Parent Plus Loans
PARENTS – Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
The Federal Direct PLUS Loan for parents is available to help parents pay for their dependent child's education. Parents with no unresolved credit issues may borrow for each dependent child who is enrolled in school at least half time. Federal Direct PLUS Loans are not based on financial need, and parents of all income levels may apply. Parents may borrow an amount equal to the cost of attendance minus any other aid. Please note: Beginning with the 2010-11 Award Year all PLUS loans must be applied for through the Department of Education. You may no longer use private loan lenders to apply for this loan program.
Direct Loans are low-interest loans for students and parents to help pay for the cost of a student's education after high school. The lender is the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) rather than a bank or other financial institution.
With Direct Loans, you
- Borrow directly from the federal government and have a single contact-the Direct Loan Servicing Center-for everything related to the repayment of your loans, even if you receive Direct Loans at different schools;
- Have online access to your Direct Loan account information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at Direct Loans on the Web at: www.dl.ed.gov.
- Contact Direct Loan service representatives by phone at 800-848-0979.
- Can choose from several repayment plans that are designed to meet the needs of almost any borrower, and you can switch repayment plans if your needs change.
Parent eligibility requirements for a Direct PLUS Loan
You must be the student's biological or adoptive parent or the student's stepparent, if the biological or adoptive parent has remarried at the time of application. Your child must be a dependent student who is enrolled at least half-time at a school that participates in the Direct Loan Program. For financial aid purposes, a student is considered "dependent" if he or she is under 24, unmarried, and has no legal dependents at the time the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is submitted. (Exceptions are made for veterans, wards of court, and other special circumstances.) If a student is considered dependent, then the income and the assets of the parent have to be reported on the FAFSA.
Additional requirements to receive a PLUS loan
Parent PLUS loan borrowers cannot have an adverse credit history (a credit check will be done). In addition, parents and their dependent child must be U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens, must not be in default on any federal education loans or owe an overpayment on a federal education grant, and must meet other general eligibility requirements for the Federal Student Aid programs. You can find more information about these requirements in Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid available at: www.studentaid.ed.gov.
To apply for a Federal Direct PLUS loan, print and complete the Parent PLUS Loan Request Form. Once the Parent Plus Request Form has been completed and submitted to our office, the parent borrower must then complete an online MPN by visiting the www.studentloans.gov website and clicking on the "Complete Master Promissory Note" link. ***Please note that the parent that completes the Loan Application must be the same parent that completes the Master Promissory note and must use the PIN of the parent applying for the loan.*** You will need a federal PIN number to sign into this website (the same PIN you used to sign the student's FAFSA). If you have never applied for a FAFSA pin, go to www.pin.ed.gov then use that PIN to sign into the student loan website.
