Do I need to complete FAFSA for Parent PLUS loan, or can I skip it?

Yes, a completed FAFSA is absolutely required before applying for a Parent PLUS loan. The FAFSA establishes your son's eligibility for federal student aid, including Parent PLUS loans. Even if you don't expect to qualify for grants, the FAFSA is a prerequisite for ALL federal loans, including Parent PLUS. The university can't process a PLUS loan without an associated FAFSA on file for the student. It's a common misconception, but there's no way around it.

our son did FASFA like 2 yrs ago for his first yr and we still had to do it again this year for the PLUS loan. kinda annoying but thats how it works

Just to add some specific technical details: The Parent PLUS loan process requires that: 1. The student must complete the FAFSA 2. The parent must complete the PLUS loan application on studentaid.gov 3. The parent must complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) 4. The parent may need to complete PLUS credit counseling if there are credit issues The reason the FAFSA is required is because it establishes the student's Cost of Attendance (COA), which determines the maximum PLUS loan amount you can borrow. Without the FAFSA, there's no official COA calculation for the school to use. One important note: while your son won't qualify for need-based aid like Pell Grants based on your income, completing the FAFSA will automatically make him eligible for Direct Unsubsidized Loans ($5,500-$7,500 depending on year in school), which have better terms than PLUS loans. Many families use a combination of the student's Direct Loans and Parent PLUS to cover costs.

Side note but when my daughter was applying the whole process was a nightmare!! We had all kinds of issues with the FAFSA sitE. Took literally months to get it sorted! Just warning you to start early if you can.

The university people gave you wrong information at first!! This is exactly why I hate dealing with financial aid offices - half the time they don't even know their own rules! 😡 I've had THREE different answers from the same school about PLUS loans. But yes, FAFSA is 100% required. The system is designed to force everyone through the FAFSA process even if you know you won't get grants. It's all part of the broken system.

In response to your follow-up question: Yes, you'd complete two separate processes: 1. FAFSA (student completes with parent information included) 2. PLUS loan application (parent completes for parent borrowing) After the FAFSA is processed, your son will receive a financial aid offer from the school that includes his Direct Unsubsidized Loan eligibility. Then you can apply for the PLUS loan to cover the remaining amount needed. Regarding processing time: The FAFSA is typically processed within 3-5 days, but the school may take 1-2 weeks to generate the aid offer after receiving the FAFSA data. I'd recommend completing both as soon as possible given your 3-week deadline for the tuition deposit.

oh and make sure u have the FSA IDs set up before u start the FAFSA... both you and ur son need seperate ones and that part took us forever last time

As for your question about timing - the actual FAFSA processing is usually quick (3-5 business days) but the new FAFSA system has been experiencing significant delays this year. Once processed, your son's Student Aid Index (SAI) will be calculated and sent to the schools listed on his FAFSA. One strategy that might help with your timeline: Some schools will accept a tuition deposit even before financial aid is finalized. You could contact the school's financial aid office directly to explain your situation and ask if they'll accept the deposit with the understanding that you're in the process of completing the FAFSA and PLUS loan application. Many schools will work with you on the timing.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact situation last year! The FAFSA requirement for Parent PLUS loans caught us completely off guard too. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned - make sure you have all your tax documents ready before starting the FAFSA. The new system uses the IRS Data Retrieval Tool which can pull your tax info directly, but if that doesn't work for any reason, you'll need to input everything manually. Also, don't forget that Parent PLUS loans have higher interest rates than student loans (currently around 8.05% vs 5.5% for undergrad Direct loans), so definitely take advantage of those unsubsidized loans Chloe mentioned first. Good luck with the process - you've got this!