General Description
The Government of the United States offers the Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans to support students from the United States enrolled at higher education institutions in the US or overseas. Undergraduate students may borrow up to $7500 per year, while postgraduate students have a borrowing limit of $12500 per year; the maximum amount of money that a student can borrow for her/his entire academic career is set at $138500. Requirements
These loans are open to students of all disciplines enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an eligible programme at an eligible institution; borrowing students are expected to maintain a satisfactory level of academic progress. Federal Direct Subsidized Loans are awarded on the basis of financial need. Direct Subsidized loans for undergraduate students will have an interest rate of 4,66% (from 1st July 2014). Graduates are not entitled to a Direct Subsidized Loan but may apply for up to $20500 from the Direct Unsubsidized Loan . Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans are awarded regardless of need. The interest rate for federal Direct Unsubsidized loans is fixed at 4,66% (from 1st July 2014) for undergraduate borrowers and 6,21% (from 1st July 2014) for graduate borrowers. Applicants must be US citizens or have a US social security number. 