This loan is available to the parents of undergraduate students who have filed a FAFSA for the current academic year. The parent borrower may borrow up to the amount of the total cost of education (as certified by the Office of Student Financial Services) less the financial aid their student has been awarded.
For 2023-24, the interest rate for Parent PLUS Loans is fixed at 8.05%. A 4.228% origination fee is deducted from the awarded amount before the loan is disbursed.
Repayment begins 60 days after the loan is fully disbursed for the academic year. For instance, for an academic year loan for three quarters, repayment begins 60 days after the spring quarter disbursement in March. However, the parent borrower may request that payments be deferred while their student is enrolled by calling the loan servicer. Parent borrowers can find the loan servicer contact information at studentaid.gov.
Parent borrowers apply for this loan online at studentaid.gov. Once processed, the parent borrower will receive the results of the loan's credit check.
If the credit check is approved, a first-time parent borrower will be required to sign the Federal Direct PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN) at studentaid.gov using their own FSA ID username and password. Studentaid.gov will notify the Office of Student Financial Services that the loan is approved and Student Financial Services will process the loan.
Parent borrowers who do not pass the credit check, can pursue an endorser or a credit override by calling the Direct Loan Applicant Services Center at 1-800-557-7394.
If an endorser or a credit appeal is not an option, students may contact Student Financial Services to request an additional Unsubsidized Stafford Loan which is available only to undergraduate students whose parents have been denied a Parent PLUS Loan.
After a Parent PLUS Loan has been disbursed, the Federal Department of Education assigns it to one of their loan servicers. That loan servicer will be responsible for answering questions about the parent borrower's loan account, processing deferments and forbearances and for sending out bills and processing loan payments.
Parent borrowers are responsible for ensuring that their loan servicers always have their current billing address and phone number.
Parent borrowers can go to studentaid.gov and log in to find out which loan servicer is responsible for servicing their loans. They can also get this information by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243