Parent's Page
Federal Parent PLUS Loan Information
Electronic PLUS Application |Paper PLUS Application
The Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) is a federal loan for parents to borrow on behalf of their dependent students. The parent PLUS loan has a fixed interest rate of 8.5%. For parents to be eligible to borrow this loan, students must be enrolled at least halftime (6+ credit hours) and have submitted a FAFSA. Parents must be a U.S. citizen or national, a U.S. permanent resident, or an eligible non-citizen and pass a credit check. A 3% origination fee and up to 1% federal default fee will be deducted from the loan amount.
It is important to note that PSU will not certify a PLUS loan based on a pre-approval which a parent may have obtained from a lender. If you have already obtained a pre-approval, please understand that another credit check will need to be done by the guarantor associated with the lender you chose in order to process your PLUS loan.
The maximum amount a parent can request in a PLUS loan is the student's Cost of Attendance minus any other Financial Aid and/or scholarships they are awarded.
PLUS loans do not become a final part of the award unless a parent chooses to apply and is approved for the PLUS loan by a qualifying lender.
To apply for a PLUS loan, complete the PLUS loan application after the student receives their final award notification, indicate the amount of PLUS loan, the lender you wish to use, and the payment method you wish to use. Remaining funds, after a students account balance has been paid, can be delivered to either the student via their student account, or the parent in the form of a paper check.
The information on the PLUS loan application will be sent to the guarantor agency associated with the lender selected. Following a credit check, the PLUS loan will either be approved or denied. If it is approved, the guarantor will mail out a Master Promissory Note (MPN) to be signed. The MPN must be completed and returned to the lender. If the PLUS loan is denied, parents will receive notification from the guarantor informing them of the reason(s), with information about what to do to dispute the outcome.
FAFSA | Step One
PSU requires all PLUS loan applicants to complete the FAFSA. A PLUS loan application will not be processed before a FAFSA is received by PSU and the student has been offered an award.
Completing the PLUS loan application | Step Two
Complete the PLUS loan application once your dependent student has been awarded. During the application process, you must select a lender for your federal PLUS loan.
Lender Options | Parent borrowers have the right to use the lender of their choice for their Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) PLUS loan. When choosing a lender for your federal loan, please comparison shop. For an extensive list of lenders participating in the FFLEP loan program, please visit the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs
Choose your Lender | The PSU Office of Student Financial Aid has established a Preferred Lender list that is composed of lenders that we have established working relationships with and are familiar with our processing module. That means we expect quick processing of loans with some of the best terms for students and parents and great customer service. Preferred lender selection criteria. During the PLUS loan application process, you will have the opportunity to either select a PSU preferred lender or enter information for a different lender. To read about a selected PSU preferred lender PLUS loan benefit option, click on the lender name below.
If you are ready to apply for the PLUS loan, click on this: PLUS Application You will be leaving the PSU website and will be redirected to our Guarantor partner's website to complete the PLUS application process.
Master Promissory Note | Step Three
Once you have applied for a parent PLUS loan with Portland State University and it has been approved by your lender, you will need to complete a master promissory note (MPN) for the funds to be disbursed to the school.
If you applied and received a PLUS loan last year and are using the same lender this year, you will not need to resign your MPN. If this is either the first year you are applying for the PLUS or you have selected a different lender, you will need to sign a new MPN
Signing your PLUS loan MPN
If you selected a preferred lender to fund your PLUS loan you can sign your MPN online. If your lender has approved your PLUS loan, you will be receiving MPN information via mail detailing both your e-sign and paper signature options. If you have not selected a PSU preferred lender to fund your PLUS loan, contact your lender for your MPN signature options.
e-signing your PLUS loan MPN online | Begin PLUS MPN e-sign
Your PSU preferred PLUS lender MPN will be ready for you to e-sign via OpenNet generally five business days after you submit the PLUS loan application to PSU. If it has been five business days since you submitted your PLUS loan application to PSU and you are ready to complete your PLUS loan MPN online, click on the begin PLUS MPN e-sign link above.