<p>I've heard the PLUS loan requirements are pretty easy regarding credit scores.</p>
<p>I've been told as long as we are current on payments we should pass. We are current on the mortgage, credit cards, utilities, everything.</p>
<p>However, I am in few hardship programs to get some cards paid off. I am half way thru the programs, been paying everything on time. </p>
<p>Does anybody know how being on a hardship program affects being qualified for a PLUS loan?</p>
<p>I called the fin aid office of the school my son will most likely be going to and they didn't know the answer. They gave me a number to call. I called the number and they told me they couldn't answer, I need to call the fin aid office and they should be able to answer me. Great.</p>
<p>Anybody in a similar situation or know who I can go to for help in getting an answer on how to qualify for a PLUS loan?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I think your best course would be just to apply for a PLUS. At this point, you’re already in these debt reduction programs and if that does affect your credit score it will have already done so. Do you know what your credit score is? You can request that information from one of the credit reporting agencies. Perhaps you could ask a bank what the score they’re looking for on a PLUS is. That’s a question they should be able to answer!
If you don’t qualify, your son will be eligible for an extra $4,000 in Stafford loans which actually have a lower interest rate. So, if you don’t need much more than that you should be okay either way. Good luck!</p>
<p>You should just apply for the Plus loan. If you apply through Sallie Mae you can get an answer the same day. That’s who I went through and was approved over the internet within seconds.</p>
<p>I want to apply for the PLUS loan, but the fin aid office said I need to know for sure that my son will be going to their school before I fill out the paperwork. We don’t know if he’ll be going there until we know the financing situation is taken care of!</p>
<p>I was talking to the head of the fin aid dept. I’m so confused, this is our first going thru this. I found a number on the salliemae website, maybe I’ll call that or call another school he has been accepted at and see if their fin aid dept can help me.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Your son’s school may be a Direct Lender. You cannot get a Salliemae PLUS loan through a DL - that only works for FFEL schools (you can find out if your school is DL or FFEL on the financial aid website). At a DL school, you will need to fill out the PLUS paperwork through the school’s financial aid office. Because too many credit checks is not good for your credit score, we discourage parents from applying for a DL PLUS at our school until they are sure their child will attend.</p>
<p>kelsmom - Last time I checked my credit report there were tons of inquiries from companies like Amex and Capital One who only sent me unsolicited applications to apply for credit cards (which went in the trash) because I have good credit! Is that really affecting my credit score? Grrr…</p>
<p>FFEL?? My head hurts. Let me review my paperwork tonight.</p>
<p>How are we supposed to commit to a school if we don’t know if we qualify for the loan? My head really hurts. </p>
<p>Thanks for pointing FFEL out, a quick google search and I think that’s what is applicable at the school he is looking at, I’ll review more tonight.</p>
<p>You can get a pre-approval based just on the amount of money you anticipate needing. PLUS loans are no longer a sure thing, though.</p>
<p>sk8rmom, I honestly don’t know if it’s true. It’s what I was told, and our office tries to keep credit inquiries to a minimum (I guess it’s best to be cautious).</p>
<p>There are two types of credit checks. What you are seeing are unsolicitated inquiries and those do not knock down one’s credit score in the same way that actual credit checks do. The more often actual credit checks are done, the lower your credit score is driven, unless they are done in a relatively short period of time (a couple of hours).</p>