Description
A loan funded by the U.S. Department of Education and awarded by the UGA Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) which graduate and professional students can use to help pay for their education expenses.
The Department of Education will defer repayment of the loan principal while the student is enrolled at least half-time, and for the first six months after the student graduates, leaves school, or enrolls in fewer than half-time.
The student is responsible for paying the interest on the principal balance during all periods, including times of approved deferred principal payments; however, the student can elect to capitalize the interest.
- See Federal Direct Loan Interest Rates to view the PLUS Loan interest rates.
- See Federal Direct Loan Origination Fees to view the PLUS Loan fee.
Process
- Student completes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process.
- The UGA Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) will include the loan amount for which the student is eligible on his or her Award on Athena which the student must then accept or decline.
- Complete the Graduate PLUS Loan Application Steps.
Amounts
- The maximum PLUS Loan amount for an Award Year is equal to the student’s Cost of Attendance minus his or her Estimated Financial Assistance.
- Also see Graduate Assistantships and Financial Aid Impact.
- The minimum loan amount is $100 per semester.
Eligibility
- Students must not have an adverse credit history (PDF), or be able to obtain an endorser (similar to a cosigner) who does not have an adverse credit history, or by documenting to the satisfaction of the U.S. Department of Education that there are extenuating circumstances related to your adverse credit history.
- Students must meet all Basic Student Eligibility criteria, and
- Must be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for that semester’s Graduate PLUS Loan.
Cancelling your Federal Direct Student Loan
If your loan has not yet been disbursed to you, you can cancel it at any time in one of the following ways:
- If your loan is still in an offered status on Athena, you can decline all or part of the loan online;
- If you have already accepted your loan and now wish to cancel all or part of it, view instructions on completing a Change in Aid Request to cancel the loan.
If your loan money has already been disbursed, either by crediting the funds to your student account or paying it directly to you, there are two ways to cancel all or part of your loan:
- You can notify Student Accounts Services that you wish to cancel your loan within 14 days of their notification to you that your loan funds have been credited to your 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 your 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.
You do not have to pay interest or the loan fee on the part of your loan that is cancelled or returned within the timeframes described above, and if you received an up-front interest rebate, the rebate does not apply. Your loan will be adjusted to eliminate any interest, loan fee, and rebate amount that applies to the amount of the loan that is cancelled or disbursed.