Paying student loan interest during school to reduce my child's FAFSA debt - is this possible?

Yes u can totally do this! My son is in his junior year and I've been paying his interest since he started. The trick is u don't need anything special set up - just make payments and specify they go to interest. Any payment beyond the required minimum automatically goes to interest first before principal.

Important clarification here - it depends on what TYPE of loan your daughter received. For subsidized federal loans, the government pays the interest while she's in school (so there's nothing for you to pay). For unsubsidized federal loans, interest DOES accrue during school, and yes you can absolutely make interest-only payments. For private loans, policies vary by lender. To make payments as a parent, you have a few options: 1. Your daughter can add you as an authorized payer on her account 2. She can share her payment information with you so you can make payments 3. You can send her the money and she can make the payments I'd recommend calling the servicer to understand the exact process for their system. Each one handles it slightly differently.

my parents did this for me and it saved me THOUSANDS!! definitely do it if you can. the interest is what kills students in the long run when it capitalizes.

What's really frustrating is how they don't make this OBVIOUS anywhere on their websites! It took me hours of searching and finally calling to figure out how to do this for my son's loans. I was on hold with FSA for 2+ hours before I finally got through to someone who could explain it. Total nightmare just to try to help my kid not be drowning in interest.

Financial aid advisor here. You've received good advice from others, but I want to add some technical details: 1. For unsubsidized loans, interest accrues at a daily rate from the date of disbursement 2. This interest will capitalize (be added to principal) when your daughter enters repayment after graduation 3. Paying interest during school prevents this capitalization To make payments as a parent: - Have your daughter create an online account with her servicer if she hasn't already - She can add you as an authorized payer (different servicers have different terms for this) - You can make payments directly to the interest One important note: Make sure to specify that extra payments go to the unsubsidized loans FIRST, as they're accruing interest. The subsidized loans don't accrue interest until after the grace period ends following graduation. This strategy can save thousands over the life of the loan, so it's great you're looking into this!

I tried doing this for my daughter but got confused because when I called Great Lakes they said I needed to be on the loan as a cosigner to make payments??? But then when my daughter called they said anyone can make a payment on the account with the account number. The whole system is so confusing!!!!!

Just wanted to share my experience: I've been paying my son's unsubsidized loan interest for 3 years now. I send about $30/month to cover it. By the time he graduates next year, I'll have saved him about $2,500 in capitalized interest. Best thing I ever did! Not everyone can afford to help with tuition, but this small monthly amount makes a big difference long-term.

The whole student loan system is designed to confuse people and maximize profits. They WANT the interest to capitalize so they make more money off your kid. That's why they make it hard to figure out how to pay just the interest. The system is RIGGED against students!!!!

I want to thank everyone for their helpful advice! I called Great Lakes today and got it all figured out. They said I can make payments as a guest payer using my daughter's account number, and they added instructions on her account that additional payments should go to the unsubsidized loan interest first. The rep said this is actually pretty common and a smart strategy. Feeling much better about her loan situation now!