As college costs continue to rise, students and their families increasingly rely on federal loans to help pay for college expenses. In 2011-12, over half of all undergraduates (52 percent) had borrowed money from the federal government to fund their education, compared with just over one-quarter (27 percent) in 1989-90, some 2 decades. Although most student borrowers take out loans from the federal government, students may also borrow from private banks. Private loans generally have higher fees and interest rates than federal loans do and also have fewer protections for borrowers who run into repayment difficulties. Given the increase in student borrowing, in both the numbers of borrowers and loan amounts, and the debate surrounding the effects of loan limits on students, it is important to understand the extent to which borrowing at the federal maximum loan amount has changed over time and how that change varies among student groups. Additionally, given the particular concern that loan limits lead to private loan use, it is important to understand what fraction of students borrow at the maximum amount allowed through federal loans before turning to private loan sources. These are the key issues addressed in this Statistics in Brief. Data tables and standard error tables are appended.