Monthly Payment Plan
Cal Lutheran, like many schools, offers families the opportunity to pay education expenses on a monthly basis, without interest, over the course of the semester or the entire academic year. By spreading out payments over several months, this service can help you afford Cal Lutheran by fitting your education costs into a monthly budget. Many of our families use this plan because it helps them break up larger costs into manageable monthly payments that fit within a family budget. We recommend that you consider our interest free Monthly Payment Plan as an option for paying your education at Cal Lutheran. There is an enrollment fee of $100 per year. For more information, call the student accounts office at (805) 493-3180.
Important note about Work Study
Interest will begin to accrue on any portion of your student account balance that remains unpaid at the beginning of the semester. This includes unearned work study. Students should strongly consider paying the work study amount in advance either out-of-pocket, as part of the Monthly Payment Plan, or as part of the PLUS Loan. By doing so, you avoid having interest accrue; then as the semester progresses your monthly work study paycheck can, in effect, "pay you back".
PLUS Parent Loans
Parents of dependent students can take out loans to supplement their children's aid packages. The federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) lets parents borrow money to cover any costs not already covered by the student's financial aid package, up to the full cost of attendance. PLUS loans have variable interest rates but are capped at 9%. Repayment begins 60 days after the funds are fully disbursed, and the repayment term is up to 10 years. Some lenders offer a slight discount for automatic payment plans. PLUS loans are the financial responsibility of the parents, not the student.
Click here to begin the PLUS application process.
An example of a PLUS Loan and Monthly Payment Plan
Sit down as a family and determine how much you could reasonably afford to pay per month toward educational costs. If that amount is $400 per month, our payment calculator will help you pinpoint exactly how much of that $400 can be paid toward the monthly payment plan and how much can be used to pay the PLUS loan payment. You pay as much as you can now so that you borrow as little as possible while still staying within your monthly budget.
Assuming out-of-pocket costs of $10,000 and a total monthly affordable payment of $400 per month, the figures below reflect how the Monthly Payment Plan can help you manage your expenses:
| Amount paid on monthly payment plan | 317.63 |
| Payment on PLUS loan | 82.37 |
| Total monthly payment | 400.00 |
Instead of borrowing the full $10,000 on the PLUS loan, you only borrow $7,182.79 because you are able to pay $3,176.35 on the monthly plan. As a result, you save $1,257.32 in long term interest.
For more information on payment plan options click here.