Do I need to reapply for Parent PLUS loan for spring semester? Nothing deducted from tuition yet

Most schools disburse Parent PLUS loans by semester, not for the whole year at once. The spring portion probably won't show up until closer to January. I wouldn't worry yet!

i had the EXACT same issue last year w/ my son. turned out I actually DID need to sign a new Master Promissory Note for spring semester even tho nobody told me!! check ur school's financial aid portal, might need to complete something there.

Financial aid advisor here - this actually varies by institution. Some schools require a separate Parent PLUS application for each semester, while others process the loan for the full academic year. Your best course of action is to contact your daughter's financial aid office directly. They can tell you exactly what's happening with the disbursement and if any additional steps are needed. Typically, if you completed the Parent PLUS application for the full academic year (and you selected full year on the application), the spring portion should disburse about 10 days before classes begin. However, the anticipated aid should show on her account before then.

I've been through this a few times with my kids in college. Most likely scenario is that everything is fine and the Parent PLUS will disburse right before classes start. However, if the tuition due date is before the disbursement date, you should contact the financial aid office to confirm that the loan is in process and ask them to note your account so you don't get hit with late fees. They deal with this timing issue all the time!

PARENT PLUS LOANS ARE A NIGHTMARE!!! I spent literally 6 HOURS on hold with FSA last week trying to figure out why my PLUS loan for my son's spring semester hasn't processed yet. Finally got through to someone who told me there was a "system glitch" affecting "thousands of families" but they're "working on it" - whatever that means. The whole system is broken!

When my kid was in school, I got so confused because I thought the Parent PLUS loan was already taken care of for the whole year, but it turned out that while I was APPROVED for the whole year amount, I still needed to confirm the second semester portion through the school's portal. Every school handles it differently! Some automatically disburse both semesters, others make you confirm each semester separately.

does anyone else think its CRAZY that we have to figure all this stuff out ourselves?!? like why dont they send emails explaining exactly what we need to do for each semester? my daughter graduated last year and i STILL dont understand how all the different aid types work!!

UPDATE: I just want to clarify something important for everyone in this thread. For federal Parent PLUS loans, you only need to complete one application and one Master Promissory Note per academic year. However, many schools have their own internal processes that require additional confirmation steps for each semester's disbursement. This is why I always recommend contacting your specific institution rather than relying on general advice. Their internal processes might require actions that aren't part of the federal requirements but are still necessary for timely disbursement.

this is exactly why i took out a home equity loan instead of dealing with parent plus loans every semester!! so much easier even tho the interest is probably higher lol