Graduate PLUS Loans
Graduate PLUS loans are only available to graduate students who are enrolled at least half-time and who meet all the eligibility requirements for federal student aid programs. Graduate PLUS loans have a fixed interest rate of 9.08% for loans disbursed between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. These are fixed interest rates for the life of the loan.
You can visit https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/interest-rates to review the Graduate PLUS loans fixed interest rate for the current award year.
Students are responsible for repaying Graduate PLUS loans while they are enrolled in school but have the option to defer payments as long as they remain in at least a half-time status. Interest on the loan will continue to accrue while the student is in school and during any period of forbearance or deferment. Students also have a number of repayment options available to them based on their individual borrower needs.
For more information on Direct PLUS Loans, visit the Federal Student Aid site.
Parent PLUS Loans
Parent PLUS loans are only available to the parent(s) of a dependent undergraduate student enrolled at least half-time and who meet all the eligibility requirements for federal student aid programs. Parents who intend to apply for a Parent PLUS loan, will need to complete the PLUS request process and sign a PLUS MPN on the Federal Student Aid website. Please see below for details on completing the MPN.
Parents are responsible for repaying Parent PLUS loans once the loan is fully disbursed but have the option to defer payments as long as their child remains enrolled in at least a half-time status. Interest on the loan will continue to accrue while the student is in school and during any period of forbearance or deferment. Parents have a number of repayment options available to them based on their individual borrower needs. Parent PLUS loans have a fixed interest rate of 9.08% for loans disbursed between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.
You can visit https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/interest-rates to review the Parent PLUS loans fixed interest rate for the current award year.
Parent Eligibility Requirements for a Direct PLUS Loan
A parent 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. The 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 (FAFSA) is submitted. If a student is considered dependent, then the income and the assets of the parent have to be reported on the FAFSA.
Dependent students will not be required to submit Parent documents (PLUS Credit decision, PLUS MPN) if any of the following exceptions apply:
Exceptions for Dependent Students
- Student is a non-Title IV recipient (GOK, cash pay, 100% tuition reimbursement, 100% tuition assistance, military, scholarship recipient, or international student).
- Student has a parent who was denied the Parent PLUS loan and a credit decision exists on file.
- Students who are seeking a Professional Judgment: Dependency Override will need to have all required professional judgment documents on file.
Interest on PLUS Loans
Unpaid interest accumulates while the student is in school or in any deferment or grace period, and is added to the principal balance at the end of the grace period, deferment period, or forbearance period.
For example, if $1,000 is borrowed and there is $50 in unpaid interest, that $50 is added to the $1,000 at the end of the grace period. Thus, the principal balance will become $1,050 and interest will then accumulate on that amount. Both graduate students and parents of dependent students have the option to pay the interest while the student is in school to avoid having the unpaid interest amount added to the principal balance.
When applying for a loan, it is important to know the rights and responsibilities of a student borrower. Both graduate students and parents of dependent students must understand the seriousness and importance of the repayment obligation being assumed on the loan.
