PLUS Loan

A PLUS Loan is a student loan in the United States, which is part of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, offered to parents of students enrolled at least half time, or graduate and professional students, at participating and eligible post-secondary institutions. The original, now obsolete, meaning of the acronym was "Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students".

PLUS loans share some similarities with the Stafford and Perkins loans offered to students:[citation needed] They are offered under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (with subsequent amendments) and are therefore backed by the full faith of the United States Government and they can be consolidated through the federal student loan consolidation program

History

Changes as of July 1, 2006

Like the Stafford Loan program, the PLUS program changed to a higher, but fixed rate, structure for loans disbursed after midnight, July 1, 2006. The rate offered through the Direct Loan Program was 7.9%. Additionally, the PLUS program was made available for graduate and professional students to borrow to finance their own educations, commonly referred to as the Grad PLUS loan.

Changes as of July 1, 2008

For PLUS loans made to parents that are first disbursed on or after July 1, 2008, the borrower has the option of beginning repayment on the PLUS loan either 60 days after the loan is fully disbursed or wait until six months after the dependent student on whose behalf the parent borrowed ceases to be enrolled on at least a half-time basis.

Changes as of July 1, 2026

For PLUS loans made to parents on or after July 1, 2026, new annual and lifetime borrowing limits will apply: $20,000 per year and $65,000 total per dependent student. These loans will no longer be eligible for income-driven repayment plans and must be repaid under a fixed-term schedule. Institutions may also impose lower program-specific loan caps at their discretion. Parents with loans prior to this date may continue under previous terms for up to three additional academic years.

Differences from Stafford and Perkins loans

References

  1. ↑ "Summary: Interest Rates for Stafford and PLUS Loans in the Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan Programs Effective July 1, 2006". Federal Student Aid.
  2. ↑ "(GEN-08-08) (GEN-08-08) The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008". Federal Student Aid.
  3. ↑ H.R. 1, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, 119th Cong. § 81001 (2025), amending 20 U.S.C. § 1087e(a)(3), available at congress.gov
  4. ↑ "Direct PLUS Loans for Graduate and Professional Degree Students". Federal Student Aid. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Plus loans". arapahoe.edu. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.