It isn't about your credit score

The Grad PLUS credit check doesn't look at your credit score. It doesn't look at your income, your debt-to-income ratio, or whether you seem likely to repay. It looks for a very short, specific list of things, and nothing else.

You're denied if either of these is true:

That's the whole test. A 540 credit score with nothing on that list passes. A 700 with $2,100 in collections doesn't.

This is the part often missed. The rule is a combined balance over $2,085 — so if your delinquent and collection accounts add up to $2,900, you don't even need to clear all of it. You only need to get under the line.

Paying $900 can be the difference between denied and approved for $50,000.

Delinquent isn't the same as unpaid

For accounts that are 90+ days delinquent, you don't have to pay them off. You only have to make them current — or make enough of a payment to bring them under 90 days late. Either fixes it.

For collections, a satisfactory payment arrangement can be enough.

Once you've done it, wait for your credit report to update, then reapply.

And because money is fungible, the breathing room Grad PLUS gives you on qualified educational expenses can often even save you in interest in the long run when you can divert other money toward keeping those accounts current.

You can apply mid-semester

You don't have to wait for a new term. You can apply in the middle of a semester — and if you apply in the spring, you can still get a pro-rated disbursement for the fall you've already started. The money for a term that's underway isn't off the table.

Why bother

Living on less in law school isn't free. It costs you in stress, in sleep, in the hours you spend worrying about money instead of studying. Grad PLUS covers cost of attendance beyond tuition, and for most people that's the difference between getting through school and grinding through it.

If a few hundred dollars and a phone call gets you approved, it's worth the afternoon.