Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who went through this exact situation 3 years ago. My daughter combined her federal Direct loan with a private loan from Citizens Bank, and it worked out well. A few things I learned: 1. Don't just compare interest rates - look at the total cost over the life of the loan. Some lenders offer rate reductions for autopay or good grades. 2. Private loans typically start repayment 6 months after graduation, while federal loans have more flexible deferment options if your son has trouble finding work. 3. Consider applying to multiple private lenders within a 14-45 day window - this counts as one credit inquiry and won't hurt the credit score as much. The key is understanding that you're mixing two different types of loans with different protections. The federal portion will always have better borrower protections, but private loans can definitely fill the gap when Parent PLUS isn't the right fit for your family's situation.

As someone who works in higher education finance, I wanted to add a few important considerations that haven't been fully covered yet: 1. **Impact on financial aid in future years**: Using private loans instead of Parent PLUS won't affect your son's federal aid eligibility, but make sure you understand how this might impact any state grant programs or institutional aid that consider total family borrowing. 2. **Tax implications**: Interest on both federal and private student loans can be tax deductible (up to $2,500/year), but there are income limits. Parent PLUS loans taken by parents can be deducted by the parents, while loans in the student's name are deducted by the student. 3. **Loan servicer communication**: Once you have multiple loan types, you'll be dealing with different servicers (likely FedLoan or Aidvantage for federal, and the private lender's servicer). Set up online accounts for both and understand their different payment schedules and policies. 4. **Future borrowing capacity**: Remember that your son will likely need loans for all four years. Private lenders may have annual and aggregate borrowing limits that could affect junior/senior year funding. The combination approach you're considering is totally legitimate - just make sure you're planning for the full four-year picture, not just freshman year!

After you make the correction, I'd recommend following up with your daughter's financial aid office directly. Sometimes they need additional context for changes like this, and it can help prevent delays in processing. Explain the situation clearly, including the permanent nature of the arrangement.

I went through this exact situation two years ago when my father-in-law moved in with us for medical care. The key thing is that since she moved in permanently and you're providing more than half her support, you absolutely should update the FAFSA household size. It did help lower our SAI and increased my daughter's aid eligibility. One tip: when you make the correction online, add a brief note in the comments section explaining the change and the date she moved in. This helped us avoid any confusion during verification. Also, keep copies of any medical records or correspondence that show the permanent nature of the move - we ended up needing them later. The process was straightforward and worth the potential aid increase!

one thing no one mentioned yet is to check each schools financial aid portal too, not just waiting for them to email. sometimse they post the aid package on the portal before sending the official email. my son almost missed a scholarship deadline because we were waiting for an email but the info was already in his school account for like 2 weeks! 😬

Great advice from everyone here! As a newcomer to this process myself, I wanted to add that it's also worth bookmarking each school's financial aid webpage and checking for any FAFSA processing updates they might post. Some schools are being really transparent about their timeline delays this year and posting estimated dates for when aid packages will be ready. Also, if your son is considering any schools that require CSS Profile or additional institutional forms beyond FAFSA, make sure those are submitted too - some schools won't release aid packages until they have ALL required documents. The waiting is definitely nerve-wracking but sounds like it's normal!

FAFSA is COMPLETE GARBAGE this year. My son's application has been "processing" for 5 WEEKS with NO SAI score yet. We called 16 TIMES and got disconnected EVERY TIME. The one time we got through, they said there's a "system-wide issue with signatures" affecting THOUSANDS of applications. They're supposedly fixing it but WHO KNOWS when. My son might lose his scholarship because of their incompetence. I'm LIVID.

Just checking in - did you manage to resolve this issue? If it's been 72 hours, you should definitely see something in one of your accounts by now. If not, there are still options to fix it before deadlines.

when i was filling out my fafsa a couple weeks ago the instruction said to report the parent who i lived with more during the past 12 months. so if thats your mom, just report her? the system seems pretty straight forward unless im missing something

I went through this exact situation two years ago! The key thing to understand is that the new FAFSA rules prioritize which parent provides MORE financial support, not just custody arrangements. Since your mom provides 100% of your support and your dad contributes nothing, you should only report your mom's income initially. However, I'd recommend being proactive - start gathering documentation NOW showing your mom's sole financial support (her tax returns claiming you as dependent, receipts for major expenses like medical/school costs, etc.) in case you need to file a special circumstances appeal later. Also, reach out to the financial aid offices at your target schools early to explain your situation - many are familiar with divorced parent issues and can walk you through their specific process. Don't let your dad's income on paper destroy your aid eligibility when he's not actually contributing!