<p>I’m not quite sure what the difference between all of these loans are, but I will be meeting with a financial aid adviser to figure all of that out.</p>
<p>The ParentPlus loans are for your parents (either one) to take.</p>
<p>If you really spent a day more with one parent than the other, it doesn’t matter how much either one spent to support you. The custodial parent for FAFSA purposes is the one you spent the most time with. If it’s your dad, it’s your dad, regardless of how much he spent. But likewise if it’s your mom.</p>
<p>@oldmom4896
I see. With the Parent Plus Loans, will they be able to use that to cover the bulk of my tuition costs? Do they have access to the full $19,593? </p>
<p>Will your parents apply for and take a Plus Loan?</p>
<p>@thumper1
In the worst case scenario that I am unable to receive any money from the cal grant (which is a likely possibility), I’m sure that one of my parents would be willing to take out the Plus Loan to help with my tuition. I’ll most likely be paying off the loan after I graduate though.</p>
<p>See <a href=“http://www.direct.ed.gov/parent.html”>http://www.direct.ed.gov/parent.html</a> for Direct PLUS Loans</p>
<p>it is silly to take that Plus loan when you can avoid it by delaying enrollment by a year. even tho you will pay it back, it will legally be your parent’s loan…which may scare them.</p>
<p>i dont think you realize how hard it will be to pay that extra 20k in addition to the other debt.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids
Before anything happens, I’ll make sure to sit down and discuss with both of my parents about the situation. I understand that it’s a significant amount of money to take out, but if I can use some of that money to at least pay for the $13,200 tuition, I’ll take care of my living expenses by working a job. I went to a community college for 2 years to avoid this exact situation, and I’m not sure if I’ll have another chance at UC Davis or Berkeley if I take a year off; these schools do not take applicants who exceed a certain number of units, which I will if I continue at a JC. I could just take the year off as well, but I fear that it would be very detrimental to my academic focus as a student… I’d also have to explain to the colleges why I took a gap year in the middle of my undergraduate career.</p>
<p>I don’t plan on using all $20,000 of the loans… First, let’s see if I can still qualify for the Cal Grants in my scenario. I need to call the fafsa office at both campuses on Tuesday.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids - It is not at all clear this student can delay college for a year. Her Cal Grant eligibility was put on hold for two years while she attended community college, but it will not be held indefinitely. If she waits a year, she could lose her eligibility for Cal Grants altogether. It would take a bit of research to find out, but I kow that the time limits are spelled out clearly in the Cal Grant regulations.</p>
<p>@Anxiety94 - you need to do the following:</p>
<p><a href=“1”>b</a>** Stop using the word “dependent” - it’s only confusing things.</p>
<p><a href=“2”>b</a>** Get a 2013 calendar, and go through it day by day, marking each night you slept at your mom’s house, and each night you slept at your dad’s. Not kidding - go through every record you have from last year that may help you remember, and count it out.</p>
<p>For example:
That weekend you went out of town with your friends - was that a mom weekend or a dad weekend?
Thanksgiving weekend at Aunt Susie’s - do those three nights get subtracted from time at your mom’s house, or your dad’s?</p>
<p>If you spent 182 nights at dad’s house, and 183 at mom’s, she wins for FAFSA purposes. It doesn’t matter at that point who paid what, or how much money your dad makes. You can go back and correct your FAFSA to show your mom’s (and husband’s) income instead of dad’s.</p>
<p>And, yes, this is legit. It makes no difference if there’s a court order somewhere that says “shared custody” and “equal time” with each parent. It’s the actual time that determines your custodial parent for FAFSA purposes, so that’s what you need to figure out.</p>
<p>And if Davis or Berkeley questions the change, just explain that you misunderstood which of your parents was “custodial” for FAFSA purposes (which, from your posts above, you obviously did!) and have now corrected your error.</p>
<p>So, before you take out $27,000 in loans, go do the math . . . and let us know what the result is!</p>
<p>@dodgersmom
Thank you for the great advice! I’ll be sure to do that and figure it out as soon as possible 
</p>
<p>Oops, one correction - it’s not 2013 you need to look at, but the 365 days immediately preceding the date your FAFSA was filed. Here’s what the FAFSA instructions state:
And it’s the not the 12 months before today, but the 12 months before you filed your original FAFSA in January, February or March of this year.</p>