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Northern Illinois University

Student Financial Aid

PLUS Loan To Do List:

  1. Complete the FAFSA by March 1 (priority filing date).
    • NIU's School Code is 001737
  2. Fill out the Parent PLUS Loan Request Form
  3. Complete a Master Promissory Note
  4. Check your NIU e-mail account for important messages from the NIU Student Financial Aid office.
  5. Check your MyNIU account for awarding to be applied to your Bursar account.

Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans

PLUS Loans are federally guarenteed loans that parents can obtain to help pay for the cost of education for their dependent, undergraduate children.

Eligibility

  • Parents of dependent undergraduate students  
  • Enrolled at least half-time
  • Borrower must not have a negative credit history

Loan Funds

Direct PLUS Loans are calculated as follows:

Student's Cost of Attendance

- Other Student Aid Received

= Maximum Loan Amount

The interest rates for PLUS loans are:

  • A fixed rate of 7.9%*

*For loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2006.

Length of Repayment

The amount of time to repay the PLUS Loan depends on the amount of funds that were received and the type of repayment plan that was selected.

The length of repayment typically is between 10 and 25 years.

PLUS Denied

If a Parent applies for the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan and is denied, due to adverse credit it may be possible for a dependent student to borrow an additional amount of Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. 
 
Freshman/Sophomore - Up to $4,000 
Junior/Senior - Up to $5,000

The annual maximum allowable loan limit will be replaced by the independent student maximum allowable loan limit at the same class level.

PLUS Loan Resources