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(97-L-199) (97-L-199) Increasing aggregate loan limits for certain health professions students affected by the phaseout of the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program to $189,125.

DCLPublicationDate: 12/1/97
DCLID: 97-L-199
AwardYear:
Summary: Increasing aggregate loan limits for certain health professions students affected by the phaseout of the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program to $189,125.


December 1997

GEN-97-14
97-L-199
97-G-305


Summary: Increasing aggregate loan limits for certain health
professions students affected by the phaseout of the
Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program to
$189,125.

Dear Colleague:

Effective July 1, 1996, the Department increased the annual loan
limits on unsubsidized student loans in the Federal Family Education
Loan (FFEL) Program and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan
(Direct Loan) Program for certain health professions students who
are unable to borrow HEAL Program loans because of the phaseout
of that program. However, the Department did not, at that time,
increase the aggregate loan limits in the FFEL and Direct Loan
programs for those borrowers.

It has been brought to our attention that some eligible health
professions students may be unable to borrow the increased annual
loan amounts during the 1997-98 academic year unless the aggregate
loan limits in the FFEL and Direct Loan programs are increased for
those borrowers. To ensure that these students may continue to
borrow the increased annual unsubsidized amounts during the
1997-98 academic year and beyond, the Department is increasing the
aggregate loan limits in the FFEL and Direct Loan programs for
eligible health professions students.

For those health professions students who are eligible to receive the
increased annual unsubsidized amounts based on the criteria
described in previous "Dear Colleague" letters GEN-96-14 and
GEN-97-4, the new aggregate loan limit for unsubsidized loans
will be $189,125 less the aggregate amount of any subsidized loans
made to the student.

In order to provide a reasonable aggregate loan limit for those health
professions students who qualify for the increased annual
unsubsidized amounts, the Department chose an amount that would
permit a student to receive the current maximum FFEL Program and
Direct Loan Program annual loan limits for four years of
undergraduate study and four years of graduate or professional study,
plus the increased unsubsidized annual loan limit for the four years
of graduate or professional study. The Department believes that the
increased aggregate limit of $189,125 will permit eligible health
professions students to borrow sufficient amounts under the FFEL
and Direct Loan programs to finance their educations.

If you have questions about this letter, please contact the Customer
Support Branch for Student Financial Assistance Programs. You
may phone the Customer Support Branch at 1-800-4ED-SFAP
(1-800-433-7327) from 9 am to 5 pm, Eastern Time, Monday
through Friday. After hours, you may leave a message and we will
return your call the next day.

You may also fax your questions to 202-260-4199, or send them via
electronic mail to:csb@sfa.ed.gov. If you send your questions by fax
or electronic mail, please be sure to include your name, the name of
your institution, and your phone number. The Department
appreciates your cooperation as we implement policies to assist
health professions students who are affected by the phaseout of the
HEAL Program.


Sincerely,



Elizabeth M. Hicks
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Student Financial Assistance Programs