Comparison of Federal Higher Education Loans

	Direct Unsubsidized Loan	Direct Subsidized Loan	Direct PLUS Loan
Description	A federal student loan available to students regardless of financial need	A federal student loan available to students with financial need	A federal loan available to parents and students with good credit histories regardless of financial need
Available to	Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at least half-time	Undergraduate students only enrolled at least half-time	Parents of undergraduate students enrolled at least half-time, and graduate and professional students
Lender	Federal government only	Federal government only	College
Borrower	Student	Student	Parent or graduate/ professional student
Based on financial need	No	Yes	No
Interest rate 2023-2024	5.50% for undergraduates; 7.05% for graduate students	5.50%	8.05%
Interest subsidized	No	Yes¹	No
Grace period	6 months	6 months	6 months
Loan limits 2023-2024	Dependent undergraduates: 1st year - $5,500 ($3,500 subsidized), 2nd year - $6,500 ($4,500 subsidized), 3rd to 5th year - $7,500/year ($5,500 subsidized), $31,000 maximum Independent undergraduates and dependent undergraduates whose parents don't qualify for PLUS loans: 1st year - $9,500 ($3,500 subsidized), 2nd year - $10,500 ($4,500 subsidized), 3rd to 5th year - $12,500/year ($5,500/year subsidized), $57,500 maximum Graduate students: $20,500 per year, $138,500 maximum including undergraduate loans		Student's total cost of education, minus any other financial aid received

¹ The federal government pays the interest on the loan while the student is in school at least half-time, in a grace period, or in a deferment period.

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