Student Loan Planner Instructions

Steps to Completing the Student Loan Planner

Step 1

Complete the Expense Planner by inserting dollar amounts in the yellow boxes. You will complete the expense planner based on your estimated monthly budget for the academic year. 

Please be sure to keep in mind that if you underestimate your monthly budget, you will be able to request additional aid later on. Additionally, if you overestimate your monthly budget you will be able to return excess funds to lower your student loan debt.  

Once your Student Loan Planner is completed, it should look a little bit like the following:

Step 2

Select the appropriate year (First Year, Second Year, etc.) tab at the bottom of the Excel file and complete the yellow highlighted sections of your Student Loan Planner.

Once you complete the yellow highlighted sections, your estimated need for both the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan and Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan will populate. This total will include the loan origination fees on both of the loans (Unsubsidized Stafford: 1.057%, Graduate PLUS: 4.228%). 

Step 3 - Complete Graduate PLUS Loan Application (if applicable)

Your next step is the application for the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan if the "Total Recommended Graduate PLUS Loan (Including Loan Fees)" box was populated. See above.

To apply for the Grad PLUS Loan, you will need to head to studentaid.gov. Please note that If you have placed a security freeze on your credit file, you must lift or remove the freeze at each credit bureau before you continue. Your application will not be processed if you have a security freeze. 

1. Login to studentaid.gov using your FSA ID and password.

2. Under 'Select an Award Year,' select the academic year you are applying for. This step must be done each academic year when you apply for financial aid annually.

3. Under 'Loan Amount Requested', select the 'I would like to specify a loan amount' radio button.

4. Type in the Recommended Graduate PLUS Loan amount from the Loan Planner.

5. Under 'Loan Period Requested', enter August-May or May to May depending on your enrollment pattern.

6. Complete the remaining steps and submit the application.

7. Complete the PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN) if prompted to do so.