What if additional financial aid is received and I want to reduce or cancel my PLUS loan?
If your student receives additional financial aid and you wish to reduce or cancel your Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan, it
is important that you notify the Financial Aid Office in writing as soon as possible. You may cancel all or a portion of your
loan after funds have been credited to your student’s account by notifying us in writing within 30 days after the date of your
loan disbursement notice. Canceling your Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan will not make your student eligible for additional
unsubsidized loan amounts.
If the additional financial aid received by your student results in aid that is in excess of your student’s cost of attendance,
our office will automatically reduce the appropriate loan fund. These loan funds will be returned to the U.S. Department of
Education. The amount returned will appear as a charge on the student’s monthly account statement.
What if I want to apply for additional PLUS loan funds?
You may apply for additional PLUS loan funds by completing another PLUS loan application/credit authorization. The total
amount of a PLUS loan may not exceed the cost of attendance minus all other financial aid. You must list the additional
amount you wish to borrow and indicate on the application that you are requesting additional funds. Please note that your
credit history may be reviewed again to determine your eligibility.
What am I consenting to by signing the credit authorization?
Your consent verifies that you have read the privacy act disclosure as follows and give UST permission to authorize the U.S.
Department of Education to review your credit report:
The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) requires that the following notice be provided to you. The authority for
collecting the information requested on this form is §451 et seq. of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
Your disclosure of this information is voluntary. However, if you do not provide this information, you cannot be
considered for a Direct PLUS. The information on this form will be used to determine your eligibility for a Direct PLUS.
The information in your file may be disclosed to third parties as authorized under routine uses in the Privacy Act
notices called “Title IV Program Files” (originally published on April 12, 1994, Federal Register, Vol. 59 p. 17351) and
“National Student Loan Data System” (originally published on December 20, 1994, Federal Register, Vol. 59 p. 65532).
Thus, this information may be disclosed to federal and state agencies, private parties such as relatives, present and
former employers and creditors, and contractors of the Department of Education for purposes of administration of
the student financial assistance program, for enforcement purposes, for litigation where such disclosure is compatible
with the purposes for which the records were collected, for use by federal, state, local, or foreign agencies in
connection with employment matters or the issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit, for use in any employee
grievance or discipline proceeding in which the Federal Government is a party, for use in connection with audits or
other investigations, for research purposes, for purposes of determining whether particular records are required to
be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, and to a Member of Congress in response to an inquiry from the
congressional office made at your written request.
Because we request your social security number (SSN), we must inform you that we collect your SSN on a voluntary
basis, but section 484(a)(4) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1091 (a)(4)) provides that, in order to receive any grant, loan, or work
assistance under Title IV of the HEA, a student must provide his or her SSN. Your SSN is used to verify your identity,
and as an account number (identifier) throughout the life of your loan(s) so that data may be recorded accurately.
What if my credit is denied?
If your application is denied due to credit, you will receive notification from the Direct Loan Servicer. You may choose from
the following options:
- You may try to have a credit status override completed by the servicer. Please contact the Direct Loan Applicant Services at
1-800-557-7394.
- You may provide documentation to the Direct Loan Servicer if you have extenuating circumstances. Your request for a
PLUS loan will be reviewed again by the servicer.
- You may have a third party endorser co-sign the PLUS loan application with you. Any PLUS loans with an endorser added
will require a new and separate MPN be completed by the parent borrower.
- As of March 29, 2015, a PLUS borrower with an adverse credit decision who pursues an extenuating circumstance appeal
or adds a credit-worthy endorser is required to complete an online PLUS counseling module at studentloans.gov. The
completion of this counseling is required before the loan can be disbursed. Direct Loans will notify the borrower if this
online counseling is required.
- You may choose not to pursue any of the options listed above, and your student may borrow additional funds for the
current academic year through the Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan Program. Please contact the Financial Aid Office
to discuss this option.
Financial Aid Office • Mail 5007 • 2115 Summit Avenue • St. Paul, MN 55105-1096
Telephone 651-962-6550 • (800) 328-6819, Ext. 2-6550 • Fax (651) 962-6599
