Parent PLUS loans are the WORST! The interest rates are ridiculous compared to the student loans, and they give them out like candy even when families can't really afford them. Sure there's no prepayment penalty but the whole system is designed to trap parents in debt for their kids' education! Sorry for the rant but I'm still paying my daughter's PLUS loans and she graduated 7 years ago because the interest just keeps piling up!

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who works in financial aid - you're absolutely right that there are no prepayment penalties on Parent PLUS loans! One tip I always give parents: if you're planning to pay off early with a lump sum like your inheritance, consider making a test payment first (even just $50-100 extra) to make sure you understand how your servicer processes "principal only" payments. Each servicer's website is slightly different, and it's better to figure out the process with a small amount than risk misapplying a large payment. Also, keep detailed records of all your payments - screenshot confirmations showing the principal reduction. This helps you track your progress and gives you documentation if there are ever any discrepancies. Congratulations on your daughter's acceptance!

One more piece of advice: if your daughter decides to take the loan for credit-building purposes, I recommend putting the full amount into a high-yield savings account immediately. This way, the money is always available to pay off the loan, and you might even earn a bit of interest on it in the meantime. The key to making this strategy work is discipline - keep the loan funds separate and don't view them as available spending money.

As someone who just went through this process with my daughter last year, I can confirm this strategy works well if you stay disciplined! A few practical tips from our experience: 1) Set up autopay for a consistent monthly amount (we did $100/month) to ensure you never miss a payment, 2) Keep detailed records of payments made - we used a simple spreadsheet to track everything, and 3) Consider having your daughter make the payments herself from a part-time job if possible, since it teaches financial responsibility alongside credit building. Her credit score went from non-existent to 720 by the time she graduated, and we paid off the remaining balance two weeks before her grace period ended. The key is treating it like any other bill - consistent, on-time payments every month without fail.

One more important thing to consider: Summer classes can affect your SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation and potentially your aid eligibility for the following academic year. If summer 2025 is part of the 2024-2025 aid year, and you'll be enrolling in fall 2025 too, make sure you understand how your summer enrollment impacts your overall financial aid strategy. Some students don't realize that using their full aid eligibility for summer can leave them short for the following fall if they haven't planned carefully. The financial aid office can run scenarios for you to help you make the best decision based on your specific situation and remaining eligibility.

Hey Scarlett! I went through this exact situation last year and wanted to share what worked for me. I was also planning to take 12 credits over summer to stay on track for graduation. Here's what I learned: Summer aid deadlines are usually much earlier than you'd expect - sometimes as early as March or April for summer classes. So definitely get that paperwork in ASAP! Also, since you're taking full-time credits (12), you'll likely qualify for the maximum amount of whatever aid you have remaining. When I took only 6 credits the previous summer, my aid was prorated, but at 12 credits I got the full amount available. One tip: if your school offers any summer-specific grants or work-study positions, apply for those too. My school had a small summer scholarship program that I didn't even know existed until I asked specifically about all summer funding options. Good luck! The summer aid process is definitely confusing but totally doable once you get the right information from your financial aid office.

UPDATE: I got through to Federal Student Aid this morning! The agent was super helpful and explained that my dad actually only completed his PORTION of the parent section, not the entire submission. I was able to log back in with my FSA ID and complete my section. Everything's submitted properly now! Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.

So glad you got it resolved! This is actually a really helpful thread for anyone dealing with similar FAFSA submission issues. The key takeaway is that the system can be confusing about what "submitted" actually means - sometimes it's just one section completed rather than the whole application. And calling FSA directly really does work if you can get through to them. Thanks for updating us with the solution!

I actually made same error last yr & called the support # after submitting with wrong info. They said just leave incorrect & explain to each college financial aid office directly. So I did that & most schools fixed it manually when calculating their packages. Worth trying if u already submit with wrong info!

As someone who just went through this exact situation with my daughter's FAFSA, I can confirm what others have said - definitely report ZERO for the rollover amount! I was so confused initially because seeing that $68,500 on line 5a made me think it was income, but it's not. The key thing to remember is that a rollover is just moving money from one retirement account to another - you're not actually receiving any new income. I made the mistake of calling the FAFSA helpline first and got conflicting information from different representatives, which made me even more confused. What finally helped was speaking directly with the financial aid office at my daughter's college. They explained that rollovers are specifically excluded from the FAFSA income calculations, and there's actually a question that asks if the distribution was a rollover - make sure to answer "Yes" to that and then enter zero for the amount. The good news is that even if you make a mistake on this, most college financial aid offices are familiar with this common error and can manually adjust your aid calculation. But definitely better to get it right from the start! Good luck with your son's application.