How to apply grad plus loan?

To be eligible for the Direct Graduate PLUS Loan, you must:

Pick the loan period and calculate how much you want to borrow.

If you choose a fall/spring loan period, the amount of the loan will be split equally between the two semesters; so the disbursement of a $10,000 fall/spring loan would be $5,000 for the fall semester and $5,000 for the spring semester.

The total amount you can borrow is equal to your Cost of Attendance minus other Estimated Aid (these figures are listed on your Award Summary in LionPATH). If you need additional assistance, you can use our Interactive Loan Calculation Tool.

Divide the total loan amount you want to borrow by 0.9577. For example, to receive a net amount of $10,000, request a gross amount of $10,670 ($10,000/0.9577 = $10,442)

Your approved and accepted Direct Graduate PLUS loan will appear on both the Award Summary and Student Account Statement in LionPATH, however, the loan amounts will be different.

The loan amount on the Award Summary is the gross amount. In contrast, the Tuition Bill shows the net amount after the loan origination fees have been deducted.

Graduate students will need to apply for the Direct Graduate PLUS Loan on studentaid.gov. Like the FAFSA, PLUS Loans must be requested each academic year.

Preview a read-only version of the Direct Graduate PLUS application here.

You will be notified at the time that you submit your application if your credit has been approved or denied.

Your debt-to-income ratio, credit score, and employment status are not taken into consideration; however, adverse credit typically results in a PLUS loan denial.

For more information about adverse credit, visit federal student aid.

If you are denied the Direct Graduate PLUS loan, download the plus adverse credit pdf for more options.

If your application has been credit approved, your application will be sent electronically to us within 2-3 business days. Once the information has been loaded into LionPATH, we will process the application and add the Direct Graduate PLUS to your Award Summary. Processing for the upcoming academic year will begin in July. Spring-only in October, and Summer in April.

The application will NOT process if:

First-time borrowers are required to Complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) and Entrance Counseling for the Direct Graduate PLUS Loan at studentaid.gov. The Master Promissory Note and Counseling must be signed/completed for the loan to appear as a credit on the bill and disburse into your student account.

In most cases, you will only need to complete these items once during your college career. You do not need to sign a new MPN for every application submitted; unless your application is denied and then later approved with an endorser or it has been longer than 10 years since you have last signed a note.

You can complete these requirements at any time once you have been accepted to Penn State. Once we begin to process your loan(s), these items will be presented to you in your ‘To Do List’ in LionPATH if they are still incomplete. Once completed on studentaid.gov, notification will be sent electronically to us within approximately 2-3 business days. At that time, your To Do List item will be removed from your LionPATH record.

You can preview a copy of the Grad MPN or Grad Entrance Counseling on studentaid.gov or for more information and/or to complete the the MPN or Counseling log into studentaid.gov.

• be a graduate or professional student enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school in a program leading to a graduate or professional degree or certificate;
• not have an adverse credit history (unless you meet certain additional eligibility requirements); and.

Step 1: Login to studentaid.gov and apply for the loan using our federal school code, 001127. You will receive a notification via email from the Department of Education, indicating the approval or denial of your loan.

Step 2: If your graduate plus loan has been approved, complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN).

Step 3: Once our office receives your loan application, we will award your Graduate PLUS loan in your financial aid award package.

The Graduate PLUS Loan must be applied for and approved no later than 10 business days prior to the end of your term of enrollment or an academic year. Awards not applied for and approved by this time (including all required loan documents) cannot be processed.

Credit approval is based on federally mandated criteria, not a credit score. In order to qualify, you must not have any of the following items on your credit report:

Credit approval is valid for 180 days from the date it was approved. Your credit is evaluated every time you request a new loan unless you have had a credit decision within the preceding 180 days.

If you think you may have one or more of the items outlined in the credit requirements listed above you may want to obtain your credit report in advance of applying for a Graduate PLUS Loan. You should work to correct negative items on your credit report as soon as possible.

With either option above you also must complete credit counseling for PLUS loan borrowers on the studentaid.gov website.