My nephew took out a sl for the max allowed for a grad-professional student (20,500) so he gets 10,250 the fall semester, then for spring he decided to transfer to a different school and change programs/degrees. I figure he should get another 10,250 for the spring at this different school right, so he asks for the max allowed and surprisingly they send him 12,900.00
He tells them he had a loan in the fall for the 10,250. but they just say he is allowed the 12.900.00. Well he really needs the money so I advised him that if the fin aid awarded it to him then its on them. Anyway its still a loan he will have to repay. Are the rules for the Stafford loan limits different when one transfers middle of the year or is this truly a mistake on the schools part?

I will check later this morning with one of my sources, but it is my gut feeling this could come back and bite him in the ass. He would be held responsible, not the school. Did he talk to the FA office at his school?

Possiblity exists that the feds may pull back the funds, leaving him in the hole in his student account at the school. That would prevent him from registering next semester.

Yes, Lynn, he told the woman at the FA office, but she said "thats what you have been awarded" - She is not on her toes it seems. Unless the rules regarding the loan limits only applies if at the same school?
Well, regardless the entire loan is unsub. I guess worse case scenario is they will debit it from his account in the future and he will owe the 3k to the school

This is a response from my old officemate at the University I used to work at. She is now the university collection coordinator for Financial Aid.

Hey Lynn,
Yes, they could pull it back later. Unfortunately, those kind of
adjustments are usually made months after disbursement, and suddenly the
student has a bill for $2000 they must pay. It's very frustrating for
everyone. He should take control and only accept $10,250 of what is
offered to avoid issues. He doesn't have to take the full amount they
offer him, he can choose to take less and save himself the headache
later. It is the wrong attitude to take in thinking that if he gets too
much, it's the problem of the school. I have seen this happen and the
student cannot pay back such a large amount and they end up having to
drop out for a few years to pay it back slowly on a pay plan. The
student is who will get hurt in the end, not the school or financial
office. Why he being offered more is hard to say, am sure it has to do
with the change in formula in the new school, but since he is already
ahead of the game and knows the limits, he should be proactive.

With a past due student account, he wont be allowed to register for the next semester which in turn will mess up his FA. He really needs to look for other sources of funds and return the overpayment.

Hi Lynn, thanks for the info. I will advise him. Its too bad the school he is attending has employees that are not on the ball with these things...........