There are two types of PLUS loans: the Parent PLUS loan and the Grad PLUS loan. All PLUS loans have a fixed interest rate of 7.9 percent and are not subsidized, which means that interest accrues while enrolled in school. 

The Parent PLUS loan allows parents of dependent students to borrow money to cover any costs not already covered by the student's financial aid package, up to the full cost of attendance. The program does not set a cumulative limit to how much parents may borrow, and Parent PLUS loans are the financial responsibility of the parents, not the student.

Grad PLUS loans allow graduate and professional students to borrow money to pay for their own education.

Parent PLUS repayment begins 60 days after the funds are fully disbursed with up to 10 years to repay. Parents have the option of deferring repayment on Parent PLUS loans while the undergraduate student on whose behalf they borrowed the PLUS loan is in school, but they must begin repayment once the student graduates or drops below full-time enrollment.

Graduate students may defer repayment on Grad PLUS loans while they are in school, but they also must begin repayment once they graduate or drop below full-time enrollment.