Can both divorced parents apply for separate Parent PLUS loans for same student? FAFSA confusion

That's such a relief to hear! Did you have to coordinate with your ex at all about who was covering what amount? Or did you just each decide independently?

Thank you so much for the detailed breakdown! This clarifies a lot. Do you know if there's any benefit to having the parent with better credit apply for a larger portion?

Oh no, that sounds like a nightmare scenario! I'll definitely make sure we have a written agreement and both talk to the financial aid office beforehand.

This is incredibly helpful - thank you! I didn't even think about the different fees and interest rates. Is there typically a deadline for when Parent PLUS applications need to be submitted for fall semester?

That's a good point. She's already taking out the max federal student loans she can get ($5,500 this year), but there's still a big gap. I'm hoping to minimize her debt since she's planning on grad school too.

does that service actually work? i've been trying to get ahold of someone about my daughter's verification issues for 2 weeks!!

Yes, it worked great for me! Instead of waiting on hold for hours, I got connected to an actual FSA agent who answered all my questions about the Parent PLUS loan process for divorced parents. Definitely worth it for complicated situations like this.

Thank you for following up! The 30-day guideline is really helpful. And I had no idea about the origination fees - we'll need to factor that in when calculating how much to request.

Unfortunately, some individual financial aid officers aren't familiar with all the regulations. While it's definitely allowed federally, sometimes schools implement their own processes that can complicate things. I suggest asking to speak with the director of financial aid and specifically referencing the Federal Student Aid guidance on this topic.

awesome! glad it worked out. just remember if either of you has bad credit history you might get denied and would need to get an endorser (like a cosigner). happened to my ex and it delayed everything by like 3 weeks

Don't forget to look into payment plans too! My parents found out they could do a 10-month payment plan with no interest instead of taking the full loan amount. Saved them thousands in interest.

This is so helpful! I'm new to all this financial aid stuff and feeling pretty overwhelmed. The written agreement idea is brilliant - I can see how that would prevent the kinds of miscommunications others mentioned. Quick question: when you say "apply within the same week," does that mean we should coordinate the exact timing, or just make sure we're both submitting around the same time? I want to make sure we don't accidentally mess each other up!

@Noah Irving Thanks for sharing your experience! When you mention applying within the same week, I m'curious about the timing too. Also, did you find that having the parent with better credit take the larger portion actually made a difference in terms of approval or interest rates? I m'trying to figure out if it s'worth strategizing that way or if we should just split it evenly for simplicity.

@Noah Irving Great advice! I m'actually in a similar situation right now and wondering about the timing coordination too. Did you and your ex literally submit on the same day, or just make sure you were both done within that week timeframe? Also, I m'curious if the school s'financial aid office gave you any specific guidance on how to handle the coordination, or if you mostly figured it out on your own? The written agreement idea is definitely something I m'going to suggest to my ex - seems like it could save a lot of headaches down the road!

@Noah Irving This is exactly the kind of real-world advice I was hoping to find! I m'curious about the credit score strategy you mentioned - did you and your ex actually compare scores beforehand, or did you just make an educated guess about who had better credit? Also, when you created that written agreement, did you include any contingency plans in case one parent got denied? I m'trying to think through all the potential scenarios since this is such a big financial commitment. Really appreciate you sharing your experience!

@Noah Irving This is really reassuring to hear from someone who s'been through it! I m'wondering about the practical side of coordinating with an ex - did you guys use email, text, or did you actually meet up to hash out the details? Also, I m'curious if there were any surprise costs or fees that you didn t'anticipate when planning out who would cover what amounts. The coordination aspect seems like it could get tricky, especially if communication isn t'great between divorced parents.

@Noah Irving This is such valuable advice! I m'actually going through something similar right now and your timing suggestion makes a lot of sense. Just to clarify - when you say apply within the same week, do you mean you should literally coordinate the exact days with your ex, or is it more about just making sure you re'both in the same general timeframe? I m'worried about accidentally creating complications if we submit too close together or too far apart. Also, did your school s'financial aid office give you any heads up about potential processing delays when dealing with multiple Parent PLUS applications for the same student?

@Jacob Smithson This is incredibly helpful, thank you! The Google Doc idea is brilliant - I can definitely see how that would help keep everything organized and transparent. I m'particularly interested in your comment about applying on the same day. Did you coordinate the exact timing because you were worried about one application affecting the other, or was it more about making sure the school could process them together? Also, I d'love to take you up on that offer to see your coordination document if you don t'mind sharing - having a template would be amazing since I m'feeling pretty overwhelmed by all the logistics right now!

@Jacob Smithson This is exactly what I needed to hear! The same-day application strategy is really smart - I hadn t'thought about how the timing could affect processing. Quick question about the income-based split you mentioned $25K (vs $17K -) did you base that on current income, or did you factor in each parent s'ability to handle the monthly payments long-term? I m'trying to figure out the fairest way to divide things with my ex since we have pretty different financial situations. Also, the point about individual responsibility is crucial - I definitely need to make sure we re'both crystal clear on that before moving forward. Would love to see that coordination document if you re'willing to share!

@Jacob Smithson This is such a relief to read! The coordination document idea sounds perfect - I ve'been stressing about how to keep track of everything and make sure my ex and I are on the same page. I m'curious about the same-day application approach - did you find that helped avoid any confusion at the financial aid office, or was it more about your own peace of mind knowing it was all submitted together? Also, the point about individual responsibility is so important - I think my ex might have some misconceptions about that too. If you re'comfortable sharing that template, I d'be incredibly grateful! It sounds like you guys really had your act together with this whole process.

@CosmicCruiser I'm so glad this thread has been helpful for you too! I was feeling completely lost when I first posted, but everyone's real experiences have made this seem so much more manageable. Your questions are really smart - especially about having backup plans if one parent gets denied. That's something I hadn't fully considered but definitely should plan for. The out-of-state question is interesting too - I wonder if that affects the timing of document processing at all. It's amazing how much practical knowledge everyone has shared here. Good luck with your conversation with your ex - sounds like you're going into it well-prepared!

@CosmicCruiser Great questions! I haven't been through this personally yet, but based on everything I've read here, I'd definitely recommend having that backup plan you mentioned. From what @Alexander Evans shared earlier, it sounds like communication breakdowns can really mess things up if one parent goes rogue. Maybe include in your coordination document what happens if one person gets denied - like does the other parent automatically pick up that portion, or do you explore other options first? The out-of-state thing is interesting too - I wonder if different states have any variations in how they handle the paperwork processing. This whole thread has been such an education!

@Miguel Diaz Welcome to the community! Your questions are really thoughtful, especially about the order of applications. From what I ve'gathered reading through this thread, it seems like coordination is definitely more important than the specific order - several people mentioned applying on the same day or within the same week to help the financial aid office process everything smoothly. As for bringing up the topic with an ex, I imagine it could be awkward at first, but framing it as working "together for our child s'future might" help. The financial reality is that many families need both parents to contribute to make college affordable, so it s'really about being practical rather than personal. Thanks for acknowledging how helpful this discussion has been - I m'learning so much from everyone s'real-world experiences too!

@Miguel Diaz Great question about application order! From my understanding based on everyone s'experiences here, the order doesn t'really matter to the federal system - each Parent PLUS application is evaluated independently based on that parent s'credit. But coordinating timing definitely seems to help the school s'financial aid office process everything more efficiently. As for bringing it up with an ex, I d'probably start with something like I "ve'been researching our options for [daughter s'name] s'college costs and found out we can both apply for separate loans to split the burden - would you be open to discussing how we might coordinate this? Leading" with the practical benefit for your child might make it feel less awkward. This whole thread has been such a goldmine of real-world advice!

@Quinn Herbert Thank you for such a thoughtful summary! As someone who s'new to this whole process, I really appreciate how you ve'pulled together all the key insights from everyone s'experiences. Those takeaways you listed are spot-on and will definitely be my roadmap if I end up in a similar situation. It s'amazing how this thread evolved from @Jessica Nguyen s initial'confusion to a comprehensive guide with real examples of what works and what (can go wrong! . The)coordination document idea that @Jacob Smithson and @Noah Irving mentioned keeps coming up as a game-changer - it seems like that one step could prevent so many of the communication breakdowns that make this process stressful. This community really shows how powerful it is when people share their actual experiences rather than just theoretical advice. Thanks for highlighting the most important points!

@Sofia Rodriguez Your question about income differences is really important! I ve'been reading through all these experiences and wondering about the same thing. From what @Jacob Smithson shared, it sounds like they did base their split on income differences $25K vs ($17K , which)seems like a fair approach. I imagine you could factor in both current income and long-term ability to handle monthly payments - maybe the parent with higher income takes on a larger portion, but not necessarily proportional to the income difference since there might be other factors like existing debt or expenses. The coordination document that everyone keeps mentioning would probably be perfect for documenting whatever formula you decide on together. It s great'that you re thinking'about fairness upfront - that kind of planning seems to be what separates the success stories from the disaster scenarios people have shared here!