After factoring for any institutional, federal, state, or other financial assistance there are times when additional resources need to be explored to provide assurance that a Tulane education is affordable. We offer the information below about additional and/or alternative financing options that Tulane students and their families often use to help in meeting educational expenses not already covered by financial aid. We encourage you to review the applicable Cost of Attendance figures to determine your budgeted costs. If you were awarded financial aid, you should subtract your total aid from the cost of attendance to determine the approximate remaining expense obligations. While a variety of alternatives exist, we have listed below three options most often used by Tulane students and parents.
1) Federal Direct Parent PLUS
The Federal Direct Parent PLUS program offers a federal credit-based loan for parents of students. Parents of students who are independent for federal student aid (please note this is not the same as tax dependency) purposes are not eligible (for example, graduate-level students or undergraduate students who are married). Application for this loan requires that you have completed the appropriate award year's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If you have not already done so, you are encouraged visit studentaid.gov and use Tulane's federal school code: 002029 to complete the FAFSA. To apply for a Federal Direct PLUS Loan after the FAFSA is processed, visit studentaid.gov/mpn/parentplus/landing to complete the necessary Master Promissory Note (MPN) online. Parents seeking to borrow a Federal PLUS Loan must also complete a PLUS Request Process on www.studentloans.gov to have credit approved, and the credit results must be received and certified by Tulane before the student's semester ends.
Please note: If an eligible parent applies for a Federal Direct PLUS loan but is denied, and we receive documentation of the Federal Direct PLUS loan denial, we can generally authorize the student to borrow a certain amount of "additional" Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan funding.
2) Interest-Free Monthly Tuition Payment Plan
A monthly payment plan allows parents to spread institutional expenses over a number of months without interest charges. Tulane Installment Prepayment Plan (TIPP) offers an array of different payment plan options. You can locate information regarding TIPPS online at Tulane Accounts Receivable (Payment Plan). Should you have questions regarding your TIPP or other Accounts Receivable charges, please contact Accounts Receivable at acctrec@tulane.edu or call (504) 865-5368, 800-798-7633 toll free.
3) Non-federal Alternative Education Loans
Private credit-based alternative loans may assist students and their families who are either not eligible for or not interested in the federal grant and loan programs. (For example, alternative loans may be an option for international students who are not eligible to apply for Federal loans.) Since these loans are NOT federal loans, the completion of the FAFSA is not required. Private loans usually have variable interest rates which are tied to a market index such as the prime interest rate or LIBOR, plus or minus an additional interest rate. We encourage eligible parents to apply for the fixed-interest Federal PLUS Loan (see above) before either the student or parent applies for a non-federal loan, and we encourage graduate-level students to apply for the fixed-interest Federal Graduate PLUS Loan before applying for a non-federal loan. If a student or parent must consider non-federal loans, information is available online at www.elmselect.com and our website.
Additional Questions
The Tulane University Financial Aid Office is ready to assist you with any questions regarding these programs. Please refer to our web for additional information and ways to contact our financial aid counselors. You can also reach us by calling 504.865.5723 or 800.335.3210.
