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Scholarships & Financial Aid

Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan

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The Graduate PLUS Loan is available for Graduate and Professional students only. FAFSA is required, the student must be enrolled in at least 3 hours, and students must borrow Federal Direct Student loan eligibility before Graduate PLUS loans can be certified.

Loan Features:

  • The maximum for the Graduate PLUS loan is TCU's cost of attendance minus other financial aid.
  • When making loan application please make sure to apply for the loan amount needed for the full academic year (summer, fall, and spring). Funds are split evenly between semesters ensuring optimum aid eligibility.
  • The U.S. Department of Education will check your credit for eligibility.
  • Interest accrues upon disbursement, but payments are not required as long as the student is enrolled at least half-time.
Fixed Interest Rate for Direct Grad Plus Loan
First disbursed on or after July 1, 2023, and before July 1, 2024                                                     8.05%
First disbursed on or after July 1, 2022, and before July 1, 2023                                                     7.54%
Loan Origination Fees for Direct Grad PLUS Loan
First disbursed on or after Oct. 1, 2020                                                                                                       4.228%

How to Apply for the Graduate PLUS Loan

Application Instructions

Visit studentaid.gov

  1.  From the Apply for Aid drop-down menu at the top of the page -
  • Choose "Apply for a Graduate PLUS Loan"

   2. Review the information and click "Log in To Start"

  • To log in, use your FSA ID and password assigned when FAFSA was completed.
  • If you do not have an FSA ID, choose "Create an Account" and follow the directions.
  • Answer each section.
  • Select Texas Christian University in the school section. 
  • Enter the student information and submit.
  • Federal Graduate PLUS borrowers are required to complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN). If this is your first time to borrow a Graduate Plus loan or if you have a MPN that is over ten years old, you will need a new MPN. You will have an opportunity to complete the Direct PLUS Loan MPN after completion of your application.

Entrance Counseling for Graduate or Professional students is required if you have not previously received a Direct Unsubsidized Loan or a Direct Graduate PLUS Loan. 

The Graduate PLUS Loan is a credit-based loan. Graduate students with an adverse credit history may appeal a credit denial or obtain an endorser. If you are approved on appeal or with an endorser, you will be required to complete PLUS Credit Counseling. 

Frequently Asked Questions

The Additional Loan Eligibility amount indicates the maximum amount a student is able to apply for during that academic year, based on TCU’s cost of attendance and the other aid the student is receiving. Students do not have to borrow the maximum.

 Federal regulations define credit eligibility for a Grad PLUS Loan as being a borrower who has no “adverse credit.” This term normally means that the applicant has no debt repayment account that is 90 days or more delinquent (including charge offs/write-offs and unpaid collection accounts), has not had any debt discharged in bankruptcy (Chapters 7, 11, or 12) in the last 5 years, and has not been in default on any debt (no foreclosure, voluntary surrender, default claim paid, tax lien, repossession, wage garnishment, or write-off) in the last 5 years.
The US Department of Education offers an option to add an endorser (like a cosigner) to your PLUS Loan if you aren’t approved on your own credit. An endorser is a credit-worthy person who will sign the loan app with the PLUS borrower and take on equal liability for the PLUS Loan debt.
Any adult who meets credit requirements can endorse a PLUS Loan if the borrower does not meet the credit requirements on his/her own. (Spouses are generally not good endorsers because a spouse often has a credit history very similar to the borrower’s.)
Students can apply for private education loans, which are credit-based and have variable interest rates. Many students will not have sufficient credit to be approved alone (lenders require a minimum of three years positive credit history and three open credit accounts), so he/she will need a credit-worthy cosigner. Which education loan is right for me?

For more information about the Direct Loan Program, visit StudentAid.gov.