Special Processing Notes:
- Applications for the Parent PLUS and Graduate PLUS Loans for the current Academic Year are available at studentaid.gov.
- If this is the first year you will receive a loan at OKCU, please remember that you will receive automatic e-mail reminders to complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN). The reminders will stop once your loan has been originated by the financial aid office. You may continue to receive the reminders even if you have completed the MPN until the loan is processed. Processing delays may be caused by lack of at least half-time enrollment, and/or missing verification or information requirements.
Direct PLUS Loans are loans to eligible graduate or professional students and eligible parents of dependent undergraduate students to help pay for the cost of the student's education. Direct PLUS Loans are credit based and require that the borrower not have an adverse credit history.
Credit Check Processing for Borrowers with a "Credit Freeze"
As a result of recent data breach events and heightened security concerns, many consumers are understandably taking steps to protect their personally identifiable information (PII). One of those steps may be placing a "credit freeze" on their credit profile at one or more of the credit bureaus, which prevents further credit activity from occurring without additional consent.
Because a credit check is part of the process when a borrower or endorser completes a Direct PLUS Loan Request or an Endorser Addendum on the StudentLoans.gov website, borrowers or endorsers with an active credit freeze may not be able to fully complete either process and may receive an error message when the credit check is run. The borrower or endorser must remove the credit freeze first; this action cannot be done by the school or Federal Student Aid.
Note: Federal Student Aid can process an inquiry at two of the three main credit bureaus (currently Equifax and TransUnion). If a borrower or endorser places a credit freeze at only one credit bureau, Federal Student Aid could still receive a credit determination based on information provided by the secondary credit bureau.
Federal Student Aid is working to include additional messaging on the StudentLoans.gov website to inform borrowers and endorsers that those who have a credit freeze on their credit profile will need to remove it before completing a Direct PLUS Loan Request or the Endorser Addendum.
Oklahoma City University will work with borrowers and endorsers who may receive an error during the credit check process to ask about a credit freeze as a possible cause for the error.
Please keep this in mind when applying for a new PLUS Loan.
- Graduate PLUS Loans are available to all students who are enrolled at least half-time in a Graduate or Professional Degree Program.
- You must apply for the Graduate PLUS Loan, as credit history will be checked and determines eligibility.
- To apply, go to studentaid.gov and sign in with your FSA ID and password
- Click "Apply for Direct PLUS Loan"
- Click the Start button for "Direct PLUS Loan Application for Graduate and Professional Students"
- For more information, visit: studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/plus
- If you are denied the Grad PLUS Loan due to an adverse credit history, you have the option to either have a co-signer apply or appeal the credit decision.
- For additional information on Grad PLUS Loans and Adverse Credit, visit studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/plus#adverse-credit
- Parent PLUS Loans are available to the parents of undergraduate students who have been determined dependent based on the FAFSA.
- Parents must apply for the Parent PLUS Loan, as credit history will be checked and determines eligibility.
- To apply, parents must go to studentaid.gov and sign in with their FSA ID and password
- Click "Apply for Direct PLUS Loan"
- Click the Start button for "Direct PLUS Loan Application for Parents"
- For more information, visit: studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/plus
- If a parent is denied the Parent PLUS Loan due to an adverse credit history, the parent can either have a cosigner apply or appeal the credit decision. If the Parent PLUS Loan is still denied, the parent's student will be offered additional Direct Unsubsidized Loan funding ($4,000.00 for Freshmen and Sophomores and $5,000.00 for Juniors and Seniors).
- For additional information on PLUS Loans and Adverse Credit, visit: studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/plus#adverse-credit
