FAFSA lists me as parent but my loans were forgiven - how to avoid taking on my son's debt?
I'm in a weird situation with my son's financial aid. He's going into his junior year now, and every year the FAFSA has listed me as the responsible party. I recently had my own student loans forgiven through the Biden forgiveness program, and while I love my kid more than anything, I can't afford to take on his student debt too. The FAFSA forms are confusing me because they seem to automatically assign the loans to me as the parent. How do I complete these forms correctly so he gets financial aid but I'm not responsible for more loans? Does anyone know if I need to fill out a different section or if there's a way to indicate he should be responsible for his own loans? I'm worried about messing up his aid package but also protecting my financial situation.
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Misterclamation Skyblue
parent plus loans r different from fafsa aid. the student always gets the regular loans in their name, the parent plus are extra if you apply for those. you dont have to take the parent plus.
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Gabriel Ruiz
•Oh really? So the regular aid goes to him directly? The FAFSA site makes it seem like I'm somehow responsible which is why I got confused. But I definitely don't want to apply for Parent PLUS then!
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Peyton Clarke
There seems to be a common misunderstanding here. Let me clarify how FAFSA works: 1. When you complete the FAFSA as a parent, you're providing financial information to calculate your son's Student Aid Index (SAI), which determines his eligibility for grants, work-study, and student loans. 2. The standard undergraduate loans (Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized) are always in the STUDENT'S name, not yours. Your son will be responsible for those loans. 3. As the parent, you're only responsible for loans if you specifically apply for a Parent PLUS loan, which is completely optional and separate from the main FAFSA application. 4. Your loan forgiveness status doesn't affect your son's aid eligibility, though your current income does. Keep completing the FAFSA as you have been - just don't apply for the Parent PLUS loans if you don't want to take on additional debt.
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Vince Eh
•This ^ I was so confused by all this too when my daughter started college. All that paperwork makes it seem like I'm taking the loans but it was just calculating eligibility. She got her own loans in her name.
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Sophia Gabriel
I HAD THE EXACT SAME QUESTION last year with my daughter!!!! The financial aid office at her school made it seem like I HAD to take out Parent PLUS loans or she wouldn't get enough aid!!! It was so stressful because I already had my own student loans I was paying off. THEY DON'T MAKE THIS CLEAR AT ALL!!!! 😡😡😡
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Gabriel Ruiz
•That's exactly what I'm worried about! Did you end up taking the Parent PLUS loans? I really don't want to add more debt after finally getting my own forgiven.
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Sophia Gabriel
•NO!!! I refused and told her she needed to apply for private loans if she needed more money!!! They try to PUSH parents into taking these loans and I said ABSOLUTELY NOT. Thankfully she got a scholarship her sophomore year.
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Tobias Lancaster
The confusion you're experiencing is very common. As a financial aid counselor, let me break this down: When you fill out the FAFSA as a parent of a dependent student, you're providing YOUR financial information, but this only determines ELIGIBILITY. The standard Federal Direct Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized) automatically go in your son's name - you have zero legal responsibility for those. Your son will likely qualify for up to $7,500/year in Federal Direct Loans as a junior (assuming he's a dependent student). This goes directly in his name. Parent PLUS loans are completely separate and optional. If there's a gap between his aid package and total costs, only then would you consider PLUS loans, but you are under no obligation to take them. A suggestion: Have your son schedule a meeting with his financial aid office to review his package and understand exactly what's in his name vs. what additional funding might be needed. You can attend this meeting too.
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Gabriel Ruiz
•Thank you so much for this detailed explanation! That helps a lot. I'll definitely have him schedule that meeting with financial aid. Is there any specific section on the FAFSA where I need to indicate that I don't want Parent PLUS loans?
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Tobias Lancaster
•There's actually no section on the FAFSA itself where you accept or decline Parent PLUS loans. The FAFSA is just for determining eligibility. After your son receives his aid package, the school will provide information about applying for PLUS loans as a separate process. At that point, you simply don't complete the PLUS loan application if you don't want them. No action needed on your part to decline - just don't apply for them.
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Ezra Beard
Have you tried calling the Federal Student Aid help line? I had an issue with my daughter's FAFSA last year and was on hold for nearly 2 hours before getting disconnected... TWICE! But I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual FSA agent in about 20 minutes. They can explain exactly how the parent vs. student responsibility works. Check out their website at claimyr.com - there's even a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Totally worth it to get a clear answer directly from FSA.
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Vince Eh
•does this acutally work??? i might need this cause ive literally called like 5 times and never got through
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Ezra Beard
•Yes! That's why I recommended it. I was skeptical too but it actually connected me with a real person at FSA. The agent I spoke with went through my entire application and fixed the issue. So much better than waiting on hold forever.
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Statiia Aarssizan
I think everyone's forgetting that schools can be REALLY pushy about Parent PLUS loans because they want the tuition money! When my son went to State U, they put the Parent PLUS loan right in his "financial aid package" like it was already approved, which made it look like we HAD to take it. We didn't realize until later that we could've said no. Definitely talk to the financial aid office and be very clear about what you're willing to take on. Don't let them pressure you!
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Gabriel Ruiz
•That's what I'm afraid of! The school already sent us a "package" that included Parent PLUS loans. I didn't realize they were separate and optional. I'll definitely be more assertive about not wanting those now.
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Misterclamation Skyblue
just wondering but y did ur son get listed as dependent? is he not working? bc if he has a job and pays for more then half his stuff he could file independent and then ud be totally off the hook
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Peyton Clarke
•This is actually incorrect information. For FAFSA purposes, being independent isn't determined by whether the student pays for their own expenses. A student under 24 can only qualify as independent if they are: married, a veteran, have dependents they support, are emancipated, homeless, or meet a few other very specific criteria. Simply living on your own and paying your own bills doesn't make you independent for financial aid purposes.
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Gabriel Ruiz
Thank you everyone for the helpful information! I understand now that I was misinterpreting how FAFSA works. The regular student loans go directly to my son regardless of me filling out the parent portion of the FAFSA. The Parent PLUS loans are completely separate and optional, so I can simply choose not to apply for those. I'll have my son reach out to his financial aid office to make sure we understand his complete aid package, and I'll be clear that we don't want Parent PLUS loans included. This is such a relief!
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Tobias Lancaster
•Exactly right! And just to add - make sure your son understands the borrowing limits for his Federal Direct Loans ($7,500/year as a junior/senior) and plans accordingly. If there's still a gap after grants and his own loans, he might need to look into scholarships, part-time work, or private student loans in his own name (though these typically require a cosigner). Good luck to both of you!
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