First-time college parent here too, and I completely understand the panic! We were in the exact same boat last year with so many conflicting answers about Parent PLUS loans. What really helped us was calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly at 1-800-4-FED-AID instead of trying to reach our school's financial aid office. They were able to explain that you have three main options: immediate repayment (starts 60 days after disbursement), interest-only payments while your daughter is in school, or full deferment until 6 months after she graduates. The key thing nobody told us initially is that you have to actively REQUEST deferment - it's not automatic! We almost got stuck with immediate payments because we didn't know to ask. Regarding which parent should apply, definitely go with whoever has the better credit score. The interest rate is the same regardless (currently 8.05% for Parent PLUS), but better credit means faster approval and no need for an endorser. Your joint income already affected your daughter's aid package through the FAFSA, so that part is done. One more tip: if you do choose deferment, seriously consider making at least the interest payments if your budget allows. On $29K, you're looking at roughly $195/month in interest. Paying that during school prevents your balance from growing to $38K+ by graduation. Hang in there - once you get the right information, it becomes much more manageable!

Another first-time college parent chiming in! We just went through this exact situation last month and I wanted to share what we learned. After reading everyone's responses, I called the Federal Student Aid Information Center (thanks for that number!) and got everything clarified. Here's what we ended up doing: We requested deferment but decided to make voluntary interest-only payments during our daughter's enrollment. This prevents the loan balance from growing while keeping our required monthly payment at zero in case we hit financial difficulties. The key thing that wasn't clear from our school's materials is that even with deferment, you can make payments anytime without penalty. So we have the flexibility to pay interest-only most months, but can skip payments if needed without going into default. For the application question - we had my spouse with the higher credit score apply, and the approval was instant. The school's financial aid office finally called us back (after 3 weeks!) but by then we had already sorted everything out through the federal hotline. One last tip: Set up automatic interest-only payments through your loan servicer if you go that route. It's usually around $195-200/month for a $29K loan, and having it automatic means you won't accidentally miss a payment and let interest capitalize. The whole system really is confusing, but once you know the options it becomes much more manageable. You've got this!

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who went through this exact same situation! My ex claimed our son on taxes but I was the custodial parent for FAFSA. The key thing I learned is that the IRS and Department of Education operate completely independently - they don't cross-reference who filed what. What really helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to track everything: scholarship amounts, what they covered (tuition vs room/board), and copies of all the 1098-T forms. This way if there are ever any questions down the road, you have everything documented. Also worth noting - if your daughter ends up with a summer job or internship income on top of any taxable scholarship money, she might hit the filing threshold even if the scholarships alone wouldn't require it. Just something to keep in mind for future planning!

I went through this exact same situation last year with my daughter! The confusion is totally understandable - having different parents for FAFSA vs tax purposes makes everything more complicated. Just to reinforce what others have said: you're in the clear as far as YOUR taxes go. The scholarships and Pell Grants don't get reported on your return at all, regardless of who claims her as a dependent. One thing that really helped me was sitting down with my daughter to go through her 1098-T form together when it arrived from her college. It shows exactly what was paid for tuition/fees vs what went toward room and board. The tuition portion is tax-free, but if any scholarship money went toward living expenses, that portion might be taxable income for her (though as others mentioned, most students still don't owe taxes because their total income is usually below the standard deduction). Your ex is actually right that you don't need to do anything on your end - he just doesn't understand that it's because of how scholarship taxation works, not because he claims her! Keep doing what you're doing with the FAFSA as the custodial parent.

Just want to add - whatever you decide, get EVERYTHING in writing about the cosigner release terms!!! When we signed my son's private loan paperwork, the rep verbally told us 24 months of payments, but the actual contract said 36 months AND required him to have graduated. Those extra 12 months made a big difference in our planning!

As someone who just went through this process last year, I can confirm that co-signer release is definitely real but comes with a lot of caveats that aren't always clearly explained upfront. We ended up going with a mix approach - maxed out federal Direct loans first (around $5,500 for freshman year), then used a small private loan from College Ave for the remaining gap. The key thing I learned is that even if you meet the "minimum" requirements for co-signer release (like 24-36 on-time payments), lenders still do a full underwriting review of your daughter's finances at that time. So her credit score, income, debt-to-income ratio, and employment history all get scrutinized again. It's not automatic even if you've been perfect with payments. One tip: if you do go the private loan route, consider starting with a smaller amount first year to test how the co-signer release actually works with that lender before taking out larger amounts in subsequent years. Better to find out their true standards early rather than be stuck with a large loan you can't get released from.

Hi everyone! I'm completely new to this community and just discovered this incredibly helpful thread while frantically searching for solutions to the exact same FAFSA issues. My daughter and I have been dealing with the "failed to save" error for the past 3 days, and I was getting really stressed about her upcoming priority deadline. Reading through all of your experiences and the practical solutions you've shared has been such a huge relief - it's wonderful to see how this community supports each other through these technical challenges! I'm definitely planning to try the 2-3am approach tonight along with the incremental saving strategy that so many of you have had success with. I've got all our financial documents organized and ready to go so we can work efficiently once we get that window where the system is cooperating. Thank you all for sharing real solutions that actually work - it gives families like ours hope during such a stressful process. I'll make sure to update everyone on how it goes!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and just found this thread while dealing with the exact same FAFSA saving nightmare. My son and I have been stuck with the "failed to save" error for the past 4 days, and I was getting really worried about meeting his school's priority deadline. Reading through all of your experiences and solutions has been incredibly reassuring - it's amazing to see how this community has rallied together to help each other through these technical difficulties! I'm definitely going to try the 2-3am approach tonight combined with the incremental saving strategy that so many of you have had success with. I've already gathered all our tax documents and W-2s so we can work efficiently once we get that window where the system is cooperating. Thank you all for sharing what actually worked instead of just the generic troubleshooting advice you get from official sources. It gives families like ours real hope during such a stressful time. I'll make sure to update everyone on our results!

Great to hear you got it sorted out! This is definitely one of those FAFSA situations that seems way more complicated than it actually is. Your experience will probably help other students who run into the same thing. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool is such a lifesaver when it works - saves so much time and reduces errors. Good luck with the rest of your application process!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with something similar but slightly different - my mom and stepdad have been together for 10+ years and live together but never officially got married. My stepdad has been supporting me financially though, so I'm wondering if I should include his information too even though he's not my biological parent? The FAFSA wording about "step-parents" is confusing when they're not legally married. Has anyone navigated this situation?