Can I decrease my Parent PLUS loan after it's been approved at maximum amount?

yeah u can totally reduce it! my mom did this last semster when my scholarship came through late. just tell ur school financial aid office BEFORE they disburse the money. after disbursement its harder but still possible.

Yes, you can absolutely decrease the amount of a Parent PLUS loan after it's been approved but before disbursement. Your father simply needs to contact your school's financial aid office and request a loan adjustment form. The school can adjust the loan amount downward at any time before disbursement without any penalty. If the loan has already been disbursed, you still have options. There's a 120-day window after disbursement where you can return some or all of the PLUS loan funds without incurring interest or fees. Beyond that window, you'd need to make a partial payment directly to the loan servicer.

my parents got the max PPL too and we returnedd like $5k of it after my mom got overtime at her job. No big deal, financial aid just adjusted it in the system. But make sure u do it BEFORE the money gets sent to ur account or it gets messy!!

To add some important information: when you adjust a Parent PLUS loan downward, the loan origination fee (approximately 4.228% for the 2025-2026 award year) will be recalculated based on the new, lower amount. This means you'll save on those fees too by reducing the loan. Keep in mind that you'll need to determine exactly how much you want to borrow after calculating your remaining costs. Take your total Cost of Attendance, subtract all other financial aid (grants, scholarships, work-study, other loans), and then decide how much of the remainder you need to cover with the PLUS loan.

WATCH OUT with PPL loans!!! My parents took out the max amount for me too and we're STILL paying it off 7 years later. The interest is KILLER. Definitely reduce it as much as possible. I wish someone had warned us how fast that interest builds up on these things.

Im confused... I thought PPL was the Pell Grant?? Isn't that free money u dont have to pay back?

I tried calling my financial aid office for WEEKS about a similar issue and couldn't get through. Super frustrating. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to someone. They got me connected to an actual human in like 10 minutes after I'd been trying for days. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Worth it when you're dealing with time-sensitive loan issues.

Financial aid advisor here. Just want to add that when you decrease your Parent PLUS loan, you need to make sure you'll still have enough funds to cover your bill. Many schools require full payment before allowing registration for the next semester. Calculate carefully, and if your campus job is work-study, remember those funds are earned throughout the semester and aren't available upfront to pay your bill. Also, if you're reducing by a significant amount ($10k as you mentioned), check if this might affect your housing eligibility or meal plan if those are billed separately at your institution.

so me and my roomate both had our parents take out PPL and we learned u can actually return part of the loan up to 120 days after disbursement if u decide u borrowed too much! but its way easier to just reduce it before they send the money

Thank you everyone for all the helpful advice! I've completed the loan adjustment form and submitted it to financial aid. They confirmed they can reduce it before disbursement next month, so we're all set. We're reducing it by $12,000 total, which will save a ton in interest and fees over time. So relieved this wasn't as complicated as I feared!

Congrats on getting that sorted out! $12,000 is a huge reduction - that's going to save you so much money in the long run. Parent PLUS loans have such high interest rates that every dollar you don't borrow is money saved. Smart move figuring this out before disbursement too. Your future self will definitely thank you for this decision!

That's fantastic news, Connor! You made a really smart financial decision there. Reducing by $12,000 is going to save your family a significant amount - not just in interest over the years, but also in origination fees right off the bat. Parent PLUS loans can really add up with that 6.84% interest rate, so every dollar you don't borrow is money in your pocket. It's great that you caught this before disbursement too - makes the whole process so much cleaner. Best of luck with your campus job at the rec center!