About 2-3 years ago, a family member I had cosigned a car for was unable to keep up with payments and the car was repossessed. I subsequently filed chapter 13 bankruptcy. I have been current on my chapter 13 payment plan for a little over a year now.
I was recently offered admission to a school starting this Fall. I checked my Equifax report and saw that the repossession was indeed on the credit report, and it was listed as part of the chapter 13 bankruptcy. I applied to Grad PLUS, fully expecting having to appeal due to extenuating circumstances. To my surprise, my credit was approved on the spot and I have received confirmation from the financial aid office that the funds are there and to fill out the MPN. The school's financial aid office said that even with that red flag, since I was approved, I should be approved next year as long as my financial situation stays the same. I called the Plus loan hotline and was told the same thing, although I didn't go into detail about my financial history over the phone since I had nothing to appeal.
On the extenuating circumstances webpage on studentaid.gov it mentions having accounts listed in a chapter 13 bankruptcy as counting as proof, for multiple things. It does not specifically list this as an example for repossession (just says 6 months of payments) but there is also a disclaimer that this is not an exhaustive list of documents proving extenuating circumstances... Spoke with someone on the Plus loan hotline early last year and they actually told me that chapter 13 is fine but to also show 6 months of payments of the chapter 13 plan. They told me to just apply first to see what happens.
The trustee is aware that I will be taking out student loans for school and everything is okay on that end... Should I be paranoid about not getting approved again halfway through the program (2 year program) or just go ahead and start classes in a few months rather than defer my admission?
Thanks for your help!
