The U.S. Department of Education makes Direct Graduate PLUS Loans available to continuing graduate students. The Graduate PLUS Loan allows graduate students to borrow up to the full cost of education minus other Financial Aid received. The PLUS loan requires a credit check that is valid for 180 days.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3 or OBBBA), sometimes also referred to as the "Working Families Tax Cuts" Act, which was signed into law on July 4, 2025, eliminates the Graduate PLUS loan program for new borrowers. Legacy Provision: If a borrower has a Federal Direct Loan made before July 1, 2026, while enrolled in the same program of study, the borrower can continue to borrow from the program for 3 academic years or the remainder of their expected time to credential, whichever is less.
How to Apply
To apply for a Graduate PLUS Loan, you must:
- Determine the PLUS loan eligibility amount which is shown on the Financial Aid Award Letter.
- Visit Studentaid.gov and log in with your FSA ID and password.
- Proceed to “Apply for a PLUS Loan”.
- Complete a Graduate PLUS Master Promissory Note.
If approved, our office will receive an electronic update of your completed loan application. Generally, we receive this information within 5-7 business days.
Denied Applications
If your application was denied, you will be notified immediately and will be presented with two options:
- Appeal: Log into Studentaid.gov and select "Document Extenuating Circumstances" and follow the instructions.
- Endorser: Obtain an endorser who does not have an adverse credit history. An endorser is someone who agrees to repay the PLUS Loan if you cannot repay it (similar to a cosigner). Have the endorser create an FSA ID, and then log into Studentaid.gov and select "Endorse a PLUS Loan".
*If the loan was endorsed or you completed a successful credit appeal, you must complete the PLUS Counseling through Studentaid.gov.
Interest Rate and Origination Fee
The interest rate depends on when the loan was first disbursed. Visit the Federal Student Aid website for information about current and past interest rates. Interest rates are determined each spring for new loans being made for the upcoming award year, which runs from July 1 to the following June 30. Each loan has a fixed interest rate for the life of the loan.
The Department of Education charges an "Origination fee" on all Direct PLUS Loans. The loan fee is a percentage of the loan amount and is proportionately deducted from each loan disbursement. See the Federal Student Aid website for the current loan fee percentages.
Loan Cancellation
If you have accepted a student or PLUS loan but would like to cancel it, you may cancel within 120 days of the funds first being disbursed. You may do so by submitting a Loan Cancellation/Reduction Form to our office. This is found in the Forms tab of our website.
If you cancel within 120 days, you do not have to pay interest or the loan fee on the part of your loan that is cancelled. Loans cancelled with our office will be charged back to your student BARC account for repayment. We will notify your loan servicer of the cancelled loan.
After 120 days: Please contact your loan servicer for guidance on how and where to return your loan money. You will be responsible for any interest that has accrued from the date of disbursement. Please note that you should not cancel your loan with our office and must repay your loan servicer.
Repayment
Repayment for Graduate Plus Loans begins six months after a student leaves school or drops below half-time enrollment.
Information about your loans will be submitted to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), and will be accessible by guaranty agencies, lenders, and schools determined to be authorized users of the data system. Please visit StudentAid.gov to view your borrowed loan amounts, disbursement dates, and who your federal loan servicer is as well as their contact information.
The federal loan servicer is assigned by the Department of Education, and they handle matters related to billing and repayment of your loans. If you have questions about changing your repayment plan, loan consolidation or if you qualify for loan forgiveness please talk to your servicer.
We suggest you utilize Federal Student Aid's Repayment Estimator while you are in school to see approximately how much a month you will owe when you graduate or leave UCSB.