On This Page: | Loan Summary | Interest Rates & Origination Fees | Capitalizing Interest | How To Apply | Getting Your Funds | Paying Back Your Loan | Deferment | Federal Updates | Getting Help |
|---|
New to financial aid? Start with the basics.
Federal Direct PLUS Loans (includes Graduate PLUS)
The Federal Direct PLUS Loan is a credit-based supplemental loan that helps the parents of dependent students meet the cost of their child’s education expenses for the academic year. Under the PLUS loan program, parents and/or graduate and professional students may borrow up to the full cost of education minus other financial aid received. Interest is charged during all periods and credit checks are required.
Unlike the education loans borrowed from private lenders, Federal Direct PLUS Loans are borrowed from the U.S. Department of Education.
The information in your financial aid file may be disclosed to third parties as authorized under routine uses in the Privacy Act notices called "Title IV Program Files" (originally published on April 12, 2004, Federal Register, Vol 59 p. 17351) and "National Student Loan Data System" (originally published on December 20, 1994, Federal Register, Vol 59 p. 65532). Thus, this information may be disclosed to federal and state agencies, private parties such as relatives, present and former employers and creditors, and contractors of the Department of Education for purposes of administration of the student financial assistance program, for enforcement purposes, for litigation where such disclosure is compatible with the purposes for which the records were collected, for use by federal, state, local, or foreign agencies in connection with employment matters or the issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit, for use in any employee grievance or discipline proceeding in which the Federal Government is a party, for use in connection with audits or other investigations, for research purposes, for purposes of determining where particular records are required to be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, and to a Member of Congress in response to an inquiry from the congressional office made at your written request.
LOAN Summary:
2023-2024 Academic Year
| DIRECT PLUS LOAN | |
|---|---|
ELIGIBILITY | Credit-worthy parents of dependent students, or graduate students. In order to be eligible, the parent borrower must be the student’s biological or adoptive parent and the student must also be enrolled at least half-time. In addition, both the parent borrower and the student must be U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens with a valid Social Security number, must not be in default or owe a repayment to any student financial aid program and must meet other general federal aid eligibility requirements. |
CREDIT CRITERIA | The borrower must pass a credit review to receive the Federal Direct PLUS Loan. Federal standards of creditworthiness are substantially more flexible than those required under private loan programs. You must pass a credit review and you must not have adverse credit history, defined as:
If you do not meet the credit criteria, you can apply with an Endorser, who must meet the credit criteria. The Endorser promises to repay the loan if the borrower fails to do so as agreed. PLUS Loan credit decisions are good for 180 days. |
INTEREST | For loans first disbursed after July 1, 2023, the interest rate is fixed at 8.05%.
Interest Rate Cap for Military Members:
If a parent borrower qualifies under the Service Members Civil Relief Act, the interest rate on loans obtained before entering military service may be capped at 6% during their time of military service. You must contact the loan servicer if you believe that you may qualify and request this benefit. |
LOAN FEES | Loans disbursed on or after October 1, 2022 and before October 1, 2023 have an originaiton fee of 4.228%. |
REPAYMENT | Begins at the time the PLUS loan is fully disbursed and the first payment is due within 60 days after the final disbursement. Borrowers are given a 6-month post enrollment period to align the repayment with the direct subsidized/unsubsidized loans. |
LIMITS PER ACADEMIC YEAR | The maximum annual amount that may be borrowed is the student’s cost of attendance minus any other financial aid that the student receives. |
2021-2022 Academic Year
| DIRECT PLUS LOAN | |
|---|---|
ELIGIBILITY | Credit-worthy parents of dependent students, or graduate students. In order to be eligible, the parent borrower must be the student’s biological or adoptive parent and the student must also be enrolled at least half-time. In addition, both the parent borrower and the student must be U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens with a valid Social Security number, must not be in default or owe a repayment to any student financial aid program and must meet other general federal aid eligibility requirements. |
CREDIT CRITERIA | The borrower must pass a credit review to receive the Federal Direct PLUS Loan. Federal standards of creditworthiness are substantially more flexible than those required under private loan programs. You must pass a credit review and you must not have adverse credit history, defined as:
If you do not meet the credit criteria, you can apply with an Endorser, who must meet the credit criteria. The Endorser promises to repay the loan if the borrower fails to do so as agreed. PLUS Loan credit decisions are good for 180 days. |
INTEREST | For loans first disbursed after July 1, 2021 the interest rate is fixed at 6.28%..
Interest Rate Cap for Military Members:
If a parent borrower qualifies under the Service Members Civil Relief Act, the interest rate on loans obtained before entering military service may be capped at 6% during their time of military service. You must contact the loan servicer if you believe that you may qualify and request this benefit. |
LOAN FEES | Loans first disbursed on or after October 1, 2022 and before October 1, 2023 have the origination fee of 4.228% |
REPAYMENT | Begins at the time the PLUS loan is fully disbursed and the first payment is due within 60 days after the final disbursement. Borrowers are given a 6-month post enrollment period to align the repayment with the direct subsidized/unsubsidized loans. |
LIMITS PER ACADEMIC YEAR | The maximum annual amount that may be borrowed is the student’s cost of attendance minus any other financial aid that the student receives. |
Interest Rates are subject to change each year, however, federal loan since 2006 have remained fixed loan rate products.
Capitalizing Interest
Direct Loan Servicing capitalizes all unpaid interest:
- when repayment begins
- when a period of deferment ends
- when a period of forbearance ends
- annually, under the Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan, for borrowers whose payments do not cover their monthly interest accrual.
Application Process
PLUS Loan Authorization Form
A Plus Loan Authorization form must be submitted by the borrower in order to process an initial credit check for the Direct PLUS Loan for Graduate Students. Each Financial Aid Office has a designated authorization form. An authorization form must be completed each time a new plus loan is borrowed. Use the links below to access the form for your school. If your school is not listed, contact your School Financial Aid Office.
For parents of dependent students looking to borrow a Direct Parent PLUS Loan, parents must apply directly on studentloans.gov. Please see the below for additional school specific information.
- Columbia College: https://cc-seas.financialaid.columbia.edu/education-loans#Parent-Borrowers
- Engineering and Applied Sciences, The Fu Foundation School of: https://cc-seas.financialaid.columbia.edu/education-loans
- General Studies, School of: Parents can go to studentloans.gov to complete a Plus Loan Application.
Please contact your School Financial Aid Office for additional information or for assistance applying for a Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan.
Master Promissory Note
A Federal Direct Plus Master Promissory Note must also be submitted. This document can be completed by logging into StudentLoans.gov and selecting the option, "Complete Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN)."
Graduate or professional students will also be required to complete entrance counseling before receiving a PLUS loan.
If you have an adverse credit history, you must complete credit counseling for PLUS loan borrowers on the StudentLoans.gov website.
Disbursement
Loan funds are disbursed to the student's tuition account.
Repayment Options
Learn more about repayment options for Direct Federal Loans here.
Deferment
The maximum period for which a borrower may receive a deferment is determined in accordance with the Direct Loan Program regulations, and depends on the deferment type. Information about deferments is available on the Department of Education website.
Federal Updates
There are no federal updates at this time.
Getting Help
Visit the Department of Education's website for Direct Loans.
If you have questions, you can also contact the Student Loan Support Center directly at 1-800-557-7394.
For integrated view of all your Title IV loans and grants, please visit the Department of Education's National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).