Student Name

Optional identifying information for the financial aid administrator’s reference. It does not affect the calculation.

Student ID

Optional institutional student identification number. It does not affect the calculation. Student information should not be entered on a public or shared computer.

FA Award Year

The financial aid award year being reviewed, such as 2026–27. This is currently a recordkeeping field and does not automatically change the loan limits used by the calculator.

Date of Evaluation

The date the calculation is being completed. It is intended to document when the student’s eligibility was reviewed.

Practice scenarios automatically fill the calculator with sample information. Selecting a practice scenario resets the existing entries and immediately calculates the example.

Standard semester: 9 + 6 credits

Loads a third-year dependent undergraduate student enrolled in 9 credits for fall and 6 credits for spring.

Quarter with below-half-time term

Loads a quarter-based academic year with 8 fall credits, 3 winter credits, and 13.5 spring credits. The winter term is below half-time, so no loan disbursement is assigned directly to that term.

Optional summer capped at 100%

Loads 12 fall credits, 12 spring credits, and 6 optional summer credits. Optional summer credits increase the numerator but not the standard academic-year denominator. The resulting percentage is capped at 100%.

Graduate final semester: 6 credits

Loads a graduate student completing the program in a final semester while enrolled in 6 credits. The calculator starts with the portion of the annual limit represented by one semester and applies the student’s final-term enrollment intensity.

Undergraduate final-period proration

Loads a second-year undergraduate student with 15 remaining credits in a 24-credit defined academic year. Historical final-period loan proration is used.

Full-time spring transfer

Loads a third-year dependent undergraduate transfer student who received part of the annual loan limit at another institution and is entering the new institution full-time for spring.

Standard Academic Year

Use when the institution is reviewing the student’s enrollment across the regular Scheduled Academic Year.

For a semester program, this will normally include fall and spring. For a quarter program, it will normally include fall, winter, and spring.

The calculator:

1. Adds the credits marked Yes under SOR Numerator.
2. Adds the full-time credit standards marked Yes under SOR Denominator.
3. Divides numerator credits by denominator credits.
4. Rounds the result to the nearest whole percentage.
5. Caps the percentage at 100%.
6. Applies that percentage to the applicable annual loan limits.

Transfer / Mid-Year Entry

Use when the student attended another institution earlier in the same loan-limit period and enters Stony Brook for a remaining term.

The calculator determines:

• The portion of the annual limit represented by the entry term;
• The student’s enrollment intensity for that term; and
• The remaining annual eligibility after subtracting applicable borrowing received earlier in the current award year.

This scenario requires careful review of COD and NSLDS records.

Mid-Year Grade-Level Advancement

Use when an undergraduate student advances to a higher grade level during the academic year and may qualify for a higher annual loan limit.

The calculator uses:

• The annual limit for the new grade level;
• The Schedule of Reductions percentage for the full academic year; and
• Prior current-award-year borrowing.

Only terms beginning with the selected advancement term are used for the new allocation.

Graduating / Final Period

Use when the student’s remaining period of study is shorter than a full academic year.

For an undergraduate student, the calculator uses historical final-period loan proration based on:

• Credits remaining to complete the program; divided by
• The number of credits in the program’s defined academic year.

For a graduate or professional student, the calculator uses the portion of the annual limit represented by the final term and applies the student’s final-term enrollment intensity.

Academic Calendar

Select the academic calendar used by the student’s program.

Semester

Creates fall and spring as the standard academic-year terms. The normal one-term share is one-half of the annual limit.

Quarter

Creates fall, winter, and spring as the standard academic-year terms. The normal one-term share is one-third of the annual limit.

Career

Select the student’s academic career.

Undergraduate

Uses undergraduate annual loan limits based on grade level and dependency status.

Graduate

Uses the annual and aggregate loan limits applicable to graduate students.

Professional

Uses the annual and aggregate limits applicable to programs meeting the federal professional-program definition.

The selected career also establishes the calculator’s default full-time and half-time credit values. These values should be reviewed and changed when the student’s program uses a different institutional standard.

Base Grade Level

Select the undergraduate grade level used to determine the initial annual loan limit.

First year

Generally used for students with fewer than 30 earned credits.

Second year

Generally used for students with at least 30 but fewer than 60 earned credits.

Third year and beyond

Generally used for students with at least 60 earned credits.

The institution’s official grade-level progression rules and student information system must be used when determining the correct grade level.

This field does not affect graduate or professional loan limits.

Dependency / PLUS Denial

Dependent

Uses the standard dependent undergraduate annual Unsubsidized Loan limit.

Independent / Parent PLUS denied

Uses the additional Unsubsidized Loan limit available to an independent undergraduate student or an otherwise dependent student whose parent is unable to borrow a Parent PLUS Loan.

This option does not itself document a Parent PLUS denial. The appropriate PLUS denial or other eligibility documentation must exist.

This field does not affect graduate or professional loan limits.

Legacy Borrower

No

Uses the post-July 1, 2026 graduate, professional, aggregate, and lifetime loan-limit rules.

Yes

Uses the interim-exception loan limits for a borrower whose legacy eligibility has been verified.

Legacy status must be confirmed from the student’s program enrollment, prior Direct Loan history, expected time to credential, COD information, and applicable federal guidance. Legacy status does not exempt a loan from the Schedule of Reductions.

Disbursement Method

Determines how the final annual eligibility is divided among eligible terms.

Equal

Divides the final loan amount as evenly as possible among the eligible terms.

Example: A final loan amount of $4,000 across two eligible terms would normally be allocated as $2,000 per term.

Proportional

Allocates the final amount according to the credits assigned to each eligible term.

A term with more credits receives a larger portion of the loan. Credits from a below-half-time term may be carried to the nearest eligible term for allocation purposes.

Residual Dollar Preference

Whole-dollar rounding may leave one or more dollars that must be assigned to a term.

Last eligible term

Places a tied residual dollar in the later eligible term.

First eligible term

Places a tied residual dollar in the earlier eligible term.

This setting does not change the total loan eligibility.

Include Summer Term

Select this box when summer is part of the loan period or Scheduled Academic Year being evaluated.

When selected, a summer row is added to the term table.

Summer Treatment

Optional

Use when summer attendance is not required as part of the program’s standard academic year.

The calculator initially includes optional summer credits in the SOR numerator but does not add another full-time term to the denominator.

Required

Use when summer is a required part of the program’s defined academic year.

The calculator initially includes summer in both the numerator and denominator.

The numerator and denominator selections can still be reviewed and changed in the term table.

Summer Placement

Header

Places summer before the regular fall term.

Example: Summer 2026, Fall 2026, and Spring 2027.

Trailer

Places summer after the regular spring term.

Example: Fall 2026, Spring 2027, and Summer 2027.

Placement is important for transfer, grade-level advancement, prior-disbursement, and below-half-time allocation scenarios.

Legacy Grad PLUS Annual Max

Used only for a verified legacy graduate or professional borrower.

Enter the applicable cost of attendance minus other financial assistance after the COA and OFA have been adjusted for the enrollment being evaluated.

This field is ignored when the borrower is not marked as a legacy graduate or professional borrower.

One-Term Share Override

An advanced administrative field used when the normal one-half semester share or one-third quarter share does not accurately represent the applicable term.

Enter the value as a decimal:

• 0.50 means 50%;
• 0.3333 means approximately one-third;
• 0.25 means 25%.

Leave the field blank to use the normal calendar-based share.

Automatic Subsidized

Displays the initial annual Direct Subsidized Loan limit produced by the selected career, grade level, dependency status, and legacy status.

It does not determine financial need. The student must still have sufficient subsidized-loan eligibility and remaining financial need.

Automatic Unsubsidized

Displays the initial annual Direct Unsubsidized Loan limit produced by the selected profile.

The displayed amount remains subject to aggregate limits, lifetime limits, cost of attendance, other financial assistance, prior borrowing, and the amount requested.

Automatic Grad PLUS

Displays the initial Grad PLUS amount used by the calculator.

For a non-legacy graduate or professional borrower, this will normally be $0 because new Grad PLUS borrowing is not modeled.

For a legacy borrower, the amount comes from the Legacy Grad PLUS Annual Max field.

Use Manual Initial Limits

Select this option when the automatic statutory amount should not be the starting point.

Possible uses include:

• An institutionally established lower program limit;
• Remaining financial need below the Subsidized Loan maximum;
• A lower COA-based amount;
• A special loan-limit calculation;
• Preparatory coursework or teacher-certification limits;
• Remaining eligibility based on another federal limitation.

Manual amounts should only be entered by a trained financial aid administrator.

Manual Subsidized

The Subsidized Loan amount that replaces the calculator’s automatic initial Subsidized Loan limit.

Manual Unsubsidized

The Unsubsidized Loan amount that replaces the calculator’s automatic initial Unsubsidized Loan limit.

Manual Grad PLUS

The Grad PLUS amount that replaces the calculator’s automatic initial Grad PLUS amount.

These manual fields are ignored unless Use Manual Initial Limits is selected.

Requested Subsidized — Award-Year Total

The maximum Subsidized Loan amount the student requested or accepted for the award year.

The calculator will not produce a final Subsidized Loan amount above this value.

Under the current calculator design, entering $0 means that no request cap will be applied.

Requested Unsubsidized — Award-Year Total

The maximum Unsubsidized Loan amount the student requested or accepted for the award year.

Under the current calculator design, entering $0 means that no request cap will be applied.

Requested Grad PLUS — Award-Year Total

The maximum Grad PLUS amount requested for the award year.

Under the current calculator design, entering $0 means that no request cap will be applied.

Apply Aggregate / Lifetime Controls

When selected, the calculator compares the initial annual eligibility against the student’s remaining statutory aggregate and lifetime borrowing eligibility.

This option should normally remain selected for an official review.

Prior Subsidized Aggregate

Enter the student’s prior cumulative Direct Subsidized Loan borrowing that counts toward the applicable Subsidized Loan aggregate limit.

Do not include the proposed current loan amount.

Prior Combined Aggregate

Enter prior Subsidized and Unsubsidized borrowing that counts toward the applicable combined aggregate limit.

Do not include Parent PLUS borrowing in this field.

Prior Lifetime Student Loans

Enter the prior cumulative student borrowing that counts toward the applicable federal lifetime maximum.

This information should be verified using the institution’s authoritative COD and NSLDS information.

The calculator uses the entered amount to determine how much lifetime borrowing capacity remains.

These fields appear when Transfer / Mid-Year Entry is selected.

Entry Term at Your Institution

Select the term in which the student begins attendance at Stony Brook during the current academic-year loan-limit period.

Prior Current-AY Subsidized

Enter the Subsidized Loan amount already borrowed or received during the same applicable annual loan-limit period before entering Stony Brook.

Prior Current-AY Unsubsidized

Enter the Unsubsidized Loan amount already borrowed or received during the same applicable annual loan-limit period.

Prior Current-AY Grad PLUS

Enter applicable Grad PLUS borrowing already received during that same annual loan-limit period.

These amounts are different from the student’s lifetime aggregate amounts. They are used to determine how much of the current annual limit remains.

These fields appear when Mid-Year Grade-Level Advancement is selected.

Term of Advancement

Select the first term for which the higher grade-level loan limit applies.

Advancing to Grade

Select the student’s new grade level.

The calculator recalculates the annual maximum using this grade level.

Prior Current-AY Subsidized

Enter Subsidized Loan borrowing already applied to the current annual loan-limit period before the advancement.

Prior Current-AY Unsubsidized

Enter Unsubsidized Loan borrowing already applied to the current annual loan-limit period before the advancement.

Prior Current-AY Grad PLUS

Enter applicable Grad PLUS borrowing already applied to the current annual loan-limit period.

The calculator subtracts prior current-year borrowing from the recalculated eligibility under the advanced grade level.

These fields appear when Graduating / Final Period is selected.

Final Term

Select the student’s final term of enrollment before completing the program.

Remaining Credits to Graduate

For an undergraduate student, enter the credits the student must complete during the remaining period of enrollment to graduate.

This should reflect the student’s remaining degree-applicable coursework.

Program Academic-Year Credits

Enter the number of credits in the program’s federally defined academic year.

For example, a standard undergraduate semester academic year may be defined as 24 credits.

The calculator divides remaining program credits by program academic-year credits to determine undergraduate final-period proration.

Each row represents one term in the modeled loan period.

Term

Identifies the semester, quarter, or summer period.

Included

Yes

Includes the term in the modeled loan period.

No

Excludes the term from the modeled loan period, SOR calculation, and term allocation.

Credits

Enter the student’s applicable enrollment credits for the term.

Use the credits that count toward the student’s federal aid enrollment status. Courses that do not count toward the student’s eligible program should not be included when they cannot be counted for federal aid purposes.

Full-Time Credits

Enter the number of credits the institution considers full-time for the student’s program during that term.

This value is used in the SOR percentage calculation.

Half-Time Credits

Enter the minimum number of credits required for the student to be considered at least half-time for Direct Loan disbursement purposes.

A term below this value will not receive a Direct Loan allocation.

General Eligibility

Yes

Indicates that the student otherwise meets the general and program-specific eligibility requirements for a Direct Loan disbursement in the term.

No

Prevents the calculator from assigning a loan disbursement to the term.

Examples may include a student who is not attending, is not in an eligible program, has not met applicable eligibility requirements, or is otherwise ineligible for a disbursement.

This field does not replace an official eligibility review.

SOR Numerator

Determines whether the student’s enrolled credits for the term are included in the top portion of the annual SOR fraction.

Yes

Adds the term’s entered credits to the numerator.

No

Does not add the term’s credits to the numerator.

SOR Denominator

Determines whether the term’s full-time credit standard is included in the bottom portion of the annual SOR fraction.

Yes

Adds the term’s full-time credit standard to the denominator.

No

Does not add the term’s full-time credit standard to the denominator.

An optional summer term will normally be included in the numerator but excluded from the denominator. A required summer term will normally be included in both.

Prior Sub

Enter the Subsidized Loan amount already disbursed or posted for the individual term.

This amount is used to calculate the difference between the calculator’s target and the prior term amount.

Prior Unsub

Enter the Unsubsidized Loan amount already disbursed or posted for the individual term.

Prior Grad PLUS

Enter the Grad PLUS amount already disbursed or posted for the individual term.

These term-level prior amounts are used for the variance display. They do not, by themselves, replace the separate Prior Current-AY fields used in transfer and grade-level advancement scenarios.

SOR Numerator Credits

The total enrolled credits included in the top portion of the academic-year SOR calculation.

SOR Denominator Credits

The total full-time standard credits included in the bottom portion of the academic-year SOR calculation.

Academic-Year SOR Percentage

The numerator divided by the denominator, rounded to the nearest whole percentage and capped at 100%.

Applicable Scenario Percentage

The percentage applied under the selected scenario.

For a standard academic year, this will normally be the academic-year SOR percentage.

For a transfer, final-term graduate, or similar one-term scenario, it may represent the selected term’s enrollment intensity.

For undergraduate final-period proration, it represents the remaining-program proration percentage.

Final Subsidized

The final calculated Subsidized Loan eligibility after the scenario calculation, aggregate controls, lifetime controls, and requested-amount cap.

Final Unsubsidized

The final calculated Unsubsidized Loan eligibility.

Final Grad PLUS

The final calculated Grad PLUS eligibility for an applicable legacy graduate or professional borrower.

Total Final Loan

The total of the final Subsidized, Unsubsidized, and Grad PLUS amounts.

Target Sub, Target Unsub, and Target Grad PLUS

The amount the calculator recommends assigning to each eligible term.

Variance

The difference between the calculated target and the amount entered as previously disbursed or posted.

• A positive variance means an additional amount may be available.
• A negative variance means the prior amount is above the calculated target and requires review.
• A zero variance means the prior amount matches the calculated target.

A variance does not automatically authorize a disbursement increase or require a reduction. Existing disbursements, return rules, loan-change restrictions, and institutional procedures must be reviewed.

Allocation Credits

The weight assigned to the term when proportional disbursement is selected.

For equal allocation, each eligible term receives an equal weight.

Note

Explains whether the term is eligible, excluded, outside the selected scenario, below half-time, or otherwise unavailable for allocation.

Beginner Instructions for a Standard Loan Estimate

Most students only need to review a few options. Advanced settings should remain unchanged unless the student has a unique enrollment or loan situation.

1. Select the Student Information

Academic Calendar: Select Semester.

Career: Select Undergraduate, Graduate, or Professional.

Grade Level: Undergraduate students should select their current grade level.

Dependency: Select Dependent or Independent/Parent PLUS Denied.

Legacy Borrower: Select Yes only if legacy eligibility has been confirmed.

2. Keep the Standard Settings

For most students, leave the following settings unchanged:

Disbursement Method: Equal

Summer Placement: Header

Calculation Scenario: Standard Academic Year

Other settings normally do not need to be changed unless the student is transferring, graduating, advancing to a new grade level during the year, or has another unusual situation.

3. Select the Loan Amount

To estimate the student’s maximum eligibility, use the automatic loan amounts shown by the calculator.

To estimate a reduced loan amount, enter the total amount the student wants to borrow in the appropriate Requested Subsidized, Requested Unsubsidized, or Requested Grad PLUS field.

Requested amounts are for the entire award year, not for each semester.

4. Enter the Student’s Credits

Enter the number of credits the student expects to take during each semester.

For most undergraduate students, leave Full-Time Credits at 12.

For graduate students, change Full-Time Credits to 9 if 9 credits is considered full-time for the student’s program.

Confirm that each semester the student will attend is marked Included: Yes.

5. Calculate the Estimate

Select Calculate.

Review the final estimated annual loan amount and the estimated amount assigned to each semester.

The result is only an estimate. Actual loan eligibility may also be affected by financial need, cost of attendance, previous borrowing, aggregate loan limits, and other federal eligibility requirements.