Student loan limits--they're important to understand, but unfortunately, many students don't even know they exist.

To understand loan limits, let's start with something people are more familiar with --credit card limits. When you reach your credit card limit (often known as maxing out your card), you are required to pay down your principle before you can use the card again. It's similar with students loans; once you've borrowed a certain amount, you can't borrow more until you pay some back. If you're relying too heavily on federal loans, this could leave you unable to afford your education and stuck with unmanageable amounts of debt.

Read on to learn about loan limits and how to avoid this situation by practicing responsible borrowing.

Annual and Total Loan Limits

The federal government limits the total amount of subsidized and unsubsidized loans a student can borrow at one time – this is known as a total or aggregate loan limit. If you previously attended college and took out federal loans that you have not yet repaid, those loans will count toward your total loan limit. To check your prior federal student aid history and previous loans, visit the National Student Loan Data System at www.nslds.ed.gov.

There is also an annual loan limit on the amount of loans you can borrow in one academic year. Total and annual loan limits depend on your year in school and whether you are dependent or independent student. You can see the annual and total loan limits that apply to you at http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#how-much-can-i-borrow. If you're a current student, you can also contact your Student Finance Counselor to learn more.

How to Avoid Reaching These Limits

When you discuss your financial aid package with your Student Finance Counselor, make sure you understand your loan limits and try not to rely solely on federal loans.

Here are just a few tips that can help you avoid reaching these limits.

• Find alternative ways to finance your education, such as scholarships and grants. There are many scholarships and grants out there, so don’t be afraid to apply. They can make a big difference in your financial plan!

• Ask your employer if they are willing to help sponsor your education. This is usually only an option if your desired degree will allow you to gain skills relevant to your work.

• Make regular cash payments. Even if these payments are as small as $20 per month, you can reduce the amount you need to borrow and the interest you’ll pay in the future.

• Only accept the aid that you truly need. You do not have to take the full amount of federal aid for which you are eligible, and you should not use these loans for expenses outside of your education.

• Stay committed to completing your education in a timely manner. Having to re-take a class will end up costing you extra.

When you create a plan for paying for your degree, think about your long-term financial future. Remember, having to make large monthly payments on your student loan debt will limit what you can spend in the future on large purchases, such as your house or your car, and even daily expenses. Making the right choices today will help you tomorrow.

Attention students: Three new digital resources have been added to the Online Library!

Post by Guest Blogger, Taylor Duncan
Assistant Director of Student Affairs: Libraries & Tutoring

These exciting additions provide access to streaming video collections and film scripts. These resources may now be accessed from the Online Library under Find Images & Videos. Read more about these resources below.

American Film Scripts Online

Contains 1,000 full-text scripts as well as a bibliographic and biographical database of directors and writers, presenting the medium’s reflection on American attitudes and life. Search by character, scene, race, nationality, age, subject, year of writing and other elements. Useful for studying popular culture, diversity and gender issues, language and linguistics, writing, American history, anthropology, sociology, psychology and more.

Sample titles include: The Wizard of Oz, Singin’ in the Rain, Ben Hur, Casablanca, Raging Bull, The Maltese Falcon, Hotel Rwanda, Some Like It Hot, The Last Temptation of Christ, Sunset Boulevard, Witness, Taxi Driver, The African Queen, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, JFK, Platoon, The Searchers, Twelve Monkeys, Rebel Without a Cause, The Hustler, My Own Private Idaho, and The Sting.

Filmakers Library Online

Provides access to streaming video of more than 1,000 documentaries and independent films from around the world. Coverage includes race and gender studies, human rights, globalization and global studies, multiculturalism, international relations, criminal justice, the environment, bioethics, health, political science and current events, psychology, arts, literature and more. Synchronized, searchable transcripts run alongside each video.

Sample films include: Fire Eyes, First Contact, Guardians of the Flutes, My American Girls, Original Intent, A Panther in Africa, Paradise Bent, Prison Lullabies, Race to Execution, The Split Horn, T-Shirt Travels, Today's Man, Walking the Line, All Power to the People, The Danish Solution, Guestworker and Lynchburg Story.

Silent Film Online

Contains over 250 streaming online titles representing the foundation of modern cinematic technique and film theory. Covers silent feature films, serials, and shorts from the 1890s to the 1930s. Highlights works of filmmakers including Georges Méliès, Buster Keaton, Fritz Lang, Charles Chaplin, F.W. Murnau, Luis Buñuel, Ernst Lubitsch, Victor Sjostrom, Erich von Stroheim, Carl T. Dreyer, Edwin S. Porter and many others.

Sample titles include Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Battleship Potemkin, Intolerance, Nosferatu, Faust, Die Nibelungen, The Great Train Robbery, The General, Foolish Wives, Way Down East, L’Age D’Or, Metropolis and Ann Boleyn.

Contact the Online Library

For more information about the Online Library, please contact us at 888-318-3440 or aionlinelibrary@aii.edu.

This is our final look at the 2013 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. In our first two posts, we talked with faculty member Sherri Mangin, and today, we hear from student Ashley Kulesa (AK) in the Associate of Science in Kitchen & Bath Design program!

Related Posts: Student Named Top Young Industry Professional | Inside the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, Part 1| Inside the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, Part 2

What was your favorite part of attending KBIS?
AK: I’d say being able to collaborate with people in the industry who are the same age as me. Most of the time you are dealing with people 20 or 30 years older than you, and somehow working with your peers--people your age--can be a richer experience. You take more from it.

I was also able to go to one seminar with David Bromstad (winner of HGTV Design Star and host and designer of HGTV Color Splash). That was really interesting.

What was the most important thing you got out of the experience?
AK: In a lot of ways, the show is a networking platform. You meet many different people, designers, and vendors, and really every connection you make is so valuable for you personally and professionally. The other thing is that by being exposed to new trends and new products before anyone has seen them, you gain a lot of good inspiration.

What was it like to meet a faculty member in person?
AK: It was surreal actually. I met Sherri and I also met my instructor Dawn Viola. It was a really great experience being able to put a face with the person’s name and voice. Since I didn’t have any of my family members there with me, it was neat to have my instructors there rooting me on and cheering for me.

You were interviewed by HGTV – tell me about that.
AK: This is the first time they’ve held open auditions at KBIS – they were looking for a host or a tv personality for HGTV or DIY Network. Of course the line was really long and I had to work up the courage; it was nerve-wracking. You had two to three minutes to answer questions in front of the lights and cameras and to hopefully make a lasting impression. It was scary, but I would have regretted not doing it. Regardless of the outcome, it was a cool experience.

What else would you like to share about the experience?
AK: If you ever have the chance to go for any reason, wear comfortable shoes—it’s important! The space was huge and visually overwhelming, so three days was not enough to see half of it. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was crazy!

I’d also say that for any student, affiliations with professional organizations are huge. NKBA (National Kitchen & Bath Association) focused a lot this year on learning and furthering education. They really want students to be involved, and through the 30 under 30 group, they also wanted to promote the many benefits of membership in their organization.

Armed Forces Day is celebrated annually on the third Saturday of May, which this year is May 18, 2013. Created in 1949 and first observed in 1950, this holiday was established to recognize and honor all five military branches: the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard.

At The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division, we recognize the service and commitment of our military students every day by helping them to get started on the next phase of their career. We have staff members dedicated to working with military and veterans students, and we are proud to be listed as a Military Friendly School by G.I. Jobs (http://www.militaryfriendlyschools.com/), an honor reserved to only 15% of schools nationwide. 

Below are three of the ways we recognize our military and veteran students.

1. Offering Transfer of Credit for Your Military Experience

We want to recognize your extensive military training and experience, whether you are a veteran or a current member of the military. Once you submit the paperwork, we’ll review your experience and training to determine your eligibility for credit toward your academic program. This transfer of credit could help you to cut expenses and graduate in less time.

For information on how to submit your military experience and training for university credit, please visit http://www.aionline.edu/military/.

2. Providing Military Aid & Benefits

Complete information on our military aid and benefit programs can be found on our Miltary Aid page, and you can speak with a Military Admissions Representative by calling 1-877-300-3656. Before you do, here’s a quick overview.

For Military Personnel & Spouses: We are pleased to offer a special military scholarship of 10% to eligible Active Duty, Active Guard and Reserve, as well as Spouses of Active Duty and Active Reserve military personnel.

For Veterans: Our military scholarship of 10% is extended to eligible veterans, and we participate in the Post 9/11 GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon Program. Furthermore, veterans using the educational benefits provided under the Montgomery GI Bill will find that a significant portion of their tuition expenses will be covered or reimbursed.

3. Waiving Fees

The Online Lab Fee, Enrollment Fee and the Application Fee are waived for Active Duty and Active Guard and Reserve, as well as for Spouses of active duty military personnel. The application fee is waived for all veterans and spouses who qualify for the Veteran Scholarship.

Read more at http://www.aionline.edu/tuition/military-aid/. Or, get information on the following programs:

• Ch 30 Montgomery GI Bill 
• Ch 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill 
• Yellow Ribbon Program 

In the second part of our interview with Sherri Mangin (Program Director for the Residential Planning and Kitchen & Bath Design programs at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh—Online Division), we learn more about her experience at 2013 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in New Orleans with her student Ashley Kulesa.

Related Posts: Inside the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show: Part 1 & Student Named Top Young Industry Professional

How do you think Ashley benefited from attending the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS)?
SM: Ashley and I ran into each other on the day her group began their assignment for the presentation, and her group members were struggling to decide on their roles in the presentation. I shared my observation that this was possibly an indicator that no one was acting as a leader in the group. We discussed how a leader is able to look at the big picture, recognize the strengths of the individuals, delegate tasks according to those identified strengths and then pull it all together.

Ashley emerged as the leader for her group and their presentation was cohesive, relevant and strong. Ashley did not feel the need to be one of the three people who presented the material, which was equally impressive to me. She really took this opportunity to explore her own leadership skills which opened some major opportunities for this exceptional young woman.

How this will benefit other students in the program and the school as a whole?
SM: Ashley and her experience are inspirational to other students and extremely rewarding for the faculty members who have had a hand in her education. She represented herself, the Kitchen & Bath program and The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division beautifully!

Did you have time to do anything outside of the conference?
SM: I conducted a scientific study on bread pudding served in New Orleans. OK, I may have gotten some solid research in on shrimp as well. I took a ton of pictures of the architecture in the French Quarter and rode the street car the length of St. Charles Avenue. I walked miles and miles and got lost a million times. Each time I got lost, I ended up in another amazing place!

Musicians are everywhere! Some are so amazing they take your breath away and others, well, let’s just say they need to keep their day jobs. One of the best vocalists I have ever heard was a waitress who sang an old gospel song that raised goose bumps on my arms and tears in my eyes.

What else would you like to share about the experience?
SM: The wealth of information available to bring back to my students and faculty was so energizing!

We are implementing many new initiatives based upon my experiences at KBIS. It was truly a gift to be able to be in New Orleans to see Ashley and her contemporaries be honored for their achievements!