Parent PLUS loan on FAFSA - does it go on parent or student account?

The Parent PLUS loan will be connected to YOUR FSA ID account, not your student's. It's technically your loan that you're taking out on behalf of your child, which is why it's called the "Parent" PLUS loan. The student has no legal responsibility for repaying it - that's 100% on you. When you apply for the PLUS loan, you'll use your own FSA ID to complete the application at studentaid.gov. And to answer your other question, applying for a Parent PLUS loan doesn't affect your student's eligibility for other financial aid. The FAFSA determines your student's eligibility for grants and direct student loans first, and then the PLUS loan is available to cover remaining costs.

Just to add to the previous response - the Parent PLUS loan application is separate from the FAFSA. The FAFSA just determines your student's eligibility for federal aid like Pell Grants and direct student loans. After you get the SAI (Student Aid Index) and aid offer, you'll need to go to studentaid.gov and apply specifically for the Parent PLUS loan. You'll need to pass a credit check, and you can apply for up to the full cost of attendance minus any other financial aid received.

Just went through this whole process with my daughter. Let me tell you, the Parent PLUS loan is COMPLETELY on you as the parent. Your child will never see the loan details on their account. All billing statements, correspondence, everything comes to YOU. The servicers don't even have a way to add your student to the account communications. If you're looking at a $23k gap, please please think carefully about taking on that much debt each year! That adds up to $92k over 4 years plus interest (which starts accruing immediately). We were in a similar situation and ultimately decided to look at lower-cost schools because I didn't want to be paying off these loans in my 70s.

My daughter is a junior now and just fyi, its sometimes a nightmare getting through to someone at Federal Student Aid when you have questions about the Parent PLUS loan. I spent 3 hrs on hold last month trying to figure out why my loan amount was different than what I thought I requested. When I finally got through to someone they were super helpful but the wait times are ridiculous.

Parent PLUS loans are TERRIBLE!!!! I took them out for my son in 2018 and I'm STILL paying them off. The interest rates are so much higher than normal student loans and the government can garnish your Social Security if you default. My son promised to help pay them after graduation but guess what? He's struggling with his own loans now. If your kid can't get enough grants and scholarships maybe they should go to community college for 2 years then transfer!!!

random question but kinda related - do parent plus loans count against the student's aggregate loan limits? My daughter is going to grad school and took out loans for undergrad. Not sure if my parent plus loans from her undergrad count towards her grad school loan eligibility?

Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I'm going to look more carefully at our options. Seems like the Parent PLUS is definitely my responsibility, which makes sense, but I need to think about whether we can actually afford it. Going to have a serious talk with my son about possibly starting at community college instead.

As someone who just went through this process last year, I can confirm everything others have said - the Parent PLUS loan is 100% your responsibility and will be tied to your FSA ID, not your son's. One thing I wish someone had told me earlier is that you can actually request less than the full gap amount if you want to minimize borrowing. We ended up taking out $15k instead of the full $20k gap and found other ways to cover the difference (part-time job for our daughter, payment plan with the school). Also, definitely apply early - we applied in June and had everything sorted before move-in day, which was way less stressful than waiting until the last minute!

One thing to keep in mind is that Parent PLUS loans have a credit check requirement, unlike federal student loans. If you're denied due to credit issues, your student becomes eligible for additional unsubsidized federal loans (up to $4,000-5,000 more per year depending on their year in school). This could actually work out better since student loan interest rates are typically lower than Parent PLUS rates. Also, if you do get approved, you have the option to defer payments while your son is enrolled at least half-time, but interest will continue to accrue during that period. Just something to factor into your decision-making process!

Great question about checking those additional loan amounts! You can actually find this information without applying for Parent PLUS first. Contact your son's school's financial aid office directly - they can tell you exactly how much additional unsubsidized loans he'd be eligible for if you're denied for Parent PLUS. The amounts are: freshmen can get up to $4,000 additional, sophomores $4,000, and juniors/seniors $5,000. These loans would be in his name with lower interest rates (currently around 5.5% vs 7.28% for Parent PLUS). You could also run some numbers using the Federal Student Aid estimator at studentaid.gov to see projected payments. Definitely worth exploring this option first since the student loan terms are generally much better!

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who works in higher education financial aid. While Parent PLUS loans do go under your FSA ID and are your responsibility, one thing that often gets overlooked is that some schools offer payment plan options that can help reduce the amount you need to borrow. Instead of taking out the full $23k, you might be able to set up a monthly payment plan with the school for part of that gap and only borrow what you absolutely need. Also, don't forget to check if your son qualifies for any work-study programs - that income doesn't count against financial aid eligibility and can help chip away at costs. The key is to exhaust all other options before committing to large Parent PLUS loans since they do have higher interest rates and fewer repayment options compared to student loans.