Educational Loans

Loans can be an invaluable resource for financing an education. While loans are a type of financial aid, they are not a gift like grants and scholarships, since loans need to be repaid eventually. Loans are mostly a tool for liquidity management: they allow you to postpone paying for a portion of your education. See borrowing statistics at Caltech.

All financial aid applicants are considered for a need-based loan from the Caltech Loan programs. If you need additional funding, more federal loans are available through the Federal Stafford Loan and Federal PLUS Loan programs. You may also choose to search for loans on the private lending market.

Disclosure

• Federal Student Loans are required by law to provide a range of flexible repayment options, including but not limited to, extended repayment and income contingent repayment plans, and loan forgiveness benefits which other student loans are not required to do.
• Federal loans are available to students regardless of income.

This program offers eligible students and parents the opportunity to borrow money directly from the federal government to help pay the cost of attendance at Caltech. The U.S. Department of Education makes loans, through Caltech, directly to students and/or parents. The Institute will use the loan(s) to pay your tuition/fees and other direct charges such as housing and food/meals, and give the student any remaining money for indirect costs. Students and/or parents make their repayments directly to the federal government.

1. The Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program;
2. The Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan Program; and
3. The Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Program.

There are two types of Federal Direct Stafford Loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. The federal government pays the interest on subsidized loans while the borrower is enrolled at least half-time and during authorized periods of deferment. The interest on unsubsidized loans begins to accrue immediately upon disbursement and is generally capitalized (added to the amount borrowed) when the borrower is no longer enrolled at least half-time.

Eligibility for Direct Subsidized Stafford Loans is based on financial need as demonstrated by the FAFSA. Students who do not demonstrate sufficient need or whose need is met may borrow Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans provided their total financial aid, including the Stafford Loan, does not exceed the total estimated cost of attendance.

Dependent undergraduate students (excluding students whose parents cannot borrow Parent PLUS loans) may borrow Stafford Loan amounts not to exceed an annual total.

Borrowing Limit

Undergraduates: The annual borrowing limit varies based on a student's year in school and dependency status. 

Dependent Students

Dependent Student Borrowing Eligibility

Independent Students

Independent students Borrowing Eligibility

Beginning with the 2026-27 award year, annual loan amounts are prorated based on enrollment intensity. Students enrolled less than full-time will be eligible for a reduced annual loan amount calculated in direct proportion to their credit load relative to full-time enrollment. The existing proration provision for students in their final period of study (described below) remains in effect.

Graduate Students: $20,500 in Unsubsidized Stafford Loans per year.

$20,500 in Unsubsidized Stafford Loans per year.

New borrowers (students who did not have a federal Direct Loan disbursed prior to July 1, 2026): The lifetime aggregate limit for graduate borrowing is $100,000. Graduate PLUS Loans are not available to new borrowers.

Legacy borrowers (students who had a federal Direct Loan disbursed prior to July 1, 2026, and remain continuously enrolled in the same program): You may continue borrowing under prior rules, including access to Graduate PLUS Loans, for up to three additional academic years or until you complete your current program, whichever comes first. The prior aggregate limit of $138,500 applies during this legacy period.

A separate overall lifetime limit of $257,500 applies to all federal student loans combined across undergraduate, graduate, and professional study.

Enrollment of Less Than a Full Academic Year

Stafford Loans are prorated for undergraduate students if their final period of study is less than a full academic year, such as attending only one term and graduating. Proration ensures the student receives the correct portion of their annual loan limit for the shorter enrollment period, as they will not be enrolled for the full academic year.

Less Than Full-Time Enrollment

Beginning with the 2026-27 award year, students enrolled less than full-time at any point during the year will have their annual loan eligibility prorated in proportion to their enrollment level.

Subsidies

Interest does not accrue on Subsidized Stafford Loans while a borrower is enrolled in school at least half-time, during a grace period or during an authorized deferment. The borrower will be responsible for paying interest that accrues while the loan is in repayment or on forbearance.

Interest will accrue on Unsubsidized Loans at all times, though interest will not need to be paid until the grace period is over.

Repayment

Stafford Loans have a grace period of six months, starting when a borrower stops attending school at least half-time. During this grace period, interest does not accrue and no payments are required. Once the grace period is over, the loan will need to be repaid. Stafford Loans are repayable over a period of ten years, though the repayment term may be extended up to 25 years.

Students who borrow federal loans for the first time on or after July 1, 2026 will have access to two repayment plans: the Standard Repayment Plan and a new income-driven Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). Please visit studentaid.gov for details on repayment options.

The interest rates on Stafford loans are now linked to the yield on the 10-year Treasury Note.  This means that economic factors will determine the interest rates for loans borrowed in any given year.  The interest rates on these loans are fixed and will not change after the loan has been disbursed.  The table below shows the current interest rate, along with rates from the recent past.

Stafford loans are also subject to a loan fee, which is a percentage of the loan amount. Loans are assigned a fee percentage based on the date their first disbursement is made.

The maximum repayment period under this program is 10 years, not including authorized periods of deferment. Direct Stafford Loans have a six-month grace period that starts the day after the borrower graduates, leaves school, or drops below half-time enrollment. Repayment begins when the grace period ends. Deferments are available for new borrowers during at least half-time enrollment at an eligible institution; during periods of academic study in approved graduate fellowship or rehabilitation programs; and for periods of unemployment and economic hardship.

Applications for Federal Direct Stafford Loans are available on the Caltech Financial Aid Office website finaid.caltech.edu/typesofaid/loans/stafford. Complete information on Stafford Loan deferments and repayment options is also available from the Financial Aid Office.