Types of Loans

Federal loans are available to students and/or their parents at low interest rates with the option to defer repayment until after graduation or after the student drops below half-time enrollment. Federal loans are available to students to help meet the cost of education after grant/scholarship options are exhausted. Loans are considered a form of financial aid. However, if a student drops below half-time enrollment, repayment is not deferred.

Learn more about Federal Direct Loans

Loan Types:

• Subsidized - The subsidized loans are awarded to only undergraduate students demonstrating a financial need as determined by the federal processor as a result of your FAFSA. Your loan eligibility is also based on your academic level (see chart). Interest on this loan is subsidized (you are not charged interest) by the federal government while you are in school or during authorized periods of deferments. You begin repayment six months after you graduate or stop attending at least half-time.
• Unsubsidized - A student does not have to demonstrate financial need to receive this loan. You may borrow the cost of attendance minus all financial aid awarded and based on your academic level (see chart). Interest on this loan is not subsidized by the government. You can choose to pay the interest while you are enrolled, or it will accrue and be added to the principal of the loan that you owe. You begin repayment six months after you graduate or stop attending at least half-time.

Before the Federal Direct Loan(s) will disburse to your student account, you must do the following:

1. Accept Aid & Disbursements for your loan on MyFIU
2. If you are a first-time Federal Direct Loan borrower, complete Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note (MPN) on Studentaid.gov. Learn more about Receiving Loans.

Federal Student Loan Total Lifetime Limit:

Effective Fall 2026, The One Big Beautiful Bill Act establishes a total lifetime limit of $257,500 for all combined federal student loans. The lifetime loan limit of $257,500 includes loans, borrowed for undergraduate, graduate, and professional study. This cap applies to the total outstanding principal balance of a student’s federal loans, which include Subsidized, Unsubsidized, and Graduate PLUS loans. This total lifetime limit will not be reduced by payments made or discharged loans. 

Federal Direct Loan Aggregate Limits:

The undergraduate aggregate amount of all Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans made to a student may not exceed the following:

Federal Direct Loan Term Loan Limits:

In addition to the Federal Direct Loans available to student borrowers, parents of dependent students may borrow funds through the Federal Direct PLUS Loan program. The borrower must be a natural parent, adoptive parent, or stepparent (if his/her income and assets are considered in the FAFSA) of the dependent student. Eligibility will be based upon an approved credit check. Loans are not automatically renewed; parents must reapply annually.

New FIU Parent PLUS Loan Borrowers

Effective in the 2026-2027 academic year, the One Big Beautiful Bill federal establishes new loan limits for parent borrowers. Under these changes, Parent PLUS Loan borrowing is limited to:

1. $20,000 per dependent student, per year; and
2. $65,000 per dependent student, in total.

Existing federal Parent PLUS loan borrowers that meet limited exemption requirements may continue borrowing any amount up to the cost of education minus any other financial aid the student may receive. To qualify for limited exception, students must meet specific criteria, including being on track to complete their program within the standard program length based on four years of full-time enrollment and be continuously enrolled as June 30, 2026.

Students do not qualify for limited exception if: 

• Stopped enrollment on or before June 30, 2026 
• Completion of or changing program of study 
• Meet or exceed program length based on full-time enrollment
• Stop attending future terms 
• Receive all or a combination of F0s, DRs and WIs in a term 

Application Process

• Submit the FAFSA with the student
• Complete a Direct PLUS Loan Application at Studentaid.gov
• Complete an PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN) for Parents at Studentaid.gov
• If your PLUS Loan is approved, you will receive notification from the U.S. Department of Education. The university will disburse the funds to the student account. The FIU Student Financials will remit any credit remaining to the borrower at the address provided on the PLUS Loan Application.
• If your PLUS Loan is denied, you will receive notification from the U.S. Department of Education. You will be given the option at that time to obtain an endorser (co-signer) or to appeal the credit decision to continue the loan process. If you do not select one of these options, the student will automatically be offered an additional unsubsidized loan.
• If your PLUS loan is approved with an endorser or appeal, you must complete the PLUS Credit Counseling at Studentaid.gov.

Effective Fall 2026, The One Big Beautiful Bill Act establishes a new total aggregate loan limit, changes graduate aggregate loan limits and eliminates the Graduate PLUS loan.

New Borrowing Limits

• Aggregate limits above do not include amounts borrowed as an undergraduate. 
• The new lifetime limit of $257,500 covers all federal loans combined Undergraduate, Graduate, and Professional including Unsubsidized and Graduate PLUS. This amount will not be reduced by payments you make or discharged loans. 
• Graduate PLUS Loans are eliminatedunder the new law. Students who previously relied on Graduate PLUS loans to cover the full cost of attendance will need to explore other options. 
• Professional degrees defined by the US Department of Education are pending litigation.

Existing federal loan borrowers that meet limited exemption requirements can access prior loan limits for a limited time.

Students that borrowed a federal loan for their current program of study before July 1, 2026 and were enrolled as of June 30, 2026 qualify for the pre-One Big Beautiful Bill Act limits, for up to three years in the same program or the remainder of your program length (based on full-time status), whichever is less.

Interim Exception Prior Loan Limits: 

* Unsubsidized aggregate limit: $138,500 (including undergraduate loans) 

Students will not qualify for limited exception if they: 

• Stopped enrollment on or before June 30, 2026 
• Completion of or changing program of study 
• Meet or exceed program length based on full-time enrollment
• Stop attending future terms 
• Receive all or a combination of F0s, DRs and WIs in a term

Alternative loans are non-federal educational loans available from a variety of national lending institutions. Alternative loans help bridge the gap between the actual cost of your education and the amount you may borrow in the federal student loan program. Since federal student loans may be less expensive and/or offer better terms than private student loans, you should consider exhausting your eligibility for federal student loans before applying for private student loans.

An alternative or private loan is a loan in the student’s name; however, these loans generally require the signature of a credit worthy co-signer. Minimum and maximum loan amounts vary depending on the lender you choose.

Lender List

This list is comprised of lenders from whom our students have borrowed in the last five years and is in no way exclusive or exhaustive of all existing lenders. OneStop will honor requests to certify alternative educational loans from any lender, even those that do not appear on the list. Students are encouraged to shop around to find the lender offering the rates, terms, and service that are right for them.

ELM Select is an external website that allows students to review the Lender List, compare products, and apply for private loans.

This institutional tuition-only loan is available to degree-seeking students who are enrolled for a minimum of half-time approximately two weeks before the beginning of the tuition payment deadline for each semester (see the Academic Calendar). Short Term Tuition loans are available to students who qualify up until the tuition payment deadline for each semester.

The Short Term Tuition loan is used only for tuition and is meant to assist in meeting the deadline for fee payment by providing a portion of the cost of tuition based on enrollment. The loan amount is prorated based on the student's enrollment status and grade level and must be repaid within 45 calendar days of the first day of classes. A $25.00 service fee is added. Students who qualify will have a Short Term Tuition Loan link to accept the conditions of the Short Term Tuition Loan when they Accept Aid & Disbursements on MyFIU.

Once a Short Term Tuition Loan Promissory Note has been completed and posted on your account as a charge, it cannot be canceled or revised.