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.
The Federal Direct Loan Program
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.
Direct loans include
- The Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program;
- The Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan Program; and
- The Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Program.
Federal Direct Stafford Loan
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
| Year in Schoool | Total Eligibility | Maximum Subsidized |
| 1st Year | $5,500 | $3,500 |
| 2nd Year | $6,500 | $4,500 |
| 3rd & 4th Year | $7,500 | $5,500 |
| Aggregate | $31,000 | $23,000 |
Independent Students
Independent students Borrowing Eligibility
| Year in School | Total Eligibility | Maximum Subsidized |
| 1st Year | $9,500 | $3,500 |
| 2nd Year | $10,500 | $4,500 |
| 3rd & 4th Year | $12,500 | $5,500 |
| Aggregate | $57,500 | $23,000 |
Graduates: $20,500 in Unsubsidized Stafford Loans per year, up to $138,500 total. The aggregate limit includes all Stafford Loans received for undergraduate study, and can be made up of no more than $65,500 in Subsidized Stafford Loans.
Stafford Loan interest rates
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.
Undergraduate students:
| Enrollment Periods Beginning Between | Interest Rates | |
| Subsidized | Unsubsidized | |
| July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026 | 6.39% | 6.39% |
| July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2026 | 6.53% | 6.53% |
| July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024 | 5.50% | 5.50% |
| July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023 | 4.99% | 4.99% |
| July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022 | 3.73% | 3.73% |
| July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021 | 2.75% | 2.75% |
Graduate students:
| Enrollment Periods Beginning Between | Interest Rates |
| Unsubsidized | |
| July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026 | 7.94% |
| July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 | 8.08% |
| July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 | 7.05% |
| July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023 | 6.54% |
| July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022 | 5.28% |
| July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021 | 4.30% |
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.
| First Disbursement Made | Loan Fee |
| October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2026 | 1.057% |
| October 1, 2019 – September 30, 2020 | 1.059% |
| October 1, 2018 – September 30, 2019 | 1.062% |
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.