Regarding Federal Loan Options for Parents
Federal student loans are an important resource to help students pay for college. These loans, offered by the federal government, typically offer lower interest rates and more flexible repayment options than private loans.
Unlike grants or work-study, a loan is money that must be repaid – you are legally obligated to repay your loans (even if you do not complete your program), so we encourage you to fully read and understand the terms and conditions of each loan type before accepting a loan.
The minimum requirements for consideration of any federal loan is a complete Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), admission into a degree-seeking program, at least half-time enrollment and cannot be in default on a federal educational loan or owe a repayment of Federal Title IV aid.
An important note regarding student loan funding:
At Colorado State University, we encourage you to make informed decisions when taking out a student loan, and to only borrow the amount of funds needed to successfully complete your education.
What Do I Need to Know About Parent PLUS Loans?
- You must be the natural/adoptive parent or be a stepparent whose income information was included on the FAFSA (i.e. you were a “contributor” directly to the student’s FAFSA) to be an eligible borrower.
- Requires a credit check; you cannot have adverse credit history.
- If you do have adverse credit history, you can seek an endorser to support your denied loan application, or you can appeal the denied credit decision through studentaid.gov.
- If you’re unable to borrow a PLUS due adverse credit history, your student may be eligible for additional unsubsidized loans. Contact the Office of Financial Aid for more information.
- Interest accrues while your student is in school.
- Repayment begins once your loan is fully disbursed.
- You may request a deferment through your loan servicer while your child is enrolled at least half-time.
- The maximum PLUS loan amount you can borrow is the cost of attendance at the school your child will attend minus any other financial assistance your child receives.
- Federal Parent PLUS Loan funding is for undergraduate dependent students – independent students cannot receive this form of funding as undergraduates.
How Do I Apply?
- First, your student must complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) – the federal government’s application to determine financial aid eligibility for most types of financial aid.
- Use federal tax return information to complete the FAFSA.
- Your student will need to list Colorado State University – Fort Collins on their application to submit their financial aid application to CSU. Our school code is 001350.
- Once your student has been awarded their financial aid offer, you can apply for a PLUS loan with your own FSA ID – not the student’s.
- Complete a PLUS Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) – a legal document where you promise to repay your loan and agree to the terms.
- The parent who submitted their information for a credit check must be the same parent who completes the MPN.
- Once your student’s FAFSA has been reviewed and their financial aid has been awarded, they can accept any offered direct loan funding on their RAMweb. The Parent PLUS Loan may be reduced from what was originally applied for, depending on the amount of financial aid that your student has been awarded.
- The maximum amount a parent can borrow through a Parent PLUS Loan is determined by the student’s Cost of Attendance (COA), minus any other financial aid the student is receiving.
- This includes grants, scholarships, and loans already accepted or in an “offered” status. Even if the student hasn’t accepted certain aid yet, it still counts toward reducing the Parent PLUS Loan maximum.
- For example, if a student has aid in the “offered” status, it still factors into the calculation, limiting the total amount a parent can be approved to borrow.
- Watch the short video tutorial below to learn about the steps required for your student to accept their student loans on your their RAMweb account. This process will not work to accept their student loans if you are on your FAMweb portal.
Parent PLUS Loans Terms and Conditions
Origination Fees Associated with Parent PLUS Student Loans
Colorado State University participates in the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program (Direct Loans). PLUS Loans are funded by the Department of Education to the parent, on behalf of the student. Parents must meet eligibility criteria to receive the Parent PLUS loan. Beyond the information provided on this page, Federal Student Aid provides a variety of resources detailing the rules and regulations regarding Parent PLUS loans.
What does my student need to do to receive Parent PLUS loan funding?
- Be admitted to a degree-seeking program.
- Apply for admissions to Colorado State University at admissions.colostate.edu.
- Apply for admissions to Colorado State University at admissions.colostate.edu.
- Apply for financial aid and complete all requirements.
- See the above drop-down titled “How Do I Apply” for directions on how to apply for the Parent PLUS loan.
- Once your student’s financial aid application has been submitted, please have them continue to check their personal student RAMweb account for any documentation or information that may be required to complete their financial aid packaging process.
- Enroll at least half-time each semester.
- For undergraduate students, 6 credits is half-time enrollment.
- Enrolling in fewer than 6 credit hours (0 to 5 credit hours) will mean that your student is not eligible for federal student loan funding.
- Audit and test-out or placement credits do not count toward enrollment requirements.
- Enrollment in courses that do not apply to your student’s program of study may not count toward their enrollment status for financial aid.
- Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress
- Federal financial aid eligibility requires that all students maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.
- Academically dismissed students are not eligible for financial aid. For more information, refer to the Academic Scholastic Standards Policy.
Date of First Disbursement
Origination Fee % for Graduate PLUS Student Loans
On or after 10/1/19 and before 10/1/2020
4.236%
On or after 10/1/2020 and before 10/1/2025
4.228%
Interest Rates for Parent PLUS Student Loans
Date of First Disbursement
Parent PLUS Student Loan Interest Rates
Between 7/1/2023 – 6/30/2024
8.05%
Between 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2025
9.08%
Loan Cancellation
You may cancel all or a portion of your loan by submitting a borrower loan cancellation form. The request must be submitted before the loan has paid to your student’s CSU account, or within 14 days from the date of disbursement.
Cancellation or reduction to your loan may result in a balance being owed to the University. Failure to pay a balance owed by the due date could result in late fees and/or prevent future enrollment.
If you would like to cancel or reduce a loan that hasn’t paid out yet, navigate to your financial aid awards page and click on the “request changes to your student loans” option. From there you can submit a cancellation request and specify the amount of loan you’d like to cancel.
If the loan has already paid out, you may cancel all or a portion of your loan by submitting a borrower loan cancellation form. The request must be submitted within 14 days from the date of disbursement.
Please follow the following link to submit the Parent Loan Cancellation Form.
