Online PLUS MPN
When you apply for a Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS), you must choose a lender from whom you would like to borrow. In many cases, this will likely be the lender you will use for your student’s entire undergraduate educational career. You will complete an online “Master Promissory Note” in the first year you borrow, which will set up a PLUS “line of credit” for you at the lender of your choice. Then, in subsequent years, we will notify you of your maximum PLUS eligibility, you will respond by accepting the maximum or some smaller amount, and we will electronically certify that year’s loan with the lender you chose in your first year.
Before You Get Started
To complete the Master Promissory Note you need:
- You and your child's Social Security Number.
- Your driver's licsense.
- A current email address. (optional, but helpful)
- The name, address and phone number of two references living at separate addresses. Do not list your child as a reference.
- Your Department of Education PIN if you wish to sign your MPN electronically. If you do not have your PIN you may request it at www.pin.ed.gov. (Not required for those wishing to print out and sign their MPN.)
How to Choose a Lender
Federal guidelines regulate most of the features of the Federal PLUS program. However, as lenders compete for your parent loan business, there can be differences between lenders, in the form of fee reductions and other cost reductions during repayment. At the bottom of this page is a link to a list of lenders developed by the Financial Aid Office at St. Olaf. You are welcome to choose any lender that participates in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), not just the ones that appear on our list. We have chosen to put these lenders on our list based on the excellent service they provide to borrowers, including state-of-the-art loan servicing and on-line access to your parent loan account. We have also chosen lenders who offer benefits to borrowers in the form of possible savings during repayment.
Points to consider as you choose a lender:
- If you currently have parent loan debt, you may want to continue to borrow from the same lender to simplify your repayment process.
- Some lenders retain ownership of your loan throughout the life of the loan. Other lenders may sell your loan to a secondary market. The terms of the loan may not remain the same if the loan is sold. For the lenders on the St. Olaf list, we have received written assurances from the lender that the terms of your loan will remain the same if the loan is sold. If you choose a lender that sells their loans, you should contact them to make sure the borrower benefits will stay in place.
- The holder of your loan may utilize a servicer to handle the paperwork associated with repayment of your loan. For most of the lenders St. Olaf recommends, the servicer will be Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation or Education Assistance Corporation.
- There are “up-front fees” associated with borrowing the Federal PLUS—fees that are deducted up front from the proceeds of the loans. These fees may range from 3-4%.
- There are also “repayment benefits” associated with borrowing the Federal PLUS. These are discounts or rebates offered during repayment of the loan. For some lenders, these benefits are “automatic” (e.g., you are always eligible for the benefit as long as you are in good standing) and for other lenders, the benefits are “earned” (e.g., you must make a certain number of on-time payments or utilize auto debit or electronic billing to receive the benefit ). Automatic benefits are more predictable, and based on current industry standards, you are more likely to receive them than earned benefits. Some benefits may also be cancelled if you prepay or consolidate the loan within a certain time frame after borrowing it. Be sure to read the fine print, and contact the lender directly if you have questions about any repayment benefit.
St. Olaf Preferred Lender List/Complete Your Master Promissory Note
