergraduates: Up to $57,000 total, with no more than $23,000 in subsidized loans

To regain eligibility for federal student financial aid, you may either:

  1. Repay the excess loan amount now, in which case you should contact your loan holder forinstructions and not complete the Reaffirmation Agreement; or
  2. Agree to repay the excess according to the terms and conditions of your promissory note(“reaffirmation”), in which case you should review the Reaffirmation Agreement form, sign it, and return to the Financial Aid Office at NTC to be forwarded to your loan holder.

Note: if the overborrowing was caused by more than one loan and the loans are held by different loan holders, a separate form will need to be submitted to each loan holder.

Satisfactory Repayment Arrangements (“Reaffirmation”)

See Volume 8, Chapter 1 of the FSA Handbook.

A student who has inadvertently overborrowed may also regain Title IV eligibility by making satisfactory repayment arrangements to repay the excess loan amount. This requirement can be met if the student agrees in writing to repay the excess amount according to the terms and conditions of the promissory note that supported the loan. This is called “reaffirmation.” The reaffirmation process includes the following five steps:

  1. Either the student or the school where the student is requesting additional Title IV funds contacts the servicer of the loan that caused the overborrowing and explains that the student has inadvertently overborrowed and wishes to reaffirm the debt.
  2. The servicer sends the student a reaffirmation agreement.
  3. The student reads, signs, and returns the reaffirmation agreement to the servicer.
  4. The servicer sends the student confirmation that the reaffirmation agreement has been accepted. The student or servicer must provide a copy of the confirmation to the school where the student is requesting Title IV funds.
  5. The inadvertent overborrowing is considered to have been resolved as of the date the servicer receives the student’s signed reaffirmation agreement.

Consolidation of Loan Amounts That Exceed the Annual or Aggregate Loan Limit

If a borrower who inadvertently received more than the annual or aggregate loan limits has consolidated the loan(s) that caused the borrower to exceed the loan limit, the consolidation loan is considered a satisfactory arrangement to repay the excess amount. This restores the borrower’s eligibility for Title IV aid. If the school where the student is seeking aid confirms through NSLDS that the loan(s) have been consolidated, no further action is required. Note, however, that consolidation of an amount that exceeded the combined aggregate loan limit for Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans does not automatically make a student eligible for additional Direct Loan funds.

Note: A student who inadvertently exceeded an undergraduate annual or aggregate loan limit does not automatically become eligible to receive additional Direct Loans if they become eligible for an increased annual loan limit as a result of progressing to a higher grade level, or if they become eligible for a higher aggregate loan limit due to their dependency status changing from dependent to independent or by their enrollment in a graduate or professional degree program. In either case, the inadvertent overborrowing must still be resolved before the student can receive additional Title IV aid.