Parents of dependent college students can borrow a PLUS College Student Loan to help pay educational expenses of an undergraduate college student enrolled at least half time in an eligible program at any eligible school. PLUS College Student Loans are available through the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program and the William D. Ford Federal Direct College Student Loan (Direct Student Loan) Program. An acceptable credit history is required to receive a PLUS college student loan.

While filing the a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is not really a requirement to receive a PLUS college student loan, most schools do require a FAFSA be filed before they will certify a PLUS college student loan. It is always recommended that families file a FAFSA whether you think you will qualify for federal aid assistance or not.

If the school is a Direct Student Loan school, a parent will need to contact the school directly in order to receive the direct student loan. Funds for Direct Student Loans come directly from the federal government.

If the school is a FFEL school, you will need to obtain your college student loan through a bank or financial lending institution. Your school can provide a list of lenders to help you narrow your choices down. However, you can choose any lender you wish to choose. Do compare your options before you choose a borrower. Many lenders will offer repayment incentives that can lower the cost of a PLUS college student loan.

A parent will typically be required to pass a credit check. However, the credit check is not as demanding as it is for other private loans with which you may be more familiar (e.g., an auto loan or mortgage). If the parent borrower has been denied based on credit, they may still be eligible to get the student loan if they can get someone like a relative to endorse or co-sign the college student loan. The student and parent must also meet other general eligibility requirements for a federal financial aid.

A parent can borrow up to the cost of attendance, which is established by the school, minus other financial aid including other college student loans.

For PLUS College Student Loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2006, the interest rate has been fixed at 7.90 percent. For Direct PLUS College Student Loans as well as the FFEL PLUS Loans, the interest rate is at 8.50 percent.

A fee of up to 4% will be charged to the borrows of a PLUS college student loan. Many lenders will pay this fee on behalf of the borrower, but not all of it. It is most important to carefully review and read the terms of your college student loan when they are presented to you by your lender.

Repayment of a PLUS college student loan begins immediately after the final disbursement of the student loan funds. PLUS college student loans, like all federal college student loans, are disbursed in equal amounts over the course of the academic year. For a school that uses semesters, that would mean two disbursements during the year, one in the beginning of the fall and one in the beginning of the spring. Payment would begin after the spring disbursement has funded.

The standard repayment term would generally be ten years. However, depending on the total amount borrowed the repayment term can be extended up to 25 years. If extenuating circumstances have developed during repayment, a borrower may request forbearance or temporarily stop paying. During a forbearance, the borrower does not have to make any payments, but interest does continue to accrue and will be added to the principal if no payments of interest have been made.