Earliest disbursement time
One-half of the Parent PLUS Loan is disbursed during the fall and the second half during the spring. Plan ahead and request the full amount you will need for the entire academic year.
A refund is issued to the parent-borrower 7-10 days after the loan has been disbursed to the student's account. The parent-borrow may elect to receive their refund via Digital Disbursement via Zelle or by Paper check.
Choose how much you want to borrow
Parent PLUS Loans are awarded for up to the full cost of attendance minus any other financial aid a student's received. Funds are sent directly to the school.
When do I have to begin repaying my loan? The repayment period for a Direct PLUS Loan begins immediately after you've received the last disbursement of the loan, while your child is still in school.
Find Your Parent PLUS Loan Information
Visit “My Aid” to view information about all of the federal student loans and other financial aid you have received and to get contact information for your loan servicer.
Unlike all other federal student loans, there are no explicit borrowing limits for parent PLUS loans. Parents may borrow up to the full cost of attendance, which is determined by the institution, not the government, and includes books, travel and living expenses. There are no ability-to-repay standards for PLUS loans.
What Are Some Reasons to Avoid PLUS Loans? First, PLUS loans have no automatic grace period. Then there's the fact they aren't eligible for most IDR plans. Then, borrowing too much is easy to do, and finally, they're nearly impossible to get out of, even in bankruptcy.
Parent PLUS loans are educational loans, and the borrower can get an income tax deduction. When borrowers review their tax deductions, they can deduct up to $2,500 per year in interest paid on the Parent PLUS loan.
Parent PLUS loans can potentially be forgiven after 10 years under specific conditions, such as through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program after consolidation into a direct consolidation loan. Parent borrowers must enroll in the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan to qualify for PSLF.
Disbursement Calendars
Mailed refund checks should arrive within 7-10 business days (Monday - Friday) after check is generated. Direct Deposit refunds are deposited into a U.S. bank account within 3 to 5 business days from the Anticipated Financial Aid Refund date.
Loans and Their Grace Periods
No payments are required during this six-month deferment period. If you're a parent borrower who took out a PLUS loan to pay for your child's education, you can request a six-month deferment after your child graduates, leaves school, or drops below half-time enrollment.
What are your Parent PLUS Loan repayment options? Parent PLUS Loans have four repayment plans: Standard repayment plan: Pay off your loan by making fixed monthly payments for 10 years. Graduated repayment plan: Start with smaller payments, then have your payments gradually increase during the 10-year repayment period.
Parent PLUS loan refunds will be paid to the Parent borrower via check or direct deposit. If the parent has designated that the student will receive any refunds, the refund will be sent to the student account via direct deposit.
To check on the status of financial aid being disbursed (paid out) to you or your account, check with your college or career school's financial aid office.
Direct PLUS Loans for Parents
If there is money left over, the school will pay it to you. In some cases, with your permission, the school may give the leftover money to your child.
What happens to my parent's PLUS loan if my parent dies or if I die? Your parent's PLUS loan will be discharged if your parent dies or if you (the student on whose behalf your parent obtained the loan) die.
Collection activities are currently paused for all federal student loans through September 2024, which should protect your 2022 and 2023 federal and state tax refunds. But you may need to take action.
For tax purposes, if you loan a significant amount of money to your kids — over $10,000 — you should consider charging interest as a lender. If you don't charge interest, the IRS can say the amount of interest you should have charged was a gift based on current tax rules.
How long does it take to process a Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan? Depending on the time of year, processing can take 2-4 weeks.
The average Parent PLUS Loan debt is based on Q4 of each year or the most recent data published (as 2022 currently only has Q3). Based on the information from Federal Student Aid, as of 2022, the average Parent PLUS Loan debt is $29,528.
If you're a parent or graduate student seeking a Direct PLUS Loan, one of the requirements to qualify is that you must not have an adverse credit history. If your application is denied because of an adverse credit history, don't give up. You still have options.
How to Use the Double Consolidation Loophole: The key to using the double consolidation loophole is to consolidate each of your Parent PLUS Loans twice. In this scenario, a borrower can have as few as two Parent PLUS Loans.
In most cases, your school will disburse your parent's loan money by crediting it to your school account to pay tuition, fees, room and board, and other authorized charges. If there is money left over, the school will pay it to your parent, usually by check.