Student Financial Aid

Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)

Qualifications

Important!  Please read the information on this page before clicking on the PLUS online application link at the bottom of the page

• Parent borrower must not be in default on a federal loan
• Parent borrower must be a biological or adoptive parent or a stepparent
• Student must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
• A parent not included on the FAFSA remains eligible for the Parent PLUS Loan
• Student must be enrolled at least half time
• Parent borrowers must pass a credit check; if denied, an option to obtain a credit-worthy endorser or allow the student to borrow additional funds from the unsubsidized FFDL program is available

Maximum amount

In most cases, the parent is eligible to borrow up to the cost of attendance minus any other financial aid the student receives.

Promissory note

The Department of Education uses a master promissory note (MPN), which serves as a multi-year note for each parent-student combination.

Generally, as long as the parent borrower and the dependent student do not change, a new PLUS MPN is not required. If a parent borrower applies with an endorser to get approval, then a new PLUS MPN will be required for subsequent loans.

Additional information

Fee

When the loan is disbursed, the Department of Education calculates a 4 percent processing fee.

Interest

• Fixed interest rate of 7.9 percent
• Interest begins to accrue as soon as the loan is disbursed.

Disbursement of funds

PLUS funds are sent to the University of Missouri by the lender. The loan may be disbursed in two installments. Funds are first credited to the student's MU account to pay any balance due for tuition, fees, housing, meals and other school charges. Extra funds are returned to the borrower. A parent borrower may authorize the refund to be released to the student after filing a PLUS Refund to Student Request Form and other requested documents.

Repayment

Parents may choose to start repayment immediately or defer payments until six months after the student’s graduation or drop below half-time enrollment.

During the deferment period, accruing interest can be:

• Paid by the parent borrower monthly
• Paid by the parent borrower quarterly
• Capitalized quarterly

Payments will be approximately $12 per $1,000 borrowed per month (a minimum of $50 per month).

If you want to defer payments, contact the Direct Loan Servicing Center after the final loan disbursement for the academic year.  In the case of a fall/spring loan, the last disbursement would be made for the spring session in January. Payments would then begin in March. You can use a loan calculator to determine your estimated loan repayment.

If you do not defer payment, payments must begin 60 days after the final loan disbursement for the academic year. The parent borrower must begin repaying both principle and interest while the student is still in school.

The MU Loan Department will begin processing 2012-2013 Parent PLUS loans in June 2012.

Completing the online application (IMPORTANT!)

• Close any open windows or tabs including but not limited to myZou
• Having more than one window open will cause an error message to display that says you are not authorized for the page
• Have only one browser open. Internet Explorer 6.0 or greater works the best
• If this is your first online application since February 2010, you will be asked to establish a user ID and password

When submitted online, your application is received immediately. You will not receive a confirmation page, but a summary page will appear for your review prior to logging out. The online application meets strict security requirements for the protection of confidential and sensitive information.

If you absolutely must complete a paper application, you can download an application, print it it, sign it, and then mail or fax it to our office. A paper application may add at least seven days to the processing time.

Application

Parent Plus Online Application