Understanding
Direct Graduate PLUS loans are fixed low interest rate loans (7.9%) that graduate students can obtain to help pay for their own education. Graduate students may borrow a Graduate PLUS loan up to the cost of attendance minus other financial aid received. They also must have applied for their annual maximum eligibility of subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loan amounts before applying for a Graduate PLUS loan.
Graduate PLUS loans require a credit check and, in some instances, an eligible cosigner. An origination fee is withheld from the loan. Repayment of Graduate PLUS loans begins following the final disbursement for the year if the fall and spring Graduate PLUS loan amounts are equal. If the student chooses to borrow unequal amounts for fall and spring, each loan will go into repayment separately 60 days after it is disbursed. Graduate students may request to defer repayment of their Graduate PLUS loans until after the student is no longer enrolled in school at least half time, although interest will continue to accrue.
Accepting
To accept the Graduate PLUS loan students must accept or reduce the loan on the online Award Notification, found under the My Personal Records tab of MyUNIverse.
Students should complete a PLUS Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN) at www.dlenote.ed.gov and the UNI Graduate PLUS Loan Disbursement Agreement Form (available upon request from the Office of Student Financial Aid).
Graduate students must also complete Graduate PLUS Loan entrance counseling at www.dl.ed.gov. This entrance counseling is in addition to Direct Loan Entrance Counseling that is also required for first-time borrowers of Direct Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized) at UNI.
Graduate students will sign only one PLUS MPN that will be used for all Graduate PLUS loans at UNI. By using the PLUS MPN, students will not need to sign and submit a separate promissory note for each new loan. However, a UNI Graduate PLUS Loan Disbursement Agreement Form must be completed with each new loan.