Financial aid counselor here. I always advise families to follow this order: 1. First, max out all federal Direct subsidized loans (no interest while in school) 2. Then federal Direct unsubsidized loans (interest accrues but still has protections) 3. Only after that, consider Parent PLUS or private options The federal Direct loans have the best terms and protections for students, period. The current rate is 4.99% for undergraduate Direct loans vs 7.54% for Parent PLUS. Another consideration: if your retirement timeline is within 10-15 years, taking on Parent PLUS could seriously impact your retirement security. Students have their whole careers ahead to manage their debt, but parents don't have as much time to recover financially. And definitely apply with multiple private lenders if you go that route - rates and terms vary widely, and having your daughter as the primary borrower with you as a cosigner often gets better rates than Parent PLUS.

As a newcomer to this community, I'm really grateful for all the detailed advice here! I'm actually facing a similar situation with my son's college funding next year, and this thread has been incredibly helpful. One thing I wanted to add - I recently spoke with a financial planner who emphasized looking at the total cost of borrowing over the full repayment period, not just the interest rates. She showed me that even though Parent PLUS loans have higher rates, the shorter repayment timeline (typically 10 years) versus extended student loan repayment plans can sometimes result in less total interest paid overall. That said, reading about the flexibility of student loans with income-driven repayment and forgiveness options really makes me lean toward having my son take the federal loans first. The peace of mind knowing he'd have options if he struggles financially after graduation seems worth a lot. Has anyone here actually used the cosigner release option that was mentioned? I'm curious how smooth that process typically is with private lenders.

I'm going through this exact same situation with my son who's a sophomore! He's been so busy with finals that he keeps forgetting to check his FAFSA status. I ended up creating a simple checklist for him with all the steps: 1) Log into studentaid.gov with his FSA ID, 2) Check spam/junk folders for any FSA emails, 3) Look in his student portal for imported SAI info, and 4) Screenshot his dashboard to send to me. For other parents dealing with the signature issues - we had success last year by having my son completely log out, clear his browser cache, and then log back in using his full legal name exactly as it appears on his Social Security card. Sometimes the system gets glitchy and a fresh login session helps. The changes to aid amounts are really concerning though. We're a middle-class family and that small bit of federal aid makes a huge difference in our ability to afford tuition. Hoping the appeal processes work out for families who are seeing unexpected decreases!

As a parent who just went through this process with my daughter last month, I wanted to share a few additional tips that might help. First, if your kids are having trouble with the FSA ID login, make sure they're not using autofill or password managers - the system seems to be really picky about manual entry. Second, I found that calling the financial aid offices directly was actually more helpful than trying to reach Federal Student Aid. Most school financial aid counselors are incredibly knowledgeable about the new FAFSA changes and can walk you through what specifically changed in the calculation for your family's situation. Also, regarding the delayed award letters that someone mentioned - our daughter's school told us they're prioritizing incoming freshmen for early award notifications, so returning students might be waiting longer than usual this year. If your kids haven't heard back yet, it's worth having them email their financial aid office to confirm their FAFSA was received and ask for a timeline on when to expect their package. The uncertainty is stressful enough without wondering if something got lost in the system!

Update: Thanks everyone for your help! My husband created his FSA ID last night and was able to sign. The whole process took less than 10 minutes once I showed him where to go. Our son's FAFSA is now officially submitted with both parent signatures. Such a relief to have this done correctly!

Congrats on getting it figured out! This thread is super helpful - I'm bookmarking it for when I help my daughter with her FAFSA next year. The signature requirement definitely seems like one of those things that catches a lot of families off guard. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences!

Since you've tried all the standard methods, here's what worked for me after dealing with this same issue last month: 1. Use the studentaid.gov mobile app instead of the website - sometimes the SAI appears there when it doesn't show on the web version 2. Look for "View Student Aid Report (SAR)" under the FAFSA status section and download the PDF - the SAI should be at the top 3. If you still can't find it, your son should ask his college financial aid office if they can see his SAI - they often have access to it even when families can't see it The FAFSA system is experiencing unprecedented issues this year due to the major overhaul. Many schools are aware of these problems and have workarounds in place.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! My daughter's FAFSA shows "processed" but we can't locate the SAI anywhere. After reading all these responses, it's clear this is a major system-wide issue with the new FAFSA. I called her college's financial aid office yesterday and they confirmed they can see her SAI on their end, so they're just using that instead of requiring us to provide it. Definitely recommend calling the school directly - it might save you hours of frustration trying to navigate the broken studentaid.gov system. The financial aid counselor I spoke with said they're getting dozens of calls about this exact problem every day.

As someone who just went through this process with my oldest, I can confirm everything mentioned here is spot on! One additional tip - when you create your FSA IDs, use email addresses you check regularly. The system sends important notifications and verification codes throughout the year, not just during FAFSA season. My husband created his with an old email he rarely checks and almost missed a verification deadline when we had to make corrections later. Also, don't panic if the process seems overwhelming at first - the new FAFSA really is much simpler than the old version once you get both parent accounts set up properly!

As a newcomer to this whole FAFSA process, this thread has been a lifesaver! My spouse and I were literally about to create just one FSA ID thinking we could share it since we file jointly. Thank you everyone for clarifying that we BOTH need separate accounts. One quick follow-up question - is there a recommended order for creating the accounts? Should one parent create theirs first, or can we both do it simultaneously without any issues?