<li><p>If a person has a PLUS loan, does that impact that person’s ability to get a mortgage down the road (the parent I mean)?</p></li>
<li><p>When should one apply for a PLUS loan if the college requires payment August 1?</p></li>
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<p>Zoosermom, I think that the PLUS loan will show up on a credit report – so its impact on the ability to get a mortgage would really depend on amount of overall income – mortgages are granted based on debt to income ratio.<br>
See: <a href=“http://homebuying.about.com/cs/mortgagearticles/a/debt_to_income.htm[/url]”>http://homebuying.about.com/cs/mortgagearticles/a/debt_to_income.htm</a></p>
<p>Basically it would depend on what your PLUS loan payments were, as a percentage of your overall income. </p>
<p>As to the application, usually the college will give you a list of preferred or suggested lenders, and if you are o.k. with them, you just send the forms back to the college or follow whatever instructions they give you. So as long as the college knows you are planning a PLUS loan, you are o.k. Your bill from the Bursar will have a line in it reflecting the anticipated loan amount, and they will accept the payment whenever the lender typically sends it. </p>
<p>You are free to shop for your own lender, but unless you find a better deal somewhere else, I think one advantage of working with a lender on the college’s short list is that their bursar is used to working with that lender, so things should go fairly smoothly.</p>
<p>zoosermom, you may want to consider one of the tuition payment plans. They take a small $60 or so handling fee and then divide the tuition into monthly payments. If you start the payments in June, the payments are spread out over more months than if you start in August. There is no interest in the payment plan. That might allow you to make a few payments while you get the PLUS loan set up, or to save a bit of interest if you can make a few payments without the loan.</p>