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Direct Plus Loan

Direct PLUS Loan

Many parents need assistance with educational financing. We recommend that parents consider the Federal Direct PLUS Loan before turning to other options. Additional information is available from the U.S. Department of Education.

LOAN FEE CALCULATOR:  To determine the amount of money that you will either receive from your federal loan or the amount you need to request before the origination fee is deducted, please click here.

A FAFSA is required for all PLUS borrowers. If your student has not yet filed a FAFSA for the current academic year, please visit the federal FAFSA website.  There is no fee to submit this form and both student and parent must sign.

After your FAFSA has been submitted, please complete the PLUS Request Process at the Student Aid website. This is a two-step process for new borrowers.  Those who have borrowed in a prior year do not have to complete a new Master Promissory note, although they must complete Step 1 of the PLUS Request process and have a current FAFSA on file.

IMPORTANT:  You will need to have an FSA ID to enter studentaid.gov.  If you have not already done so, you may create your FSA ID by clicking here.

Part One: Application Request

You will be asked to provide some basic information such as your social security number, your student's social security number, whether or not you wish to defer repayment of your PLUS loan while your student is enrolled, and finally the amount of loan you are requesting.  Your request will undergo an immediate credit check and if approved, you can then submit your request.  Please note that you must give your permission for a credit check for the application to be accepted.

To get started, go to Studentaid.gov.

Then:

  1. On the top of the page, click on Loans and Grants.
  2. Click on PLUS Loan: Grad PLUS and Parent PLUS.
  3. Click on Learn More under I am a Parent of a Student.
  4. Click on Log In To Start (Log in with your FSA ID).

Part Two: Complete Master Promissory Note

To get started, go to Studentaid.gov.

  1. On the top of the page, click on Loans and Grants.
  2. Click on Master Promissory Note (MPN).
  3. Click on I'm a Parent of an Undergraduate Student.

It is not possible to save a partially completed  Master Promissory Note, so be sure to give yourself enough time (20-30 minutes) to complete the process in one session. The PLUS MPN only needs to be completed once for the duration of your student’s undergraduate career.  Since it is a multi-year note, the PLUS MPN does not require or ask for a specific loan amount.

If your student will be enrolled for only one semester, rather than the full academic year, please contact our office. You also can contact the US Department of Education Direct Loan Help Line at 800-557-7394 for assistance with completing the forms.