Graduate PLUS Loans

Graduate PLUS loans for graduate students are a realistic way for you to fund your education. Being able to continue and complete an advanced degree can aid you with getting the job you really want. That makes sense given the fact that most people will have to work for several decades before they retire. You want to go to a job you love every day, and get paid well for it.

A step in the right direction though is to complete graduate school. If you have been considering it, you already know that it is can be very costly. With Federal graduate PLUS loans though you may have found the means of getting those courses paid for. Keep in mind that this is a loan – which means you will have to repay though funds over time after you complete school. If you don’t finish graduate school you will still have to repay the funds.

The Graduate PLUS Loan program is guaranteed by the Federal government. It offers a low interest loan program that allows people to get the financial help the feel that they need. While this type of loan program isn’t need based, the schools often require a FAFSA to be completed first.

They do this because it makes more sense for students to take advantage of any free funds such as a Pell Grant or scholarship that they may be eligible for before considering taking out funds through loan programs since they will have to repay them. The total cost of the education for the year less any other forms of financial aid the student can receive determines how much they are eligible to borrow through Graduate PLUS Loans.

Grad PLUS Loans require Good Credit

Graduate students need to realize that in order to be eligible for this type of funding though they need to have very good credit. They don’t need to have a co-signer though which is a big advantage. Many private lender student loans for graduate school require a co-signer. However, if your first application is denied for a Grad PLUS loan you can consider applying again with a co-signer.

There is no collateral that is given for a Graduate PLUS Loan. With that in mind, lenders have to be careful who they allocate those available funds to. They are going to be more likely to offer them to those that have stable credit histories than those that don’t seem to be able to pay their bills on time.

The interest rate for this type of loan is fixed at about 7.9%. This fixed rate means that graduate students don’t have to be worried about variable rates over time that can be very high and cost them a fortune in interest as they try to repay the funds that they have borrowed. The payments can be deferred while the student is in college.

Typically the first payment is 6 months after school ends – either by completing the graduate program or leaving school for various reasons. Keep track of your interest though as most of the time that money paid in can be used as a deduction on your income taxes. Talk to the agency that prepares your taxes to see if your circumstances qualify you for such a deduction.

When a student is eligible for this type of Grad PLUS loan, the funds will go directly to the school they will be attending. Generally the loan funds are dispersed in at least two installments. No single payment will be to cover more than half of the funds that the student is to receive for a given school year.

The cost of tuition, housing, books, fees, and even travel for the program can all be part of what the funds are used for. If you are interested in graduate school then don’t let the cost of it hold you back. Federal Graduate PLUS loans are designed to open up that door so that you can walk through it stress free and excited about your future.