Parent Loans

If you are a dependent student and your financial aid doesn’t meet your full cost of attendance, your parent may be able to take out a federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) if they so choose. PLUS Loans are available to provide a parent with additional resources to help pay the educational expenses of an undergraduate child, who is enrolled at least half time. Since the parent is the borrower, the responsibility of repaying PLUS Loans rests with the parent rather than the student. The Office of Student Financial Services will pursue other options of aid for you before calculating PLUS Loan eligibility. PLUS eligibility is a last resort.

To be eligible to receive a PLUS Loan, a parent will be required to pass a credit check. If for some reason the PLUS Loan is denied, you may have the option to borrow additional unsubsidized Stafford Loans in your own name. A copy of the PLUS Loan denial from the lender is required for us to confirm your additional unsubsidized Stafford Loan eligibility.

The maximum PLUS Loan you may receive for this school year is shown on your financial aid award letter. Please check for that amount. Certainly, your parent may borrow less than the maximum in order to keep the loan debt at a minimum. The maximum amount is equal to the student’s cost of attendance minus any other financial aid received. For example, if the cost of attendance is $8,000 and the student receives $5,000 in other financial aid, you may be able to borrow up to $3,000. The Student Financial Services Office calculates cost of attendance.

Repayment on a PLUS Loan starts within 60 days upon disbursement. Some lenders have interest only payment options for up to four years. The PLUS Loan interest rate is variable and could change each year of repayment, but by law it will never exceed 8.5 percent.

To Apply for a PLUS Loan

To apply for a PLUS Loan, a Master Promissory Note Application must be completed. This application will remain effective for 10 years, unless a new lender is chosen, or the student changes schools. PLUS Loan disbursements will be split in two equal payments, and funds will be sent to the school via Electronic Funds Transfer. The following is list of PLUS lenders from which you may choose. Once you have chosen a lender you and are ready to apply for the PLUS Loan, simply click on the lenders Web site and follow the instructions regarding a Federal Parent Plus Application & Master Promissory Note. The PLUS Loan is a credit worthy loan, so the lender will inform SWOSU of the approval or denial. An unsubsidized student loan will be made available to the student upon denial.

Lender:	ID Code:	Phone	Secondary Market:
BancFirst	820238	(800) 940-9404	OSLA
Stillwater National Bank	809081	(800) 891-1410	Sallie Mae
Wachovia	830005	(800) 338-2243

For more information, contact Rhonda Waters in Student Financial Services (580) 774-3789.