Where to apply for Parent PLUS loans - FAFSA or university portal?
Just got my daughter's financial aid package and I'm totally confused about Parent PLUS loans. She only got offered a $5,500 federal student loan in her package, which doesn't even cover half her tuition. We definitely need to take out a Parent PLUS loan to cover the gap, but I can't figure out WHERE to actually apply for it? Do we go through her school's financial aid portal or directly through studentaid.gov? The financial aid office hasn't responded to my email from 3 days ago and the website info is super vague. Does anyone know the process? This is our first time dealing with college financial aid and I'm worried we'll miss some deadline to get everything processed before her fall semester starts.
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Savanna Franklin
You apply for Parent PLUS loans directly on studentaid.gov, not through the school. Go to studentaid.gov and log in with YOUR FSA ID (not your daughter's). Look for the option to "Apply for a PLUS Loan" under the loans section. You'll need to complete a credit check as part of the application process. The school will be notified automatically when your application is approved, and they'll add it to your daughter's aid package. Just make sure you're applying for the correct academic year (2025-2026).
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Sergio Neal
•Thank you so much! I was looking in all the wrong places. Do you know how long the approval process typically takes? We're trying to figure out if we need to make a tuition payment before the loan comes through.
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Juan Moreno
What I've learned after 2 kids in college is that Parent PLUS loans are a total nightmare to navigate!!! Yes, you apply on studentaid.gov but MAKE SURE you use YOUR FSA ID not your daughter's. Also make SURE you complete the credit check part or it won't process. After that the school has to certify the loan amount before it gets disbursed. The whole system is designed to be confusing, if you ask me.
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Sergio Neal
•Ugh, that makes me feel a little better that I'm not the only one confused by this process! Did you find the interest rates were reasonable compared to private loans?
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Juan Moreno
•The rates aren't great TBH, but the federal protections make it worth it. You can defer payments if needed, and there are income-contingent repayment options that private loans don't offer. Just be CAREFUL not to borrow more than absolutely necessary!! We're still paying off our oldest kid's loans and it's painful.
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Amy Fleming
i think u need to call the school too? when i did mine the website kept giving me errors and i had to talk to financial aid office to fix something with my daughters student ID number. took like 4 days of calling to get a person finally
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Alice Pierce
•When I was trying to reach Federal Student Aid about a PLUS loan issue last month, I used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent immediately instead of waiting on hold forever. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Saved me hours of frustration when I was trying to fix a similar Parent PLUS loan application problem. The agent was able to help me identify why my application kept getting rejected.
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Esteban Tate
Everyone here is right that you apply through studentaid.gov, but I want to add something important: the maximum PLUS loan amount you can request is the Cost of Attendance (COA) minus any other financial aid received. So if your daughter's COA is $30,000 and she received $5,500 in federal loans plus $4,000 in grants, you could request up to $20,500 in PLUS loans. Also, be aware that PLUS loans have an origination fee (about 4.2% currently) that's deducted from the disbursement amount. So if you need exactly $20,000 to cover costs, you should actually request slightly more to account for that fee.
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Sergio Neal
•That origination fee is good to know about! I hadn't factored that in at all. Does the school's financial aid office calculate the exact eligible amount, or do I need to figure that out myself before applying?
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Esteban Tate
•You'll need to calculate it yourself before applying. Take the total Cost of Attendance (which should be listed on her aid letter or the school's website) and subtract ALL aid (loans, grants, scholarships, work-study). That's your maximum eligible amount. I'd suggest requesting about 5% more than you actually need to account for the origination fee - the school will certify the appropriate amount.
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Ivanna St. Pierre
My son just went through this last month! We had to apply through studentaid.gov but then the school also had a separate form we had to fill out on their portal that told them how much we wanted to borrow. Every school seems to handle it a bit differently so it wouldn't hurt to call the financial aid office to confirm their specific process.
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Juan Moreno
•THIS!!! Every school has their own weird additional steps that aren't explained ANYWHERE on the federal sites. My younger son's school made us complete some random additional form that wasn't mentioned until AFTER we'd been approved for the PLUS loan.
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Elin Robinson
have you considered private loans instead of plus loans? sometimes the interest rates are actually better if you have good credit. we went with sallie mae for our daughters sophomore year and saved like 2% compared to the plus loan rate. plus no origination fee. just something to think about
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Esteban Tate
•While private loans might offer lower interest rates for borrowers with excellent credit, they lack crucial federal protections like income-driven repayment plans, deferment options during hardship, and potential loan forgiveness programs. Private loans also typically require payments while the student is still in school, unlike PLUS loans which can be deferred until after graduation. I'd recommend exhausting federal loan options before considering private alternatives.
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Atticus Domingo
When I tried to get a Parent PLUS loan last year I got denied because of my credit (had a late payment on my mortgage during covid). My daughter was then eligible for additional unsubsidized loans to make up the difference, but we had to specifically request those extra loans after the PLUS denial. Just something to keep in mind if you have any credit issues.
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Sergio Neal
•That's really good to know - my credit is decent but not perfect. Do you know how much additional unsubsidized loan your daughter was eligible for after your PLUS denial?
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Atticus Domingo
•She was able to get an additional $4,000 in unsubsidized loans (she's a sophomore). I think it's $4,000 for freshman/sophomore years and $5,000 for junior/senior years. Still not enough to cover everything but it helped.
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Savanna Franklin
One more thing to add - when you apply for the PLUS loan, you'll need to specify which semester(s) you're borrowing for. You can choose the full academic year, or just fall or spring semester. If you're unsure about how much you'll need for the entire year, you can apply just for fall now and then do another application later for spring semester. Each application is separate and requires its own credit check.
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Sergio Neal
•Thanks for this additional info! We're planning to apply for the full year since we've calculated what we'll need, but it's good to know we have the option to split it up if needed.
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