When do Parent PLUS Loan payments start? Conflicting info on $29K loan repayment timeline

Parent PLUS loans begin repayment 60 days after full disbursement unless you specifically request a deferment. The deferment option is what allows postponing payments until 6 months after your student graduates or drops below half-time enrollment. This isn't automatic - you must request it on the application or contact your loan servicer. Regarding which parent applies, it doesn't affect interest rates - those are standard for all Parent PLUS loans regardless of income. However, only the parent who applies undergoes the credit check and becomes legally responsible for repayment. Your joint income affected your daughter's aid package, but for the PLUS loan itself, only the borrower's credit history matters, not income.

we got our PLUS loan last yr and payments started right away!! nobody told us we had to ask about deferment ugh interest is adding up fast even tho were paying. wish someone had explained this better

To clarify what others have shared: Parent PLUS loans have repayment options you need to select during application: 1. Standard repayment: Begins 60 days after full disbursement 2. Interest-only: Pay only interest while student is in school 3. Deferment: No payments until student graduates/drops below half-time, then 6-month grace period Important note: Interest accrues during deferment and gets added to your principal when repayment begins (capitalization). As for which parent applies, the decision should be based on credit score rather than income. The parent with better credit is more likely to be approved without requiring an endorser. Income doesn't affect Parent PLUS interest rates or approval - those are based on federal rates and credit checks.

My son's school financial aid office was IMPOSSIBLE to reach by phone all summer. I finally got through when I used Claimyr to connect me directly to a financial aid agent. It saved me hours of trying to get answers about our Parent PLUS loan. You can check out a quick video of how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ or visit claimyr.com. Completely worth it to get actual answers from a real person instead of online forums (no offense to everyone here!).

THE ENTIRE FINANCIAL AID SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!! They DELIBERATELY make this confusing so parents end up paying more than they should. My daughter is in her 3rd year and we've been fighting with the loan servicer since day 1. They never told us about deferment options, put us in immediate repayment, then gave us the runaround when we tried to switch. Even their own customer service reps give contradictory information about Parent PLUS loans. AND DON'T GET ME STARTED on how they factor in your joint income but then only look at one parent's credit for the loan. THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED against middle-class families!!!!

just wondering if anyone knows...the parent plus loan is in my name but my ex husband is supposed to pay half according to our divorce agreement. does he get any tax benefits if its only in my name?

Financial aid counselor here. Let me clear up some confusion: 1. Parent PLUS loan repayment begins 60 days after the final disbursement of the academic year by default. However, parents can request deferment during the application process or by contacting the loan servicer after approval. 2. With deferment, no payments are required until your student graduates, leaves school, or drops below half-time enrollment. After that, there's a 6-month grace period before repayment begins. 3. IMPORTANT: Interest accrues during deferment periods and capitalizes (gets added to your principal) when repayment begins. This means your loan balance will increase even during deferment. 4. The parent with stronger credit should apply, as approval is based on credit history, not income. Both parents' incomes are already factored into the FAFSA's SAI calculation for determining aid eligibility. 5. If both parents have similar credit, consider which parent's budget can better handle payments if you're not selecting deferment. I recommend calling your loan servicer (not the school) to discuss repayment options if you've already been approved.

my daughter got the parent plus loans too and idk i think we messed up cause we been paying since like the 3rd month after school started. nobody told us about deferrment options but honestly maybe its better this way? at least interest isnt building up as much right?

One important detail I haven't seen mentioned yet: If you choose deferment for your Parent PLUS loan, you should consider making at least interest-only payments if possible. This prevents the loan balance from growing during the deferment period. For example, on a $29K loan at the current 8.05% interest rate, you'd accumulate about $2,334 in interest annually. If deferred for 4 years without any payments, that would add approximately $9,336 to your loan balance before your student even graduates. If full payments don't fit your budget now but you can manage some payment, contact your loan servicer about the interest-only option during the in-school period. It's a middle ground between full payment and full deferment.

As a parent who just went through this process last year, I can't stress enough how important it is to understand these repayment options upfront! We made the mistake of not requesting deferment initially and were hit with immediate payments we weren't budgeting for. Here's what I learned that might help: You can actually change your repayment plan even after the loan has been disbursed. I called our loan servicer (Nelnet in our case) about 3 months into payments and was able to switch to deferment. The process took about 2 weeks, but it gave us the breathing room we needed. Also, regarding which parent should apply - we went with my husband because his credit score was higher, even though I make slightly more. The approval was instant, whereas when I had tried first, it required additional documentation. Credit score really does make a difference for Parent PLUS loans. One last tip: Keep detailed records of all your communications with the loan servicer. I had to call three times to get consistent information, and having notes from previous calls helped me push back when they gave contradictory advice.

As someone who went through this exact confusion last year, I want to echo what the financial aid counselor shared - definitely contact your loan servicer directly rather than waiting for the school's financial aid office to call back. We waited weeks for our school to respond and nearly missed important deadlines. One thing that really helped us was creating a spreadsheet comparing the total costs of each repayment option. For our $25K Parent PLUS loan: - Immediate standard payments: ~$280/month, less total interest over time - Interest-only during school: ~$170/month, prevents balance growth - Full deferment: $0/month now, but adds ~$8K to total loan balance over 4 years The math really put things in perspective for our family budget. Also, don't feel bad about being confused - the Parent PLUS loan system is genuinely poorly explained by most schools. We're all just trying to figure it out as we go! Good luck with getting through to someone who can set up your deferment before disbursement. It's definitely worth the effort to get it sorted now rather than trying to change it later.

First-time college parent here too, and I completely understand the panic! We were in the exact same boat last year with so many conflicting answers about Parent PLUS loans. What really helped us was calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly at 1-800-4-FED-AID instead of trying to reach our school's financial aid office. They were able to explain that you have three main options: immediate repayment (starts 60 days after disbursement), interest-only payments while your daughter is in school, or full deferment until 6 months after she graduates. The key thing nobody told us initially is that you have to actively REQUEST deferment - it's not automatic! We almost got stuck with immediate payments because we didn't know to ask. Regarding which parent should apply, definitely go with whoever has the better credit score. The interest rate is the same regardless (currently 8.05% for Parent PLUS), but better credit means faster approval and no need for an endorser. Your joint income already affected your daughter's aid package through the FAFSA, so that part is done. One more tip: if you do choose deferment, seriously consider making at least the interest payments if your budget allows. On $29K, you're looking at roughly $195/month in interest. Paying that during school prevents your balance from growing to $38K+ by graduation. Hang in there - once you get the right information, it becomes much more manageable!

Another first-time college parent chiming in! We just went through this exact situation last month and I wanted to share what we learned. After reading everyone's responses, I called the Federal Student Aid Information Center (thanks for that number!) and got everything clarified. Here's what we ended up doing: We requested deferment but decided to make voluntary interest-only payments during our daughter's enrollment. This prevents the loan balance from growing while keeping our required monthly payment at zero in case we hit financial difficulties. The key thing that wasn't clear from our school's materials is that even with deferment, you can make payments anytime without penalty. So we have the flexibility to pay interest-only most months, but can skip payments if needed without going into default. For the application question - we had my spouse with the higher credit score apply, and the approval was instant. The school's financial aid office finally called us back (after 3 weeks!) but by then we had already sorted everything out through the federal hotline. One last tip: Set up automatic interest-only payments through your loan servicer if you go that route. It's usually around $195-200/month for a $29K loan, and having it automatic means you won't accidentally miss a payment and let interest capitalize. The whole system really is confusing, but once you know the options it becomes much more manageable. You've got this!