FAFSA Parent PLUS loan requirements - what qualifies us for approval?

Parent PLUS loans are federal loans that parents can take out to help pay for their dependent undergraduate student's education costs. Here are the basic requirements: - You must be the biological or adoptive parent of the dependent undergrad student - Your student must be enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school - You can't have an adverse credit history (this doesn't mean you need excellent credit) - You must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen - Your student must have submitted a FAFSA The credit check mainly looks for adverse events in the past 5 years (bankruptcy, foreclosure, tax liens, 90+ day delinquencies). They don't actually check your credit score! As for income, there's no specific minimum income requirement, but you need to demonstrate ability to repay.

i got denied for parent plus last yr bc of credit problems but my kid still got extra unsubzidized loans automatically. they gave him an extra $4000 for the year. not enough but better than nothing!

We just went through this last month! The credit check is pretty forgiving compared to private loans. The main things they look for are the big negative items like foreclosure or accounts in collection status CURRENTLY. If your medical bills were paid off, even after going to collections, you might be okay. They don't care about your actual score. But heads up - the interest rate is pretty high (around 8.05% for 2023-2024) and there's also a loan fee of about 4.2% that gets taken right off the top. So if you borrow $10,000, you only get about $9,580 to actually use. If your credit isn't good enough, you can also get an endorser (like a co-signer) OR you can appeal by documenting extenuating circumstances for the credit issues.

One thing no one mentioned yet - Parent PLUS loans are in YOUR name only, not your daughter's. You're 100% responsible for repayment. Unlike the student loans, PLUS loans enter repayment as soon as they're fully disbursed, though you can request a deferment while your daughter is in school. As for approval, you can borrow up to the cost of attendance minus any other financial aid received. There's no annual or aggregate limit like with Direct student loans. If your medical collections are still showing as unpaid on your credit report, you might have trouble getting approved. But if they're paid off, you should be fine even if they're still on your report.

Be VERY CAREFUL with Parent PLUS loans!!! We took them out for my son and now we're stuck with $42k in debt that's preventing us from retiring. The payments are KILLER. Try private loans or scholarships first. Plus loan interest starts accruing immediately even while kid is in school!!

When i tried calling FSA about my parent plus loan application last month I was on hold for TWO HOURS then got disconnected! So frustrating. I ended up using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person. They called FSA, waited on hold for me, then called me when an agent was on the line. Saved me hours of wait time. They have a video of how it works at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent explained that medical collections older than 2 years wouldn't affect my application as long as they're under a certain amount. Worth checking out if you're worried about those old medical bills.

my daughter is in her 3rd year and we've used parent plus every year. the way it worked for us was: 1. fill out fafsa 2. get award letter that didn't cover everything 3. apply for parent plus on studentaid.gov 4. get approved or denied 5. if approved, sign master promissory note 6. money goes to school directly the whole process took about 2 weeks for us. we had a bankruptcy from 6 years ago and still got approved.

yes we had to reapply each year. they do a new credit check every time

Since there's been some confusion in this thread, let me clarify a few PLUS loan details: 1. Maximum borrowing amount = Cost of Attendance minus other aid received 2. Interest rate for 2024-2025 = 8.05% (fixed for the life of the loan) 3. Loan fee = approximately 4.228% deducted from disbursement 4. Credit check looks for adverse credit history, not credit score 5. Adverse credit = delinquency of 90+ days on $2,085+ debt, collections, charge-offs, foreclosure, repossession, tax lien, wage garnishment, or bankruptcy in past 5 years 6. If denied, you have three options: obtain an endorser, document extenuating circumstances, or your student becomes eligible for additional unsubsidized loans ($4,000-$5,000 depending on year in school) Hope this helps clear things up!

I just wanted to add one more thing that might help - if you're concerned about the high interest rate on Parent PLUS loans, you might want to look into private parent loans as an alternative. Some credit unions and banks offer parent loans with potentially lower rates if you have good credit. The downside is they don't have the same federal protections (like income-driven repayment plans or loan forgiveness programs), but the savings on interest could be significant over time. Also, don't forget to check if your daughter's school offers any emergency grants or last-minute scholarships. Our school had a small emergency fund that helped cover an unexpected $1,500 gap when we were in a similar situation. It's worth asking the financial aid office directly - sometimes they have funds that aren't widely advertised. Good luck with whatever option you choose!

I'm in a similar boat with my son starting college this fall! From what I've researched, here are a few additional things to consider: If you do get approved for Parent PLUS loans, you can choose to start making payments immediately or defer them until after your daughter graduates. But even if you defer, the interest keeps adding up, so you'll owe more in the end. One strategy some parents use is to make small monthly payments just to cover the interest while their kid is in school - this prevents the loan balance from growing but keeps the payments manageable. Also, I learned that if you have multiple kids in college at the same time, you can potentially get Parent PLUS loans for each of them (assuming you qualify each time). Just something to keep in mind if you have other kids who might be college-bound soon. The application itself is pretty straightforward on studentaid.gov - just have your FSA ID ready and your daughter's school information. You'll know within a few minutes if you're approved or need to provide additional documentation. Hope this helps and good luck! The whole financial aid process is so stressful but you're asking all the right questions.

Just wanted to add my experience from going through this process last year! One thing that really helped us was creating a spreadsheet comparing all our options before deciding. We looked at Parent PLUS loans, private parent loans from our credit union, and even a home equity line of credit. For Parent PLUS specifically, I'd recommend applying as soon as possible after your daughter accepts her financial aid offer. The school needs time to process everything, and you want to make sure the funds are available before the payment deadline. Also, if you're worried about the credit check, you can actually check your own credit report for free at annualcreditreport.com to see what potential issues might come up. Look specifically for any accounts showing as currently in collections or any recent late payments over 90 days. One more tip - if you do get approved, you can choose to have the loan disbursed directly to you instead of the school if there are other education expenses you need to cover (like a laptop, textbooks, etc.). Just make sure you use it for qualified education expenses to avoid tax issues. The whole process is definitely stressful, but you're being smart by researching everything first. Your daughter is lucky to have a parent who's so thoughtful about the financial planning!