Undergraduate students may now be eligible for an additional $2,000 in unsubsidized loans.

Subsidized loans are based on student need, and the government pays the interest while the student is enrolled at least in part-time status.

Unsubsidized loans are not need based. Students can chose to make interest payments while in school or have the interest added to the principal to be paid after graduation.

For the 2007-2008 academic year, 6,182 Eastern students accepted one or more federal direct loans, totaling $34,109,488.

There were 1,028 students who accepted private loans, totaling $8,604,035, said Tracy Hall, assistant director of the Office of Financial Aid.

The maximum subsidized loan, whether a student is dependent or independent, is $3,500 for freshmen, $4,500 for sophomores, and $5,500 for juniors and seniors.

If an independent student does not qualify for a subsidized loan, they can then potentially qualify for an unsubsidized loan or a combination of both, depending on the students need, said Dianna Ensign, associate director of financial aid.

Independent freshmen and sophomore students, prior to July 1, could get $4,000 of unsubsidized loans and $5,000 for juniors and seniors.

However, now they can get a maximum of $6,000 for freshmen and sophomores and $7,000 for juniors and seniors with the new addition, Ensign said.

Dependent students never had access to unsubsidized loans until now, of which they can qualify for up to $2,000.

These limits have not gone up in a number of years, and they are rising with the increase in the cost of public and private universities, said Jone Zieren, director of the Office of Financial Aid.

“Students who borrow private or alternative student loans often have reached their federal annual loan limit(s), are not eligible for a federal student loan, or do not file for federal aid,” Zieren said.

“The students who have reached their annual federal student loan limit would be interested in the additional $2,000 federal unsubsidized loan so they can either eliminate or reduce the need for a private loan.”

The money for these loan programs comes from the federal government.

Most students will begin repayment six months after leaving Eastern or dropping below half-time enrollment.

The total amount of money borrowed from the federal government by Eastern students has increased 6.51 percent from the 2004-2005 academic year to the 2005-2006 academic year, Hall said.

During that time, the amount of money borrowed from private institutions increased 55.65 percent, Hall said.

Ashlei Maltman can be reached at 581-7942 or at anmaltman@eiu.edu.