Loan Terms Maximum Loan Amount: Your child's cost of attendance minus other financial aid. For example, if your child's cost of attendance is $6,000, and he or she receives $4,000 in other financial aid, you can borrow up to $2,000 in PLUS Loans.
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's no functional limit to how much you can borrow through the Parent PLUS Loan program. Through our work with borrowers, we've seen some parents take out as much as $600,000 in student debt to fund their children's college education, for example.
How much can I borrow in Direct PLUS Loans? There are no set annual or aggregate limits. You may borrow up to your full cost of attendance, minus any other financial aid you receive (including Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, scholarships, and certain fellowships).
If a parent selected the maximum loan amount on the original Parent PLUS Loan application, an increase can be processed through the loan adjustment form.
While parent PLUS loan forgiveness isn't as widely available as forgiveness for student borrowers, a few options do exist. Some options include the Income-Contingent Repayment plan (forgiveness after 25 years of payments) and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (forgiveness after 10 years), as well as other methods.
These loans, which are your responsibility to repay, enter repayment 60 days after full disbursement or 6 months after your student graduates or drops below half-time enrollment. There are several repayment options for Parent PLUS Loans.
The parent, not the student, is responsible for repaying the PLUS loan. PLUS loans don't qualify for all of the income-driven repayment plans that student loans do. PLUS loans have large borrowing limits, making it possible to take on too much debt.
Generally, you'll have from 10 to 25 years to repay your loan, depending on the repayment plan that you choose. Your required monthly payment amount will vary depending on how much you borrowed, the interest rates on your loans, and your repayment plan.
On August 24, 2022, Joe Biden announced a sweeping federal student loan forgiveness order, in which Parent PLUS Loans are included in. The plan attempted to forgive $10,000 for everyone and up to $20,000 for those who were approved for the federal Pell Grant program when they borrowed student loans.
But parent PLUS loans do have a credit check, and you won't qualify if you have adverse credit history. That can include negative line items on your credit report like payments that are 90 days late, tax liens and more. Check your credit for adverse information before applying for a parent PLUS loan.
Parent PLUS loan borrowers can consolidate into a Direct Consolidation Loan, even without another loan, and have access to Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR).
How long do you have to pay off parent PLUS loans? You have between 10 and 25 years to pay off your parent PLUS loans, depending on your repayment plan.
How long does processing take? Due to the value of PLUS applications at peak times (particularly summer and the start of the Fall term), PLUS loans can take 4 weeks for processing and for the loan to be posted on the student's financial aid summary.
Parents are able to borrow up to the full cost of attendance, less any financial aid received by their child. Cannot be transferred to borrowers. Parents are legally required to repay student loans and they cannot typically be transferred to the student. No Credit Score Requirements.
If you want to decrease the amount of your Federal Direct PLUS Loan, sign in to studentaid.gov and request the new (total) amount on your original application—do not submit the amount you wish to decrease the loan by. If you wish to cancel your Federal Direct PLUS Loan, please contact us.
What is the current interest rate? For Direct PLUS Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2023, and before July 1, 2024, the interest rate is 8.05%. This is a fixed interest rate for the life of the loan.
Parent PLUS loans can be a good alternative to private student loans because they offer more flexible repayment options. But Parent PLUS loans can be costlier than other options, and consequences are harsh for default, including the potential for wage and Social Security garnishment.
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 typically have higher interest rates than a student's federal student loans. This means that over the life of the loan, you could end up paying significantly more in interest with a Parent PLUS Loan compared to a federal student loan taken out by a student.
Repaying a Parent PLUS loan is the legal responsibility of the borrower – the parent. While you may ask your child to contribute to repayment, it is ultimately your responsibility.
You will lose repayment plan options and restart the clock on PSLF and other forgiveness programs. You can learn more about the consolidation process here . Act quickly to avoid default. Default can result in consequences like garnishment of your wages, federal tax return, or Social Security.
When you complete the FAFSA form , you are applying for financial aid for one school year. Therefore, to receive financial aid for the next year, you will have to submit a new FAFSA form to get new aid.