Parent plus help

My aid went down so my loan is being increased by 2k, right now is not a great time to tell my mom that it’s being increased because of family issues. Will she be notified that it is being increased? It’s been increased before and I don’t think she knew because she didn’t ask about it. Do parents receive semester notifications regarding loans like students do? I get an email every semester stating my loans are being placed but it never says an actual amount

Did you give your username and password to your parents?

I don’t see how they would find out unless they access your student account or open your paper mail.

Since it is your student loan, why would your parents worry? Isn’t it your obligation to repay, not theirs?

OP, are you referring to the Parent PLUS loan being increased?

It’s the parent plus loan, not my student loan

If it’s a Parent Plus Loan, your parent would know about any increase. They would actually have to apply for the additional loan money.

Yes I am! Sorry thought i included that info.

My financial aid office said it could be done automatically without her applying for it if it’s needed.

Yes, if your school is recommending an increase to cover a remaining balance - your parent actually has to give approval and their credit needs to be approved again for the increased amount. If your parents were approved for a larger amount and then chose to borrow less, they will still need to give approval in this case where the credit check isn’t needed.

Oh! The OP erroneously said *my loan *, and *my loans *, instead of my parent’s loan.

I’m a bit surprised that the school mentioned they can just update it automatically. My school requires parent consent/notification whenever there are decisions to be made regarding the PLUS loan. It is the parent’s loan after all…

When parents apply for the PLUS, aren’t they given some options regarding how much control the student has over the loan?

The parent PLUS loan is a loan. The parent has to sign for the new amount of the loan, get disclosure statements, and agree to the terms. If OP’s mother is just blindly signing the loan papers, that’s her mistake.

To my knowledge, the only matter the parent can give “control” to the student is whether or not to issue the refund check in the student’s name if the PLUS provides an overage on the account.

Why did aid go down from first semester? that seems odd

Loss of scholarship money for not achieving a required minimum GPA?

My financial aid office said it could be done automatically without her applying for it if it’s needed.


NO!!! Unless the parent actually applied for a larger PLUS loan on the application than they could borrow due to being at COA with a smaller amount, the loan cannot be increased without parent consent. The school can only process an amount the parent requested.

Lilliana. The Parent Plus Loan is a PARENT loan. The student cannot increase the amount, or have control over the loan amount. It is a parent loan.