Click here
to review the difference between the PLUS Loan and Alternative Loans.
PLUS Loans enable
parents with good credit histories to borrow to pay the education
expenses of each child who is a dependent
undergraduate student enrolled at least half time.
All financial aid
is awarded subject to acceptance or readmission to the University as a
regular degree seeking student. A student is eligible for financial
assistance if she/he maintains satisfactory
academic progress. This progress is reviewed at the end of each
spring and/or summer term for the succeeding academic year.
Satisfactory progress for financial aid
purposes requires that the student maintain a minimum gpa and make
progress toward their degree.
The minimum
Satisfactory Academic Progress standards
required to receive aid is available from the
Financial Aid Web
Site. It is also listed in the Academic Policies section of the
Radford University Catalog. Fall applicants who failed to meet the
minimum standards will have their academic
records reviewed at the end of fall semester. At this time financial
assistance, if available, may be awarded to students who have reached
the satisfactory level. A student who wishes to appeal the denial of
financial aid must first have his/her case reviewed by their
Financial Aid Counselor. If the student is not
satisfied with the Director's decision, a further appeal can be made to
the Director of Financial Aid. The appeal form is available in the
Financial Aid Office or on the
RU Financial Aid
website.
Yes. To be eligible to
receive a PLUS Loan, your parents generally will be required to pass a
credit check. If they don't pass the credit check, they might
still be able to receive a loan if someone, such as a relative or friend
who is able to pass the credit check, agrees to endorse the loan,
promising to repay it if your parents should fail to do so. Your parents
might also qualify for a loan even if they don't pass the credit check
if they can demonstrate that extenuating circumstances exist. You must
meet the general Undergraduate eligibility
requirements (Graduate students are not eligible for PLUS Loans) for
federal student financial aid. Your parents must also meet some of these
general requirements. For example, your parents must meet citizenship
requirements and may not be in default or owe
a refund to any SFA Program.
If your parent is denied
a Parent Loan, you may apply for an additional
unsubsidized StaffordLoan. You will need
to send a copy of the denial to the RU Financial Aid Office, complete
the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA), and complete an "Additional Loan Request" form
that may be obtained from the RU Financial Aid Office.
The yearly limit on a
PLUS Loan is equal to your cost of attendance
minus any other financial aid you receive. For example, if your cost of
attendance is $6,000 and you receive $4,000 in other financial aid, your
parents could borrow up to--but no more than--$2,000. You may want to
use one of the calculators that are available on the
cost of attendance page.
The interest rate for
loans disbursed after July 1, 2006 is fixed at 8.5%. Interest is charged
on the loan from the date the first disbursement is made until the loan
is paid in full.
To estimate
payments on a PLUS Loan, you may use the payment calculators on the
finaid website. PLUS
loans have a maximum repayment period of up to 10 years. Repayment
begins 60 days after the loan is disbursed.
For a FFEL PLUS
Loan, the loan funds will be sent to RU by the lender. In most cases,
the loan will be disbursed in at least two installments (no installment
can be greater than half the loan amount). The funds will first be used
to pay for your tuition and fees, room and board, and other school
charges. If any loan money remains, your parents will receive the
amount as a check or in cash, unless they authorize it to be released to
you or to be put in your school account. Any remaining loan money must
be used for your education expenses.
At Radford
University most lenders send loan funds by Electroinc Transfer. Parents using lenders, who do not participate in Electronic Fund
Transfer, will will send the funds by paper check to Radford University.
These checks are co-payable to Radford University and the parent. When
the parent applies for the PLUS Loan, student accounts will contact the
parent regarding the disbursement of the funds. When the Student
Accounts Office receives the PLUS Loan money, a letter will be sent to
the parent indicating that the funds have been received. If the PLUS
Loan money is delivered by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT), any money
owed to Radford University will be automatically deducted from the loan
amount before the excess money is deposited in the student's checking or
savings account. If the PLUS Loan funds are delivered as a check and the
student owes money to Radford University on his/her student account, the
check will be sent to the parent for their endorsement and then returned
to Radford University to be applied to the student's account. After all
charges are paid, a refund will be sent to the student, unless the
parent has made other arrangements with Student Accounts. If the PLUS
Loan funds are delivered as a check and the student does not owe
anything on their student account, the check will be endorsed by Radford
University and forwarded to the parent.
Yes. Radford
University will notify your parents in writing whenever it credits your
account with your PLUS Loan funds. Your parents may cancel all or a
portion of their loan by informing your school that they wish to do so
within 14 days after the date that Radford University sends this notice,
or by the first day of the payment period, whichever is later. Your
school can tell you the first day of your payment period. If your
parents receive PLUS Loan funds directly by check, they may refuse the
funds by not endorsing the check.
Your parents will pay
a fee of up to 4 percent of the loan. This fee is deducted
proportionately each time a loan payment is made. For a PLUS Loan, a
portion of this fee goes to the federal government to help reduce the
cost of the loans. Also, if your parents don't make their loan payments
when they're scheduled, they may be charged collection costs and late
fees.
Generally, repayment
must begin within 60 days after the final loan disbursement for the
academic year. There is no grace period for these loans. This means
that interest begins to accumulate at the time the first disbursement is
made. Your parents must begin repaying both principal and interest
while you're in school.
Yes. Under certain
circumstances, your parents can receive a
deferment or forbearanceon their loan. Some conditions for
eligibility and procedures for requesting a deferment or forbearance
that apply to Stafford Loans also apply to PLUS Loans. However, since
all PLUS Loans are unsubsidized, your parents will be charged interest
during periods of deferment or forbearance. If they do not pay the
interest as it accrues, it will be capitalized.
Yes, under certain
circumstances. A discharge releases your parents from all obligation to
repay the loan. A complete listing of discharge conditions is given in
the Discharge/Cancellation Summary.
Your parents' loan
cannot be discharged because you didn't complete your program of study
at your school (unless you were unable to complete the program because
the school closed), didn't like the school or the program of study, or
didn't obtain employment after completing the program of study.
For more
information about loan discharge or repayment, Radford University PLUS
Loan borrowers should contact the lenders or agencies that hold their
loans.
Your parents may apply
for a PLUS Loan on the web if the lender allows web applications.
Otherwise, you may obtain a loan application from the lender. You will also need to
file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This can be
done at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
RU will evaluate
student eligibility, complete the school information, and send the
application to the lender or guarantee agency for evaluation. Families
do not have to establish need to obtain a PLUS Loan, however, there are
several edits, such as citizenship that must be checked before we can
certify a PLUS loan. This is done through the FAFSA application.
The
Financial Aid Office will process any appropriate loan application that
you submit. To check the status of your PLUS Loan application at
Radford University, you may use the Radford University
Student Information system.
Although you are borrowing from a lender, many lenders contract with
other agencies to collect the loans. Servicers will be the ones that
you will be working with during repayment of your loan. Lenders may
also sell your loans to other organizations, so it is very important to
review materials that you receive from your lender or servicer.
Radford University will certify a loan for you through any lender that
you choose.
Lender
previously used by Radford University students:
AMS
Bank of America
Bayport Federal Credit Union
Chartway Federal Credit Union
Chase
Citibank
Citizens Banik
Discover Student Loan
Dupont Community Federal Credit Union
EdAmerica
EFSI
Key Bank
Langley Federal Credit Union
Navy Federal Credit Union
Nelnet
NellieMae
Northwest Federal Credit Union
NW Federal Credit Union
PNC Bank
Pentagon Federal Credit Union
Richmond Postal Credit Union
Sandy Spring Bank
Salem VA Medical Center Credit Union
Salliemae
Southwest Student Services
Suntrust Bank
Wachovia Bank
Although the Federal
PLUS Loan program has federally mandated options, such as interest
rates, many lenders offer additional benefits for the loans. Lenders
can change these benefits at any time and without notice. These
benefits may be offered at this time for Radford University students and
may not be offered for borrowers attending other institutions.
Click here for the list of lenders.
The lender will
arrange a repayment schedule. The schedule will provide for a
minimum of $600 to be paid annually and a maximum repayment period of 10
years (excluding periods of deferment and forbearance).
To estimate
payments on a PLUS Loan, you may use the payment calculator on the
finaid page. PLUS loans
have a maximum repayment period of up to 10 years. The current interest
rate is fixed at 8.5%. Repayment begins 60 days after the loan is
disbursed.