PLUS loan for grad and professional students.

[blacktooth]

hi people!!
does anyone know how to apply for the new "plus loan for grad and professional students?" it's similar to the plus loan for parents of students by the US government. if you are a citizen or green card holder, it's an excellent choice after fafsa to cover up for your remaining expenses. i know citibank is of the lenders but boston university, school of dental medicine is not on their list.anybody going to boston university applying for this loan?? any info appreciated.

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[phildent]

hi people!!
does anyone know how to apply for the new "plus loan for grad and professional students?" it's similar to the plus loan for parents of students by the US government. if you are a citizen or green card holder, it's an excellent choice after fafsa to cover up for your remaining expenses. i know citibank is of the lenders but boston university, school of dental medicine is not on their list.anybody going to boston university applying for this loan?? any info appreciated.

you can try the website of northstar/theloanprogram.org, the access group or nelnet. they all offer grad plus and they have instructions in their website

 

[NileBDS]

hi people!!
does anyone know how to apply for the new "plus loan for grad and professional students?" it's similar to the plus loan for parents of students by the US government. if you are a citizen or green card holder, it's an excellent choice after fafsa to cover up for your remaining expenses. i know citibank is of the lenders but boston university, school of dental medicine is not on their list.anybody going to boston university applying for this loan?? any info appreciated.

Hey there black.
The grad PLUS loans are relatively new, and hence are not well known yet.
As you metioned, the previous PLUS loan was one for parents of undergrad students. The US gov./treasury has recently approved the same loans for graduate students, since technically, you are your own parent/guardian and should be able to benefit from the same terms of parents and undergrad students.
Anyways, I would say that it is a good option in general. It is specially good for applicants with not-so-great credit history, borrowers with too much debt already and borrowers with no income.
In addition, the fixed APR is not something to take lightly. That is a huge advantage.
Beware that some private lenders may give you an introductory rate of %6.0 now (with excellent credit history, low debt and verifiable income), but it is variable. In other words, you may only benefit from the low APR for several months, and afterwards the APR could hike with no limits (it is usually %10-11 already by the time you graduate). Unlike federal "Stafford" loans which have an all time cap of %8.25 APR, private loans have no cap on them (they have no maximum limit).
http://www3.accessgroup.org/loan_terms/fedloan/fedgrad.htm?Template=FedgradPLUSInfo2006.htm&termid=326&AppReferrer=
I am not saying that private loans are always bad, or PLUS grad loan is always good. I just thought I would share with you my limited experience with the PLUS loans since you asked.
Hope it helps.
Good Luck.

 

[fido!]

thanks for the info!

 

[NileBDS]

thanks for the info!

N E time buddy

 

[blacktooth]

thanks nile for shedding more light on this topic. i truly appreciate it!!! so far BU doesn't seem to be on the list of schools that participate in this loan program. it could be because of the fact that it's a new loan and they need time to update themselves. anyhoo i hope that is the case cuz it'll be a real bummer if they don't ! i have been trying to reach the osfs at BU thru phone and email.so far no response! hope to catch them tommorow. in the meantime if anyone going to BU has any info regarding this loan plz share it!
CIAO!!!!!

 

[NileBDS]

thanks nile for shedding more light on this topic. i truly appreciate it!!! so far BU doesn't seem to be on the list of schools that participate in this loan program. it could be because of the fact that it's a new loan and they need time to update themselves. anyhoo i hope that is the case cuz it'll be a real bummer if they don't ! i have been trying to reach the osfs at BU thru phone and email.so far no response! hope to catch them tommorow. in the meantime if anyone going to BU has any info regarding this loan plz share it!
CIAO!!!!!

Yeah, that does not surprise me one bit. Actually, the loans are not even existent yet. The first time they will actually be applied
is July 2006 (you would still be able to apply for them earlier). The were just introduced last febuary I think.
So yes, maybe it is just taking them some time to update their systems.
I'd check back frequently with the fin aid office and/or the website.
In the mean time, good luck.

 

[fido!]

i know i can count on you!

N E time buddy