The PLUS Program, or Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students, is a distinct and
separate type of educational loan, which can be used to finance an undergraduate
education. Because Stafford loans have limits that fall below the needs of many
students, Stafford loans may
need to be supplemented by PLUS loans obtained by
their parents. Parents may apply for Direct PLUS loans
from the DOE
or from a second source of loans guaranteed by the
DOE but funded by private banks and financial institutions. These loans are
labeled FFEL or
Federal Family Educational Loan Program.
PLUS loans carry a higher interest rate, currently 7.9% if the loan is a Direct loan from the DOE, and 8.5% for FFEL PLUS loans made by private banks or financial institutions. PLUS loans require separate applications available from the financial aid office of the student’s school. PLUS loans require good credit ratings and are subject to a more rigorous financial scrutiny than Stafford loans. PLUS loans carry origination fees like every other type of consumer loan. PLUS loans allow parents to borrow up to the complete cost of their child’s four years of college, less any other Direct loans or financial aid received.
Direct Plus loans are fairly straightforward. FFEL PLUS loans are made with private lenders. FFEL loans are guaranteed by the government, which means that the government agrees to, in effect, co-sign the loan. For this reason just about every type of financial institution offers PLUS loans. Most of these institutions are legitimate, but there are some predatory lenders. Caution must be exercised when choosing a lender. The Financial Aid Office of your child’s school should, in theory, be able to guide you to an honest lender. But there have been some scandals involving conflict of interest on the part of school financial aid departments, so independent investigation of lenders is a good idea.
Investigating PLUS loan lenders is much like investigating credit card offers. Some cards offer a low introductory rate, but the fine print shows that even one late or missed payment results in a skyrocketing interest rate. Other fine print reveals that a late or missed payment, even for a different credit card, can cause massive interest increases and penalties. For the period 2005 – 2006 student loans of all types amounted to over four hundred billion dollars. After home mortgages and credit cards, student loans are the larger source of business for the personal finance industry.