Beginning this summer, a new federal parent loan will go into effect for graduate students at the University, as well as at other federal Title IV universities across the nation.

This will allow graduate students to use federal loans instead of alternative loans to cover the cost of attendance. Previously these loans were only available to undergraduate students.

Robert Andersen, senior associate director of the Office of Student Financial Aid, said the new loan is still being finalized and will most likely begin in the fall.

He said that in order for a student to be eligible for the loan, they must have exhausted the $18,500 they could already have received in loans. In addition, scholarships and all other loans will be taken into account as well. The amount that the new parent loan will cover is the difference between the cost of education and the total amount of the previous loan.

“The new loan will require credit checks, which will begin in late July,” Andersen said. “Endorsements by parents or grandparents will be allowed if these loans are not met.”

Andersen said students who are at least part time at the University could get deferment for the loan.

He said the new loan has been abbreviated “G – plus” by the federal government.

Val Smith, assistant director of the Office of Student Financial Aid, said it takes a while to get new initiatives running, so it will not be until mid-summer before the initiative is implemented. Because the University has not yet received direction from the government for the application process, the majority of students might not be able to apply until the fall.

The program has already been passed into law, and schools are now waiting for notice from the Department of Education as to how to enact the initiative.

Smith said the current, maximum level that students can receive between subsidized and unsubsidized loans is $18,500. The maximum level of a subsidized loan is $8,500. The new loan program will allow graduate students to increase the cap of their federal loans.

The loan has a fixed rate of 7.9 percent, and will begin to be paid back 60 days after the loan is fully dispersed.

The new loan is a parent loan, which will be dispersed in the fall and spring. After being dispersed, there is a 60-day span until repayment begins.

“There are different repayment plans, and they normally have at least 10 years to pay it off,” Smith said.

Depending on how quickly they receive guidance, the loan could be available sooner, said Cheryl Howerton, financial aid administrator.

Tom Scott, graduate student, said that the loan could be beneficial, but it all depends on its flexibility.

“If consolidation with other debts is allowed, then the rate could be lowered down to three or four percent,” Scott said. “This loan sounds like a good idea for students.”

He said he “all but maxed out his subsidized and unsubsidized loans” when he was an undergraduate student at the University.

“This is a very new program, and there is not a lot of information about how to implement it yet,” Smith said. “Once more information becomes available, we will get it out to students.”