Thank you all for the helpful responses! I feel so much better knowing this won't impact my daughter's financial aid. I'm going to stop worrying about trying to remove myself from the application since it sounds like it doesn't matter for the calculations. It's frustrating that the FAFSA website doesn't make this clearer or provide a way to update this kind of information after submission. I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and knowledge!

I'm glad you got this sorted out! Just wanted to add that this is exactly why I always recommend families read through the FAFSA completion guide thoroughly before starting. The contributor selection process is explained there, but it's buried in all the other details. For anyone else reading this - when you're filling out the FAFSA, pay close attention to the "parent contributor" section early on. You'll be asked to select which parent will provide financial information, and that's the only parent whose info gets used in the calculation. The system really should make this more obvious during the application process instead of letting people think they need to add multiple contributors when they don't.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I've collected the info and talked it through with my parents. We're going to start the consolidation process next month and then apply for ICR. It's disappointing that Parent Plus loans don't qualify for the better income-driven plans, but at least there's some option to make the payments more manageable as they approach retirement. I'll make sure they complete both steps correctly so we don't waste time getting denied.

Just wanted to add one more consideration that hasn't been mentioned yet - the timing of consolidation matters if your parents have made any payments already. When you consolidate Parent Plus loans, you lose credit for any payments made toward potential forgiveness programs, but you also get a "fresh start" on the repayment timeline. Also, while ICR isn't as generous as other income-driven plans, it's worth calculating whether the 25-year forgiveness timeline might actually work in your parents' favor if they're approaching retirement. Sometimes the math works out better than trying to pay off the full balance, especially if their post-retirement income will be lower. Make sure to use the Federal Student Aid repayment estimator tool before making the final decision - it can help compare what they'd pay under standard repayment vs. ICR over the life of the loan.

i had this problem too but for my associate's degree. the website is garbage. i ended up going to my schools financial aid office in person and they helped me fill out a paper form to fix it. took like 2 weeks to process tho

Just wanted to update everyone - I finally got my correction processed! Used the Claimyr service that @Dmitry Kuznetsov mentioned and it was a lifesaver. Got through to FSA in about 20 minutes instead of waiting hours. The agent confirmed this is happening to tons of students right now because of bugs in the new FAFSA system. She fixed my high school diploma status manually and said it would update within 48 hours. For anyone still dealing with this - definitely call FSA directly and ask for a "manual override correction" like @Ava Thompson suggested. Don't waste time trying to fix it online, the system just can't handle these education section corrections right now. My financial aid office was super understanding once I explained it was a known system issue too. Thanks everyone for the help!

Quick update on something I forgot to mention - when your daughter makes payments during the grace period, she should specifically request in writing (email or through the servicer's message center) that the payment be applied to principal after any outstanding interest is paid. Otherwise, some servicers will just apply it to future interest or hold it as an "advance payment" that doesn't reduce principal at all. The exact wording to use is: "Please apply this payment to outstanding interest first, and then to principal balance reduction on loan [specific loan ID], not as an advance payment.

As someone who just went through this process with my own daughter last year, I can confirm everything others have said is spot on! One additional tip - if your daughter is working part-time or has summer income, even making small payments of $50-100/month during the grace period can make a huge difference. My daughter made $75/month payments for 6 months and it saved her about $800 in interest over the life of her loans. She used a budgeting app to set aside the money automatically so she wouldn't even miss it. The psychological benefit was huge too - she felt like she was being proactive about her debt instead of just watching it grow. Also, Great Lakes has a pretty user-friendly online portal where she can see exactly how payments are being applied. Much better than some of the other servicers I've heard horror stories about!

As a newcomer to this community, I just want to say how incredibly helpful this entire thread has been! I submitted my FAFSA 5 days ago and have been in complete panic mode about processing times and deadlines. Reading through everyone's real experiences and timelines has honestly been more informative than anything I could find on the official websites. The advice about calling your school's financial aid office seems to be the golden tip here - I had no idea they could see submission status even while it's still under federal review. That's such a relief! I'm definitely calling my school first thing Monday morning. Also really appreciate the insider perspective from @Jungleboo Soletrain about the 10 business day benchmark and the verification process. And @Vanessa Figueroa, that Claimyr service sounds like a lifesaver for anyone who needs to actually reach someone at Federal Student Aid! This new FAFSA system has been such a nightmare with the ID verification issues and unpredictable processing times, but it's comforting to know we're all dealing with the same struggles. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and tips - you've probably saved my sanity and maybe my financial aid! 🙏

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so grateful to have found this thread! I just submitted my FAFSA yesterday and seeing all these real experiences and timelines has been incredibly reassuring. The official studentaid.gov website gives such vague information about processing times, but reading through everyone's actual day-by-day experiences gives me a much better sense of what to expect. I'm definitely going to take everyone's advice and call my financial aid office tomorrow to let them know I've submitted. It's such a relief to learn that schools can see submission status even during the review phase - I had no idea! I'm also setting up those text notifications right now based on multiple recommendations here. The ID verification process was absolutely brutal for me too - took 6 attempts over 3 days because my driver's license photo kept getting rejected. I'm just hoping the rest of the process goes more smoothly! Thanks to everyone for sharing your timelines and tips. It's so comforting to know we're all dealing with the same FAFSA chaos together. I'll definitely update here with my processing timeline once I get through it! 🤞