The Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan is a credit-based federal loan that can be used in combination with a Federal Stafford Loan to finance your entire Cost of Education. To apply for a Grad PLUS loan, follow the steps in our financial aid checklist.
Before you will be eligible for a Grad PLUS loan, you must first exhaust your annual and/or lifetime aggregate Federal Stafford Loan eligibility. You are required to renew your Grad PLUS loan annually.
Eligibility for Grad PLUS Loan
- Have applied for the subsidized Stafford Loan
- Must not have an adverse credit history
- May use an endorser if you have an adverse credit history
- No debt-to-income limits apply
- No credit score limits apply
Loan Amounts Available
The annual limit of the Grad PLUS Loan is the Cost of Education of the program for which you are applying at Fielding. There is no lifetime limit on the Grad PLUS Loan.
Interest Rate
The interest rate for the Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan is a fixed rate of 7.9%.
Since private student loans often have variable interest rates, the fixed rate of the Grad PLUS loan allows for better debt management and can result in significant savings.
Loan Origination Fee
The Department of Education charges a 4.0% origination fee on all Direct Grad PLUS loans with an instant rebate of 1.5%. This causes an actual reduction of 2.5% in the amount of funds
disbursed. The instant rebate is intended to allow students access to
more funds up front, and to encourage prompt repayment habits. The
rebate may be added back into the loan if the first 12 payments are not
made in a timely manner.