Description
A loan funded by the U.S. Department of Education and awarded by the UGA Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) which parents of dependent undergraduate students can use to help pay for their student’s education expenses.
Upon the borrowing parent’s request, the Department of Education will defer repayment of the loan principal while the student is enrolled at least half-time (6 hours), and for the first six months after the student graduates, leaves school, or enrolls in fewer than 6 hours.
The borrowing parent is responsible for paying the interest on the loan principal during all periods, including times of approved deferred principal payments; however, the parent can elect to capitalize the interest.
- See Federal Direct Loan Interest Rates for PLUS Loan interest rate.
- See Federal Direct Loan Origination Fees for the PLUS Loan fee.
Process
- Student completes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)process.
- See the Parent PLUS Loan Application Steps section for additional items the borrowing parent must complete before the Parent PLUS Loan application can be processed.
Amounts
- The maximum Parent PLUS Loan Award Year amount is equal to the student’s Cost of Attendance minus his or her Estimated Financial Assistance.
- The minimum loan amount is $100 per semester.
Eligibility
- Students meet all Basic Student Eligibility criteria, and
- Cannot be in default or owe an overpayment of a Federal Student Aid loan or grant, and
- Must be enrolled at least half-time (6 hours) to be eligible for that semester’s Parent PLUS Loan disbursement, and
- Parent borrowers cannot have an adverse credit history.
A credit check will be performed during the application process. If the parent has an adverse credit history (PDF), the parent may still receive a parent PLUS loan through one of two options:
- Obtaining an endorser; an endorser is someone who does not have an adverse credit history and who agrees to repay a Direct PLUS Loan if the borrower does not repay it. The endorser cannot be the child on whose behalf the parent is borrowing.
- Documenting to the satisfaction of the U.S. Department of Education that there are extenuating circumstances relating to the parent’s adverse credit history.
If denied, the parent will receive further instructions from the Department of Education regarding both options. With either option 1 or option 2, the parent also must complete credit counseling for parent PLUS loan borrowers.
If a parent is unable to obtain a parent PLUS loan, the student may be eligible for additional unsubsidized loans. The student should complete a Change in Aid Request form, answering “Yes” to the question, “In the amount(s) you requested, if you are not eligible for a Federal Direct Subsidized Loan, would you like to be considered for an Unsubsidized Loan instead?” and adding a comment in the “Other Requests or Additional Information” field that the parent was denied the PLUS loan.
Cancelling Your Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
If your loan has not yet been disbursed to you or your student, you can cancel it at any time in one of the following ways:
- The student can follow these instructions to submit a Change in Aid Request to cancel the loan; or
- The parent borrower can submit a written signed statement to our office either by mail or fax. Our contact information can be found here. Be sure to include the student’s name and UGA ID number on all correspondence. OSFA does not accept emails with attachments.
If your loan money has already been disbursed, either by crediting the funds to the student’s account or paying it directly to the student or the parent borrower, there are two ways to cancel all or part of the loan:
- You can notify Student Accounts Services that you wish to cancel your loan within 14 days of their notification to you that the loan funds have been credited to the student’s account or by the first day of classes, whichever is later. If the loan funds have been used to pay for all of or a portion of the student’s account charges, you must make other arrangements to pay those charges prior to established deadlines.
Within 120 days of the date UGA disburses your loan money, you may return all or part of the loan to the U.S. Department of Education. Contact your loan servicer for instructions on how to do this.