Eligibility

The Parent borrower must be the student's biological or adoptive parent or the student's step-parent (if the step-parent information was provided on the FAFSA). Your child must be a dependent student who is enrolled at least half-time and making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).  In addition, parents and their child must be U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens with a domestic address.  PLUS Loans are not processed until the student's financial aid has been awarded.

To be eligible for a PLUS Loan, the parent must pass a credit check that indicates they do not have adverse credit history.  For the PLUS loan, adverse credit history is defined as being 90 or more days delinquent on any debt or having any debt within the past five years subjected to default determination, bankruptcy discharge, foreclosure, repossession, tax lien, wage garnishment, or write-off.

If a parent is denied a PLUS loan, the Financial Aid Office will proceed based on the parent's preference as indicated on the PLUS Loan application.  Parents may appeal the credit decision, find a co-signer, or the student may borrow additional Unsubsidized Loan based on annual loan limits.

Application Process

Parents must complete the PLUS Loan Request Form for the appropriate aid year.  The form can be obtained from the Financial Aid Office or in the Online Forms section.  A new application must be completed every year the parent wishes to borrow a PLUS Loan.  This form gives the Financial Aid Office permission to perform a credit check on the parent borrower.

Maximum PLUS Loan

On the application form, parents must indicate the amount of loan you would like to borrow.  The maximum amount a parent is eligible to borrow is indicated on the student's Award Notification.  This amount is based on the student's Cost of Attendance minus other financial aid.  The Cost of Attendance includes expenses which every student will not incur, so it is important to formulate your own individual budget to calculate the amount of PLUS you need to borrow.  For help calculating this amount, use the PLUS Loan Worksheet in the Online Forms section or contact your Financial Aid Administrator.

Master Promissory Note (MPN)

First time borrowers must complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN). The MPN is a legal document in which the borrower promises to repay his/her loans and any accrued interest. It also explains the terms and conditions of the loan. If you are borrowing for more than one student, you must complete a separate MPN for each student. To complete an MPN online, the borrower will be required to use a Department of Education issued PIN number. If the borrower does not have a PIN number, they can apply for one at www.pin.ed.gov. The website for the MPN is studentloans.gov.

Interest Rate

PLUS Loans have a fixed interest rate of 7.9%.  The interest rate has not changed since July 1, 2006.  For loans disbursed prior to July 1, 2006, the interest rate is variable and published annually on July 1.

Loan Fees

Loan fees are deducted from each loan disbursement. The fee is currently 4% on PLUS Loans. This is scheduled to change to 4.204% due to federal budget cuts known as the sequester.

Repayment

After the Direct Loan is disbursed to the student, the loan is assigned to one of the Federal Direct Loan Servicers.  The Loan Servicer will send periodic statements to the borrower regarding their loan status.  Repayment begins 60 days after the funds are fully disbursed, and the standard repayment term is 10 years.  Parents have the option to defer payments on the PLUS loan while the student is in school and for a six-month grace period after the student graduates or drops below half-time enrollment.  Please be aware the interest continues to accrue while deferred and is capitalized when the loan enters repayment.  We recommend the parent at least pay the interest while in deferment.  For questions on deferment, forbearance, or loan payments, contact your Loan Servicer.  If you need help contacting your Loan Servicer, visit the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) website.

To estimate what your payments will be you may wish to use the following Repayment Calculator.