{"id":385,"date":"2018-04-24T19:14:59","date_gmt":"2018-04-24T19:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/financial-aid\/?page_id=385"},"modified":"2026-05-04T15:08:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T15:08:31","slug":"graduate-plus-loan","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/financial-aid\/graduate-plus-loan\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduate Plus Loan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"section\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p><em>Please note that the reconciliation bill passed on July 4, 2025 has provisions which will change how the Graduate PLUS Loan can be used.\u00a0 Please review the section below titled \u201cChanges for 2026-2027\u201d to learn more.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Who can borrow<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1.25rem; font-weight: 400;\">Graduate students can borrow a federal Graduate PLUS Loan to help pay for their educational expenses as long as they:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"section\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<ul>\n<li>Have already applied for their annual federal Direct Student Loans<\/li>\n<li>Are matriculated in a master\u2019s or PhD program; certificate programs are excluded<\/li>\n<li>Are enrolled at least half time (at least six credit hours per term)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"section\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<h2>How it works<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"section\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<ul>\n<li>Credit approval is required to receive the Graduate PLUS loan<\/li>\n<li>Students can borrow up to the cost of attendance minus any financial aid already awarded<\/li>\n<li>The interest rate for the 2025-2026 academic year is 8.94% as of July 1, 2025<\/li>\n<li>There is an origination fee of 4.228%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"section\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<h2>When to apply<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"section\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p>Students should not apply any earlier than 90 days before the start of the term for which the loan is needed. Credit approvals are only viable for that amount of time. If the loan is applied for too early, the credit approval will become invalid and you will need to submit a new Graduate PLUS online application for processing. Please also factor in time for the Financial Aid Office to review your submitted FAFSA, which must occur before your Graduate PLUS application can be processed.<\/p>\n<h2>How to apply<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"section\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<ul>\n<li>Submit the Graduate PLUS <a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/app\/launchPLUS.action?plusType=gradPlus\">application<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Click the blue \u2018Log In\u2019 button to complete the PLUS Request Process<\/li>\n<li>Students must have a federal PIN and must have already submitted a FAFSA to submit a Graduate PLUS application<\/li>\n<li>If needed, please see the \u2018Apply for PIN\u2019 link under \u2018Tools and Resources.\u2019 on that site<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"section\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<h2>What\u2019s next<\/h2>\n<p>Once the application is submitted online, we will be notified electronically regarding the amount requested and whether the loan was approved or denied. Please note that the loan amount requested is assumed to be for the entire academic year. The PLUS loan will be set up evenly across all the terms in which you are enrolled at least half time during the academic year. The total of your PLUS loan and other financial aid cannot exceed the cost of attendance for each eligible term. If your needs change after the PLUS loan application is submitted, please contact your financial aid counselor and detail any required updates.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"button button--blue ghost-button--blue\" href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/understand-aid\/types\/loans\/plus\/grad\">Additional PLUS Loan Information<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Changes for 2026-2027<\/h2>\n<p>There are several changes that will be occurring for the 2026-2027 academic year in the Federal Graduate PLUS loan program based on the recent passing of\u00a0 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, 2025.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be sending out more information over the course of the current academic year as we learn more about the changes, but here is what we do know:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The Graduate PLUS loan program will cease to be a borrowing option on July 1, 2026, which will impact Fall 2026, Spring 2027, Summer 2027, and beyond*<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The Direct Unsubsidized annual loan limits will be capped at $20,500 for graduate students and $50,000 for professional students.*<\/li>\n<li>The Direct Unsubsidized aggregate limit is capped at $100,000 for graduate students and $200,000 for professional students, and does not include amounts borrowed as an undergraduate (Borrowers who are both graduate and professional students at some point in their educational careers may only borrow up to $200,000 in total for graduate and professional school)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>*There is a legacy provision that if a borrower has a Graduate PLUS loan or a Direct Unsubsidized Loan made before July 1, 2026, while enrolled in a credentialed program, the borrower can continue to borrow from the program for 3 academic year or the remainder of their expected time to credential (graduate), whichever is less.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Please note that the reconciliation bill passed on July 4, 2025 has provisions which will change how the Graduate PLUS Loan can be used.\u00a0 Please review the section below titled&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-385","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Graduate PLUS Loan | URochester Financial Aid &amp; 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