Federal PLUS Loans help parents cover the difference between the financial aid a student receives from their college or university and the full cost of attendance. They're also not a sure thing -- parents must be deemed eligible based on creditworthiness and be willing to borrow for their child's education.
But some colleges are lumping the loans in with other forms of aid in award notification letters to students and parents, college advisers complained in September at the annual meeting of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. That’s concerning to financial aid professionals, because including PLUS with other forms of financial aid can make a family’s total cost look smaller than it actually is.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/10/06/college-admission-counselors-raise-concerns-over-packaging-plus-loans-students