Parent PLUS Loans

Parent PLUS Loans are loans for parents of dependent undergraduate students to borrow up to the student’s cost of attendance, minus other financial aid.

Interest is charged during in-school, deferment, and grace periods. The borrower is responsible for the interest from the time the PLUS Loan is disbursed until it’s paid in full. You can choose to pay the interest or allow it to accrue (accumulate) and be capitalized (that is, added to the principal amount of your loan). Capitalizing the interest will increase the amount you have to repay.

Parent borrowers should be aware that Parent PLUS loans are subject to credit approval by the Department of Education.

How Much Can I Borrow?

The maximum amount you can borrow each academic year is calculated by subtracting other financial aid from your cost of attendance. Direct loan eligibility and loan request amount must be greater than $500 for a PLUS or Grad PLUS loan to be processed.

Example

Sammie Seahawk is a first-year dependent undergraduate student. Her cost of attendance for Fall and Spring terms is $17,600 and her other financial aid (such as grants, scholarships, and Subsidized Loans) totals $9,000.

PLUS Loan Eligibility

$17,600 (Cost of Attendance)
-$9,000 (Other Financial Aid)
_________
$8,600

Sammie’s parent would be able to borrow up to $8,600 in a Parent PLUS Loan.

To Apply for a Parent PLUS Loan

  1. Complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
  2. Submit an online PLUS Loan Request
  3. Submit the 2024-2025 Parent PLUS Loan Request

To be Eligible You Must

  • Be a parent or eligible step-parent of a dependent undergraduate student
  • The student must be enrolled at least half-time
  • The borrower and student must not have defaulted or owe a refund to any previous aid program
  • The student must maintain satisfactory academic progress
  • The parent borrower and student must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents
  • The parent borrower must have no adverse credit history

To Receive Your Parent PLUS Loan

  1. Complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) for Parent PLUS Loans
  2. Complete PLUS Credit Counseling if required. PLUS Credit Counseling is required if you initially do not pass a credit check but are approved because you obtain an endorser or you appeal your denial and submit supporting documentation
  3. Once classes have begun, and BC has verified that the student is enrolled, funds will be disbursed

Parent Plus Loan FAQS

Biological or adoptive parents may borrow a parent PLUS loan. A stepparent may also borrow a parent PLUS loan if the stepparent is currently married to the student's parent.

Legal guardians or foster parents cannot borrow a parent PLUS loan. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, or other relatives cannot borrow a parent PLUS loan unless they have legally adopted the student.

The parent should request the loan from the Apply for a Parent PLUS Loan page. The student is unable to request the loan on behalf of the parent. The parent must use the same FSA ID that was used to sign the FAFSA to request the loan.

PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN) for Parents is also required for all parents determined eligible for a Parent PLUS loan.

A credit check will be performed during the application process. Eligibility for a Parent PLUS loan does not depend on the borrower's credit score or debt-to-income ratio. However, the borrower cannot have an "adverse credit history."

Credit history is considered "adverse" if the credit check determines that any of the following conditions exist:

  • Current delinquency of 90 or more days on more than $2,085 of total debt
  • More than $2,085 in total debt in collections or charged off in the past two years
  • Default, bankruptcy discharge, foreclosure, repossession, tax lien, wage garnishment, or write-off of federal student loan debt in the past five years

If a parent has an adverse credit history, the parent may still borrow a parent PLUS loan by submitting a successful appeal to the Department of Education documenting extenuating circumstances or by obtaining an endorser (co-signer) who does not have an adverse credit history.

Please see below for more information regarding the options for a parent with adverse credit history.

An endorser is someone who agrees to repay the Direct PLUS Loan if the borrower (the parent) fails to make satisfactory repayment or defaults on the loan. The endorser cannot be the student of the parent who is applying for the loan.

In addition to providing their personal information, the endorser will need the following:

  • An FSA ID
  • The last name of the borrower who was denied the parent PLUS loan
  • An endorser code or award ID of the parent PLUS loan that will be co-signed
  • The names and contact information for two references

The endorser must complete the endorser addendum through the Endorse a Direct PLUS Loan page after the borrower has received a credit denial as a result of their Parent PLUS Loan Application.

The interest rate is 8.05% and the origination fee is 4.228%.

The student of the approved parent will initiate the 2024-2025 Parent PLUS Loan Request online. A valid email address for the approved parent will need to be provided at the start of the request form. This email address will be used to contact the parent to complete their portion of the form.

Once the student and parent complete the form, it will be sent to the Financial Aid Office for processing. Processing may take up to 14 business days. The loan may be tracked through the student's myBC.

Please be advised that we have stopped processing Parent PLUS Loans for the 2023-2024 year.

Broward College disburses all Federal Student Aid, including loans, after class attendance has been verified for each session in a term.

Disbursement typically occurs 4-6 weeks after classes have begun. Loans covering two semesters are disbursed in two separate and equal amounts.

Parents will be asked to authorize the disbursement of PLUS Loan funds to their students.

Broward College has the right to deny any student Federal Student Aid when fraud is suspected. The student will be responsible for repayment to the school should the loan be canceled and debt is incurred.