The borrower must be the natural or adoptive parent or stepparent of the student. Parents may borrow up to the full cost of attendance, minus all other aid awarded. Repaying your loan Students are required to begin repaying their Federal Stafford loan six months after they graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time attendance. Parents are required to begin repaying their PLUS loan 60 days after the loan is fully disbursed. In both cases, borrowers generally have 10 years to repay these loans.
Borrowers can investigate consolidating all their education loans so they have one monthly payment.
This program also generally allows borrowers to extend the repayment period beyond 10 years. If borrowers experience economic hardship or other circumstances that limit their ability to repay their loan, they might qualify for a deferment or a forbearance. A deferment allows eligible borrowers to postpone payments for certain reasons for as long as they are enrolled on at least a half-time basis in a postsecondary school, graduate fellowship, or rehabilitation training program. Deferments up to three years also are available if borrowers are unemployed. Borrowers who do not qualify for a government-approved deferment can request a forbearance from their lender.