Hi a quick question for some of the more experienced parents. I will have to take a parent plus loan for Ds college. Her first choice is an OOS state school. I am worried because i came out of a long drawn out bad divorce with a bankruptsy ( 2010) not great credit and now medical bills outstanding. I will not have a cosigner for about 15k. I can not put the application in until May 1 for her #1 choice. Choice 2 is a private school about 20 min away from us which is twice the cost but with her awards and scholarships and if she lives at home I will only have to take $6k loan. We want to go for the OOS school because it is the degree and program she wants and she loves the school and area. So the dilemma is she has to decide by may 1 for all her choices and scholarships and the #1 school I can’t apply for the plus loan until May 1. And what happens if it doesn’t go through? My option is to put the $300 down for a school number two. In case school number ones loan does not go through. The deposit is nonrefundable after May 1. But the interesting thing is school number two I could apply for the parent plus loan now. I did it the other day and got a letter back saying my credit was approved via Equfax Inwood now just depend on information from the school. At this point they don’t even know how much I would be borrowing because we had not excepted the scholarships and financial aid formerly. With school too. So I’m assuming that they went with the possible full price of tuition which is twice the amount that I would be borrowing from for school one. So if I got approved for school to… In theory I would get approved for school one at half the price? Does that letter generally mean that the application will go through? And now that I have one application in for the plus loan for school to… Will it be a problem if I apply for the plus loan for school one? Aauughhhh so confused… And feeling the pressure of the May 1 deadline. I just don’t want her to end up not having anywhere to go. And all her options for her programs gone.
You are probably not going to like my answer…but here goes.
You already have debt and financial issues. Do NOT NOT NOT take out any additional loans. This is just digging YOUR hole deeper.
All you will be gaining with a Parent Plus Loan is more debt. You have enough of that a ready.
What is this special degree that is only offered at this one school? Most college kids switch majors at least once during college.
Do any instate schools offer this program? Instate tuition should be cheaper.
Thank you for your input. And I understand your suggestion. The loan will be affordable to me and is budgeted in. My credit is improving as the ex was the one doing unscrupulous things with credit cards etc and used our children’s college savings for his own uses. So taking the loan isn’t the question at this point.
My D is going for BFA program that she had to audition to be accepted to. ( she was academically accepted to 16 schools had 8 choices of accepted programs and our two top choices have been carefully researched and well thought out with regards to cost.) She has made good choices So that’s not up for debate at this time either.
i am looking for someone with knowledge of the process in regards to the credit approval/acceptance letter I got. Thanks in advance
@mommdc one instate school does. They take 8 into the program. D auditioned and did not get in. This OOS public school is comparable in price after her grants and scholarships are figured in. She also is finalist for a few more scholarships so the loan would be much less but we won’t know for sure until after the May 1 deadline
@TaylorsmomWI , did you do the online PLUS application through the federal site? If so, the credit check is good for six months, and it is the one all schools will use.
So the school OOS is UAB. No WI in-state options?
When will your other child(ren) be in college, and do you expect to get loans for them the way you will be for this D?
What is the cost for UAB, and what is your cost after grants/scholarships are applied? What is the total amount of loans that will need to be taken for this school?
We are in a similar situation where we had a bankruptcy 4 years ago, but have been rebuilding since. According to the guidelines it would need to be 5 years since bankruptcy to be approved. Does anyone know if we could still be approved without a cosigner? Credit score is around 650 and improving. Also, what impact does applying have on your credit score. I don’t want to apply to any more loans than need be. Also, what are the chances of me being to cosign a student loan for my S?
@CTTC yes it’s for UAB. only one instate in Wi offers the BFA (by audition only) and she was not accepted. Our other two Wi options she was accepted to are both private schools. The one close to us that she could live at home is a BA program and will be her option if financing does not go through for UAB. I have no other children that will be going to college. No outstanding loans. No credit card debt. Two steady jobs and rebuilding credit. My contribution via loan and/or direct payments will be about $15k/year and is in my budget.
@kelsmom yes we did the application through the designated website with our FAFSA Id and info. So if the much more expensive school was approved without having them knowing how much scholarship and grant she would be getting ( and I assume since its a drop down choice on that website they have the info on what current tuition rates for rah school COULD be ) in theory I would be approved for the other school at at least 2/3 less. Thank you for the info!
And looking at my original post… I have to apologize for all the typo and misspelled words. I was using voice recognition and evidently my smart phone is not as smart as I would like. Lol
Why do you have to wait until May 1 to apply? You do not have to have accepted the offer of admission to apply for the PLUS loan.
If you are denied a Plus loan, your daughter will be able to take an additional $4000 in Stafford loans. That would get her almost all the way there for the school you only need $6000 for. If you each earn $1000th is summer extra, you’d have the amount needed.
@twoinanddone On the college loan website when I pick UAB it pops up a msg saying you cannot apply for this loan until May 1 2016. So out of curiosity I tried the #2 school and they did not have a restriction like that and it went through.
I did find out about the additional Stafford loans available for her if I get denied. We would have SOME savings to put toward the rest, I will make payments directly and D is also willing to sell her car and use that $ too. The less expensive option I would just make payments throughout the year no problem. It will work out either way. the timing just sucks with the May 1 deadlines
The one school that offered us PLUS loan and the national info says if you get turned down for PLUS loan the school usually makes it up in aid,etc…so that might not be that big of deal and you should ask the financial aid office. Also…we had one school telling us to do PLUS loan and we asked instead for more student loan and a little more cash aid and they met our needs. Worth asking. 
@IowaMom66 are you saying a school could make up the denied Plus Loan with its own increased aid? To be honest, I’ve never heard of that happening, and would love to hear from others if this is really true.
Many times, families are using the Parent Plus to fund their family contribution. Colleges usually won’t provide any kind of aid to fund the family contribution…they expect the family to pay that…and yes, part of how the family pays can be loans.
I think the OPs concern is that she might not have enough money IF she is denied the Plus for her kiddo to go,to,the number one choice school…and might not have the definitive Plus loan answer before May 1.
here: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/plus#adverse-credit
Can I still receive a Direct PLUS Loan if I have an adverse credit history?
A credit check will be performed during the application process. If you have an adverse credit history, you may still receive a Direct PLUS Loan through one of these two options:
1.Obtaining an endorser who does not have an adverse credit history. An endorser is someone who agrees to repay the Direct PLUS Loan if you do not repay it. If you are a parent borrower, the endorser cannot be the child on whose behalf you are borrowing.
2.Documenting to the satisfaction of the U.S. Department of Education that there are extenuating circumstances relating to your adverse credit history.
With either option 1 or option 2, you also must complete credit counseling for PLUS loan borrowers on the StudentLoans.gov website.
If a parent borrower is unable to obtain a PLUS loan, the undergraduate dependent student may be eligible for additional unsubsidized loans. The student should contact the school’s financial aid office for more information.
In our case I didn’t want to do PLUS loan for financial reasons and asked the school to increase my child’s loans and give us more $ and they did. It is highly selective school and I was surprised. My point is not that it is guarantee but she could certainly call the FA office at the school and simply ask , “If I am turned down for PLUS loan, are there other options for my child?”
I did talk to them and they did say she would be eligible for $4k in additional loans in her name if the plus did not get approved. and they were able to add an additional scholarship to help at this point as well. It all boils down to that may 1 deadline. I should probably just put the $300 deposit down for school 2 as a piece of mind insurance with no expectation of a refund if the plus loan is approved for school 1.
I didn’t hear that the schools,in question guaranteed to meet full need for all @IowaMom66. Most of the colleges on your daughters list do so.
Also, some of these colleges do not include the Direct Loans…or include only subsidized Direct Loans. Getting these added is pretty much guaranteed at any school…if you didn’t get them initially.
I could be wrong…but my impression from the OPs posts is that her kiddo was already offers the full Direct Loan of $5500 as a freshman.
The underwriting process for a Parent PLUS loan isn’t particularly stringent. They don’t look at credit score, ability to repay, or any debt to income ratios, so the difference in amount of the loan between the schools is not particularly relevant. They’re really looking just to see if you have an “adverse credit history.” If you haven’t already, you can see what they’re looking for here: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/plus-adverse-credit.pdf
I tell my grad students that they are not checking for good credit - they are checking for bad credit.