A parent PLUS loan enables your parents or stepparents to borrow money that can be applied to your educational expenses.
PLUS loans are loaned directly from the federal government to the borrower. This loan is not based on your family’s income or asset information provided on the FAFSA.
To be eligible for a parent PLUS loan, you must:
- Be enrolled at least half time
- Be a dependent, undergraduate student
- Have a completed FAFSA on file with room in your aid budget
In addition, the parent who applies will have to pass a credit check.
Resources
Is the parent PLUS loan the right option for you? The following resources can help you make an informed decision:
Parent PLUS loan help
- Federal Student Loan Support Center: 1-800-557-7394
- myWSU Technical Support: (509) 335-4357
Applying for a Parent PLUS Loan
WSU uses our own “in-house” loan application for processing direct PLUS loans. Our PLUS application is only accessible to your parent once you have authorized third-party access within your myWSU account.
Step One: Student Grants Third-Party Access
Your financial aid is federally protected information. Without express permission from you, your parent will not be able to apply for a parent PLUS loan to fund your education.
Granting access:
From your myWSU account, select: Profile → Third-Party Access → Share My Information. You will then be prompted to provide your parent’s name and contact information.
Reminders:
- If your parent already has a Friend ID (FID), you will need the email they used when setting up that account. If you are unsure whether your parent has an FID, select “no”.
- “Grant All Access” does not automatically select the parent PLUS loan application. You must select this manually.
- Be sure your parent’s email is accurate and active. This address is where we will send important parent PLUS loan information.
Step Two: Parent Completes Loan Application
Your parent will need to log into myWSU with their Friend ID and password. The parent PLUS loan application can be found after selecting Third-Party Access → Access Student Shared Information → [your name].
Additional Notes:
- Under “Loans Details”, the maximum amount of the offered loan will auto-populate. Your parent may reduce this number if they wish.
- Clicking on “If you would prefer to have excess parent PLUS funds sent to you, the parent borrower” allows your parent to have any loan funds beyond your cost of attendance sent to them, rather than to you.
- All loan funds sent to parent PLUS loan borrowers are mailed as paper checks. Direct deposit is not available to parent PLUS loan borrowers.
Step Three: Parent Completes Master Promissory Note
The same parent who applied for the parent PLUS loan must sign the Master Promissory Note or the loan process cannot complete and funds cannot disburse. Your parent must:
- Visit the Direct Loan website at StudentAid.gov.
- Sign in with their FSA ID.
- Click on “Completed Loan Agreement (Master Promissory Note)” and select the “PLUS MPN for Parents” link.
- Complete their MPN by signing it with their FSA ID.
Pending the successful completion and approval of the credit check and the loan process, the funds will deliver to your WSU student account.
Parent PLUS Loan FAQ
The parent PLUS loan application is available to your:
- Biological parents
- Legal adoptive parents
- Stepparents
Grandparents, legal guardians and other relatives are not eligible for the parent PLUS loan application unless they have legally adopted you.
The parent who applies for the parent PLUS loan does not have to be the same parent listed on your FAFSA.
Application is a three-step process:
- Grant parent borrower myWSU access
- Parent completes WSU loan application
- PLUS loan applications open mid-summer each year
- Parent completes Master Promissory Note
The timeline for a credit decision may vary based on the time of year when your parent PLUS Loan application is being completed, typically 3-5 business days. Your parent will receive an email notification from the U.S. Department of Education and our office as to whether the loan was approved or not.
Credit decisions are valid for 180 calendar days (approximately 6 months).
If after 5 business days your parent has not received a credit decision, there may be an issue with their application or credit:
- Credit Freeze
- Incorrect Parent Information (Social Security Number, birthday, etc.)
Your parent must lift their credit freeze from all three credit bureaus for a period of at least one week before a credit check can be run.
Your parent can lift applicable credit freezes by contacting each agency independently. Please contact Student Financial Services if removing a credit freeze after submitting a parent PLUS application.
In the event your parent’s credit is denied, you have several options. If your parents wish to continue pursuing the PLUS loan, they may:
- Appeal the decision
- Appeal directly to Federal Direct Loan (FDL) program. They can be contacted at 1-800-557-7394 (Option 3).
- Find an endorser
- Your parent may obtain a credit-worthy endorser (co-signer) who agrees to repay the loan if they are unable to. You, the student, may not be an endorser on your parent’s PLUS loan.
- The loan co-signer must complete an Endorser Addendum and submit it to the Federal Direct Loan program. For instructions, please contact Direct Loan Applicant Services at 1-800-557-7394 (Option 3). A parent with an endorser must complete the MPN each year.
- Adding an endorser requires an Award Identification Number. This can be found in the Department of Education’s original denial email for the parent PLUS loan. This 21 digit number will look something like this: XXXXXXXXXP19G03800001.
If your parent pursues an appeal or an endorser, you must contact our office and have your parent complete PLUS counseling at studentaid.gov.
If your parents choose not to pursue the PLUS loan further, you may:
- Increase your student unsubsidized loan amount
- Your direct unsubsidized loan limit can be increased by $4,000 or $5,000 depending on your academic year. This may not total the same amount that was in the initial Parent PLUS loan offer.
- You may only apply for this option after your parent has been officially denied for the Parent PLUS loan.
- Take out a private student loan
- Pay out of pocket
The loan amount has no bearing on the credit check results. A credit check determination is valid for 180 days and cannot be re-run until that period has ended.
The interest rate on a parent PLUS loan is determined annually by the U.S. Department of Education. Each loan will have a fixed interest rate for the life of the loan.
Parent PLUS loan amounts will vary widely. You parent can borrow as much as they like as long as they are not exceeding your total cost of attendance.
If you are eligible for a parent PLUS loan, it will show up on your financial aid offer as the following amount:
(Annual cost of attendance) – (Other aid awarded) = Parent PLUS loan max amount
If your parent PLUS loan disbursement is greater than the charges on your account, a financial aid refund occurs.
When accepting a parent PLUS loan, your parent will have the option to choose whether they want any applicable refund to go to them or to you. If your parent wants the refund sent to them, our office will mail a paper check. If your parent opts to have excess funds sent to you, you may choose between direct deposit or a paper check. Direct deposit is not available to parent PLUS loan borrowers.
Why can’t my parent receive direct deposit?
WSU’s direct deposit system, TouchNet eRefunds, is only set up for students and does not support third-party deposits.