Direct Loan Reductions for Less than Full-Time Enrollment

Notes:

• At UNI, 9 credits per semester is considered full-time for a graduate student. 
• The loan calculation to determine the annual amount for a student enrolled less than full-time uses the enrollment for the academic year. 
• If a student is enrolled both fall and spring semesters, 18 credits is considered full-time for the year.
• The annual borrowing limits for a full-time student are listed on the Federal Direct Loan webpage.
• In addition to enrollment, loan eligibility may depend on Cost of Attendance, financial need, and amount remaining before the student reaches their aggregate limit.
• Students must still meet all other loan eligibility criteria, including half-time enrollment. Half-time is 5 credits per semester for a graduate student.
• In addition to the Direct Unsubsidized Loan, the Graduate PLUS Loan amount is also adjusted based on less than full-time enrollment (students must meet certain legacy provisions to be eligible for the Graduate PLUS Loan starting July 1, 2026).

Enrolled Less than Full-Time

Example 1: Student enrolled 5 credits for fall and 5 credits for spring

For this example, a graduate student is enrolled 5 credits for the fall semester and 5 credits for the spring semester. The annual limit for a full-time graduate student in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan is $20,500. However, the Cost of Attendance can also impact eligibility. For this example, the student's Cost of Attendance is $20,166 and they have no other financial aid other than a Direct Unsubsidized Loan.

Step 1: Calculate the percentage based on enrollment:

• This student will be enrolled in 10 credits for the academic year
• 18 credits is considered full-time
• 10/18 = 56% (rounded from 55.555%)
• This student is eligible for 56% of the full-time annual limit

Step 2: Calculate the full-time annual limit

• Due to the Cost of Attendance of $20,166 being lower than the annual limit of $20,500, if this student was full-time, they would be eligible for a maximum of $20,166 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan.
• For this example, the full-time annual limit is $20,166.

Step 3: Use the percentage from Step 1 and the annual limit from Step 2 to calculate loan eligibility:

• $20,166 X 56% = $11,293

This student would be eligible for $11,293 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan for the year. This amount would be split equally between the fall and spring semesters.

Example 2: Student enrolled in 8 credits for fall and 8 credits for spring

For this example, a graduate student is enrolled 8 credits for the fall semester and 8 credits for the spring semester. The annual limit for a full-time graduate student in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan is $20,500. However, the Cost of Attendance can also impact eligibility. For this example, the student is an out-of-state student and their Cost of Attendance is $26,192 and they have no other financial aid other than a Direct Unsubsidized Loan.

Step 1: Calculate the percentage based on enrollment:

• This student will be enrolled in 16 credits for the academic year
• 18 credits is considered full-time
• 16/18 = 89% (rounded from 88.888%)
• This student is eligible for 89% of the full-time annual limit

Step 2: Calculate the full-time annual limit

• The full-time annual limit for this student is $20,500 as this amount fits within the $26,192 Cost of Attendance.

Step 3: Use the percentage from Step 1 and the annual limit from Step 2 to calculate loan eligibility:

• $20,500 X 89% = $18,245

This student would be eligible for $18,245 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan for the year. This amount would be split equally between the fall and spring semesters.

Dropping Classes or Withdrawing

Example 3: Student drops a class in the fall semester

A graduate student is enrolled in 9 credits for the fall semester and plans to enroll in 9 credits for the spring semester. The student is considered full-time and eligible for $20,500 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan.

• After the $10,250 Direct Unsubsidized Loan disburses for the fall semester, the student drops down to 6 credits.
  • No changes are required to the fall disbursement at this time.
• The student then enrolls in 9 credits for the spring semester.
• The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships is required to review enrollment prior to each disbursement.

Step 1: Calculate the percentage based on enrollment:

• This student will be enrolled in 15 credits for the academic year (6 for fall and 9 for spring)
• 18 credits is considered full-time
• 15/18 = 83% (rounded from 83.333%)
• This student is eligible for 83% of the full-time annual limit

Step 2: Use the percentage from Step 1 to calculate loan eligibility:

• $20,500 X 83% = $17,015
• This student is eligible for $17,015 in the direct unsubsidized loan for the year.

Step 3: Determine how much the student has already received in the Direct Loan:

• The student received $10,250 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan in the fall semester.
• $17,015 - $10,250 = $6,765

This student is eligible for $6,765 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan for the spring semester.

Example 4: Student drops class in the fall and adds extra class in the spring

A graduate student is enrolled in 9 credits for the fall semester and plans to enroll in 9 credits for the spring semester. The student is considered full-time and eligible for $20,500 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan.

• After the $10,250 Direct Unsubsidized Loan disburses for the fall semester, the student drops down to 6 credits.
  • No changes are required to the fall disbursement at this time.
• The student then enrolls in 12 credits for the spring semester as they decided to add an extra class to make up for the class dropped in the fall semester.
• The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships is required to review enrollment prior to each disbursement.

Step 1: Calculate the percentage based on enrollment:

• This student will be enrolled in 18 credits for the academic year (6 for fall and 12 for spring)
• 18 credits is considered full-time
• 18/18 = 100%
• This student is considered full-time for the year because they are enrolled in 18 credits between fall and spring. Therefore, they are eligible for the full annual limit.

This student is eligible for $10,250 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan for the spring semester.

Example 5: Student withdraws in the fall semester

A graduate student is enrolled 9 credits in the fall and plans to enroll in 9 credits in the spring. Since they are full-time, they are eligible for a $20,500 Direct Unsubsidized Loan. 

• The student withdraws for the semester after all their financial aid has been disbursed, including the $10,250 Direct Unsubsidized Loan for fall.
• The student withdrew after more than 60% of the semester has been completed and is not required to return any financial aid received (for information about withdrawing, please review our Withdrawing and Dropping Classes page).
• The student then enrolls in 9 credits for the spring semester.
• The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships is required to review enrollment prior to each disbursement.
• At the time of the spring disbursement, the student is only enrolled in 9 total credits for the year due to withdrawing from all classes in the fall semester.

Step 1: Calculate the percentage based on enrollment:

• This student will be enrolled in 9 credits for the academic year
• 18 credits is considered full-time
• 9/18 = 50%
• This student is eligible for 50% of the full-time annual limit

Step 2: Use the percentage from Step 1 to calculate loan eligibility:

• $20,500 X 50% = $10,250

Step 3: Determine how much the student has already received in the Direct Loan:

• The student received $10,250 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan in the fall semester.

Because this student already received $10,250 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan, they have no remaining loan eligibility for the spring semester.

Starting UNI in the Spring

Example 6: Graduate student starting in the spring enrolled in 6 credits

For a student starting in the spring semester, a one term calculation is used. For this example, a graduate student is starting UNI in the spring semester and is enrolled in 6 credits. The spring Cost of Attendance for this student is $10,083.

Step 1: Determine the annual limit:

• The annual limit for a graduate student is $20,500 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan.
• However, the amount a student is eligible for is also based on the Cost of Attendance.
• As this student's spring Cost of Attendance is $10,083, the annual limit for the year would be $20,166 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan.

Step 2: Student cannot receive more than 50% of the annual loan limit in a single semester:

• The full-time annual limit is $20,166
• $20,166 X 50% = $10,083

Step 3: Calculate the percentage based on enrollment:

• This student is enrolled in 6 credits for the spring semester
• 9 credits is considered full-time for the semester
• 6/9 = 67% (rounded from 66.666%)
• This student is eligible for 66% of the full-time annual limit (amount calculated in Step 2)

Step 4: Use amount from Step 2 and the percentage from Step 3 to calculate loan eligibility:

• $10,083 X 67% = $6,756

This student is eligible for $6,756 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan for the spring semester.

Eligible for the Graduate PLUS Loan

Example 7: Student enrolled in 6 credits for fall and 6 credits for spring applies for Graduate PLUS Loan

For this an example, a graduate student meets the limited legacy provision and is eligible for a Graduate PLUS Loan. They have completed the application, were approved, and applied for the maximum amount. Their Cost of Attendance for the year is $20,166.

Step 1: Calculate the percentage based on enrollment:

• This student will be enrolled in 12 credits for the academic year
• 18 credits is considered full-time
• 12/18 = 67% (rounded from 66.666%)
• This student is eligible for 67% of the full-time annual limit

Step 2: Calculate the full-time annual limit for the Direct Unsubsidized Loan:

• Due to the Cost of Attendance of $20,166 being lower than the annual limit of $20,500, if this student was full-time, they would be eligible for a maximum of $20,166 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan.
• For this example, the full-time annual limit is $20,166.

Step 3: Use the percentage from Step 1 and the annual limit from Step 2 to calculate Direct Unsubsidized Loan eligibility:

• $20,166 X 67% = $13,511
• This student is eligible for $13,511 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan

Step 4: Calculate Graduate PLUS Loan eligibility:

• Take the Cost of Attendance ($20,166) minus the Direct Unsubsidized Loan eligibility ($13,511) = $6,655
• $6,655 X 67% = $4,459

This student is eligible for $13,511 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan and $4,459 in the Graduate PLUS Loan.

Graduating in the Fall Semester

Unlike undergraduate students, a graduate student whose final period of enrollment is less than an academic year is not subject to loan proration, but their loan amounts are adjusted if enrolled less than full-time and they cannot receive more than half the annual limit (this applies whether they are full-time or less than full-time).

Example 8: Student graduating in the fall semester enrolled in 9 credits

For this example, a graduate student is graduating in the fall semester and they are enrolled 9 credits. Their Cost of Attendance for the fall semester is $13,096 and they are only eligible for the Direct Unsubsidized Loan.

Step 1: Determine annual loan limit:

• The annual limit for a graduate student in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan is $20,500
• This student is graduating in the fall semester and cannot receive more than 50% of the annual limit in one semester
• $20,500/2 = $10,250

Step 2: Determine if loan needs to be reduced for less than full-time enrollment:

• The student is enrolled in 9 credits, which is considered full-time for one semester for a graduate student
• As this student is full-time, the student is eligible for the maximum loan eligibility determined in step 1

This student is eligible for $10,250 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan for the fall semester.

Example 9: Student graduating in the fall semester enrolled in 6 credits

For this example, a graduate student is graduating in the fall semester and they are enrolled 6 credits. Their Cost of Attendance for the fall semester is $13,096 and they are only eligible for the Direct Unsubsidized Loan.

Step 1: Determine annual loan limit:

• The annual limit for a graduate student in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan is $20,500
• This student is graduating in the fall semester and cannot receive more than 50% of the annual limit in one semester
• $20,500/2 = $10,250

Step 2: Determine if loan needs to be reduced for less than full-time enrollment:

• The student is enrolled in 6 credits, which is less than full-time
• 9 credits is considered full-time for one semester for a graduate student
• 6/9= 67% (round from 66.666%)
• This student is eligible for 67% of the annual limit

Step 3: Determine loan eligibility:

• $10,250 X 67% = $6,868

This student is eligible for $6,868 in the Direct Unsubsidized Loan for the fall semester.