Bunker Hill Community College

General Borrower and Student Eligibility Requirements
Each student borrower seeking a Stafford loan, each parent borrower seeking a PLUS loan, and each student for whom a PLUS loan is being sought must meet the following eligibility requirements: 

• The individual must be a U.S. citizen or national or eligible non-citizen.
• The individual must provide his or her valid Social Security number.
• The individual must not be in default on any federal education loans.
• The individual must not be liable for an overpayment nor have exceeded annual or aggregate limits imposed on any Title IV program.
• The individual must not have borrowed in excess of any annual or aggregate Federal Stafford loan limits.
• The individual must not have been determined ineligible—solely due to the individual’s error or as a result of providing false or misleading information— for a loan that has already been obtained. The individual is entitled to receive an additional Stafford or PLUS loan only if he or she repays in full any ineligible loan or ineligible portion of a loan.
• The individual must not have property subject to a judgment lien for a debt owed to the United States.
• The student must have—and may self-certify that he or she has—at least a high school diploma or the recognized equivalent of a high school diploma, or the student must meet one of the following standards:
• The student must (a) be beyond the age of compulsory school attendance in the state in which the postsecondary school is located and (b) pass an independently administered ability-to benefit test that has been approved by the Department.
• The student, if currently enrolled, must be maintaining satisfactory academic progress (SAP), as determined by the school according to federal regulations and the school’s policy.
• Unless exempt, a male student must register with the Selective Service. A female student is exempt from the Selective Service registration requirement.
• The student must not have fraudulently borrowed a loan, provided information that caused his or her loan to exceed applicable annual loan limits during an academic year, nor knowingly exceeded an aggregate loan limit for the FFELP, FDLP, or Federal Perkins Loan Program.
• The student must not have had his or her eligibility for Title IV aid denied when sentenced by a court due to conviction of possession or distribution of a controlled substance, under the authority of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. A student whose financial aid eligibility is denied as part of the penalty for a drug conviction will be placed on the Department’s Drug Abuse Hold File at the direction of the Department of Justice. The student will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR)with no calculated EFC and a comment instructing him or her to contact the U.S. Department of Education if the student wishes to contest the finding.
• The student must not have been convicted of an offense involving the possession or sale of an illegal drug within prescribed time frames Any student who applies for federal student financial aid will receive a warning on his or her Student Aid Report (SAR) indicating that a conviction for the possession or distribution of a controlled substance may result in the loss of the student’s eligibility for Title IV aid.
• The student must not be incarcerated at the time funds are disbursed or delivered.

Federal Plus Loans (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students)

The Federal PLUS loan is an educational loan offered to the Parent’s of a student attending college through FFELP (Federal Family Education Loan Program). This loan is often used to supplement a student’s financial aid package to assist with educational expenses related to a student’s attendance at college. The PLUS loan does not require that a student complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), however, it is highly recommended that a student complete the FAFSA to see if they  qualify for Federal or State grants, or the lower interest Stafford Loans.
           
Parents wishing to apply for the PLUS loan should read the link in the previous section entitled General Borrower and Student Eligibility. It is important to note that the PLUS loan IS a credit-based loan. Parents will be required to complete the Loan Request Form (see link below), submit that form to the Financial Aid Office located in Room B-213 off the main lobby of the Charlestown campus, and log on to the ASA website to apply for the PLUS loan (see website below). Once a Parent’s credit has been approved, notification will be sent to both the borrower and the school notifying them that the loan is ready for certification by the school. Once the loan has been certified by the Financial Aid Office, a letter will be sent to the student notifying them of their PLUS loan award.

To Apply For A Federal PLUS Loan

1. Download the Federal Plus Loan Request Form.
2. Complete Master Promissory Note with ASA.

Please note:
*** PLUS loan maximum eligibility cannot exceed the student's unmet cost (cost of attendance less any financial aid already being received).  Loan requests that are higher than the student's unmet cost will be reduced by the financial aid office. 
***If a PLUS loan is denied based on the Parent’s credit history, the student is eligible to
            receive an additional Unsubsidized loan.

Parent Borrower Eligibility Requirements
For purposes of obtaining a PLUS loan, an eligible parent borrower is a student’s natural or adoptive mother or father. The spouse of a parent who remarried is eligible to borrow a PLUS loan if the spouse’s income and assets would have been taken into account when calculating a dependent student’s expected family contribution (EFC). Any two eligible parents may borrow separately to provide for the educational expenses of the student—provided the combined borrowing of the parents does not exceed the calculated cost of attendance (COA) minus aid.

To be eligible for a PLUS loan, a parent borrower must be applying for the loan to pay the postsecondary educational costs for an eligible dependent undergraduate student who is enrolled or accepted for enrollment at least half time at a participating school.  Each PLUS loan borrower must certify, as part of the PLUS Application and Master Promissory Note (PLUS MPN) filed with the school or lender, a statement of educational purpose.

Parent borrowers also must be determined creditworthy to be eligible for a PLUS loan