Once your son or daughter has been awarded financial aid, you may want to borrow funds through a parent loan. Below are the steps that you will need to take in order to get your parent loan approved and processed. If you need additional help to complete the process, watch the video How to Apply for a Parent PLUS Loan. 
 

Direct Parent Loan

• Your student must accept the parent loan award via the Financial Aid tab on Texas State Self Service.
• If you have not already, sign in at www.studentloans.gov and select Request a PLUS Loan to complete an online application. To assist you with the process, you may want to watch the video How to Apply for a Parent PLUS Loan.
• Please be careful and avoid these common mistakes that students and parents make when completing the application.

Common Mistakes

1. Wrong School Year: Schools process for two award years simultaneously, so make sure the right year is selected.
2. Social Security Numbers: If a wrong Social Security number is entered for the student or parent, the school will not be able to match the record to the student.
3. Reversed Information: If information is reversed, such as parent data entered under the student’s data or vice versa, the school will not be able to match the record to the student's account. 
4. Keep in mind the parent loan application is different than the master promissory note (MPN). The parent loan application must be completed every year, and the MPN must only be completed by a first-time borrower one time or if there is an endorser involved an MPN must be completed every year.

• You will be notified by Direct Loans immediately if the credit check was approved or denied.
• Allow five business days for processing. During this time, Direct Loans will send Texas State your application information, and Texas State will send an acknowledgement response to Direct Loans.
• If your credit is approved, complete the online Master Promissory Note (MPN) at www.studentloans.gov. If you have a valid MPN on file from a previous loan, Direct Loans will automatically link the MPN to the new loan and send the information to Texas State.
• The parent loan funds will credit toward your student account with Student Business Services, and any remaining funds are typically mailed. Even though this loan is one that your parent will repay, you must meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements.