Educational loans

A loan is a form of financial aid that must be repaid, with interest. Few students can afford to pay for college without some form of education financing. Many students find that they must supplement their savings with loans.

Loan Types

1. Stafford Loans - Federal Stafford Loan is a long term loan with a fixed interest rate.  The interest on these loans can be subsidized (interest paid by the Federal Government) or unsubsidized.
2. Perkins Loans - A Federal Perkins Loan is a low-interest loan for students with financial need. The loan is made with government funds with a share contributed by PLU. You must repay this loan to PLU.
3. PLUS Loans (Loans to Parents) - A Federal Loan that parents take out for the student. Unlike the Stafford loans, the loan repayment responsibility belongs to the parents. The PLUS loan helps parents pay for their son's or daughter's education over an extended period of time with a fixed rate interest loan.
4. Graduate PLUS Loans (For graduate students only) – A Federal loan that allows credit-worthy graduate students to borrow the cost of their education not covered by other forms of financial aid. Repayment on this loan is deferred while the student is enrolled at least half time and has a fixed interest rate of 8.5%.
5. Alternative Loans - Also known as private loans, help bridge the gap between the actual cost of your education and the limited amount the government allows you to borrow in its programs. Private loans are offered by private lenders and there are no federal forms to complete.
6. Nursing Loans - If you're a student enrolled in the school of nursing, then you may be eligible for a Federal Nursing Loan.

Code of Conduct

As a school participating in the Federal Family Education Loan Program, Pacific Lutheran University administers its loan programs in accordance with the following code of conduct:

• There is no revenue sharing arrangement with any lender,
• No gifts of more than nominal value (as defined in regulation) are accepted from lenders, guarantors, and loan servicers,
• No compensation is accepted for any consulting services offered to lenders,
• No lenders are assigned to first-time borrowers,
• We will certify any federal student loan application from any participating lender,
• We do not participate in any "opportunity pool" with any lender,
• No lender may assume any function performed by the financial aid office staff,
• No compensation is accepted to participate on any (lender, guarantor, or loan servicer) advisory board, except for reasonable expenses incurred (as defined in regulation) as a result of that service. 

Lenders

Please note that when choosing a lender for your loans, you have the choice to select any lender participating in the different loan programs.  The list of lenders we provide for the Federal Stafford or PLUS loans is not an exclusive list, but simply a list of lenders that have provided loans to PLU students in the past. The alternative loan lenders listed here have continued to offer a stable private loan product to PLU students.