Will my different last name on old student loans affect my child's FAFSA application?

Your different last name on old loans shouldn't cause any FAFSA issues for your daughter. The FAFSA system primarily uses your SSN and your current legal name for identification. The parent's loan history doesn't directly impact a student's aid eligibility - they're looking at your current income, assets, and household size to calculate the Student Aid Index (SAI), not your loan history. What MIGHT cause a problem is if you're in default on federal loans, as that can make a student ineligible for certain aid. But if your loans are in good standing, even with name changes, it shouldn't affect her application.

my mom had the same problem last yr when helping my brother. her loans were under her maiden name but everything worked fine with the FAFSA. they just need ur SSN

The real issue you might encounter isn't with the name change, but with creating your FSA ID. You'll need one to sign your daughter's FAFSA electronically as a parent/contributor. The system will try to verify your identity using credit history, and sometimes old names/addresses can trigger verification issues. I'd recommend creating your FSA ID NOW, weeks before you plan to submit her FAFSA, just in case there are any hiccups that need resolving. Also, regarding email addresses - you don't need your old ones. Just use your current email for your new FSA ID. The system doesn't try to match old email addresses.

I work in a college financial aid office, and I see this situation all the time. Your Parent PLUS loans for your older child won't affect your daughter's aid eligibility at all. FAFSA is concerned with your current ability to pay (income and assets), not your existing education debt. But here's what WILL matter: if you're currently in default on any federal student loans, your daughter won't be eligible for any federal aid until you resolve the default. Even if they're with a private servicer now, if they originated as federal loans, default status matters. You can check your federal loan status at studentaid.gov.

the fafsa is such a nightmare!! i had to deal with name changes too and they made me send in my marriage certificate AND divorce papers just to prove i was the same person. totally ridiculous bureaucracy lol

Something nobody's mentioned: you should also check if your loans are actually PRIVATE now or just federally-backed loans being SERVICED by a private company like Navient. This makes a huge difference! If they were federal loans that were simply transferred to a private servicer, they're still federal loans. But if you refinanced federal loans with a private lender, then they became private loans. This distinction matters for certain benefits and potential future loan forgiveness programs.

does anyone know when the 2025-26 fafsa opens? my counselor said october but then i heard they changed it???

Since several people have mentioned potential FSA ID verification issues, here's my advice: when you create your FSA ID, use your CURRENT legal name exactly as it appears on your social security card or government ID. Don't try to match what's on your old loans. The system will use your SSN to link everything. Also, be sure to use a personal email you can always access, not a work email. And save your challenge questions somewhere secure - those are the #1 reason people get locked out of their accounts.

Just wanted to follow up and see if you were able to create your FSA ID without issues? Did the name change cause any problems?

That's great to hear that your FSA ID creation went smoothly! For other parents in similar situations, it's worth noting that the credit verification questions can actually be helpful - they prove the system IS linking your financial history correctly across name changes. One more tip for when you actually complete the FAFSA: make sure to have your 2023 tax return handy (for the 2025-26 FAFSA). The IRS Data Retrieval Tool can automatically import your tax information, which reduces errors and speeds up processing. Since you mentioned having a complicated history, using the automatic import feature will help ensure everything matches perfectly with what the government already has on file.