Hey Asher! I totally get the anxiety - I was in the exact same boat last year when applying for my Grad PLUS loan for my MBA program. Like you, I had good payment history but a relatively short credit history (about 4 years). I was approved within 5 days with no issues at all. One thing that really helped me was reading the official eligibility criteria on studentaid.gov. They're specifically looking for adverse credit history like defaults, bankruptcies, foreclosures, or accounts 90+ days past due within the last 5 years. Since you don't have any of those red flags, you're in great shape! Also, pro tip: once you get approved, make sure to accept the loan promptly in your student portal. I delayed accepting mine by a few days and it caused a slight delay in disbursement. With your August start date, you should have plenty of time, but it's one less thing to worry about. You've got this!

Hey Asher! I can totally relate to your anxiety about this - I went through the same worry spiral when I applied for my Grad PLUS loan last fall. Based on everything you've described, you're actually in an excellent position for approval. The fact that you've maintained perfect payment history on your undergrad loans and credit cards is exactly what they want to see. I had an even shorter credit history than you (only about 2 years) and was approved within 4 days. The key thing to remember is that Grad PLUS loans use what's called "adverse credit history" screening rather than traditional credit scoring. They're literally just checking a box list of bad things - and you don't have any of them! One thing that might help while you wait: log into your FSA account periodically to check your loan status, but don't stress if it doesn't update immediately. Sometimes the system is slow to reflect changes. Also, definitely reach out to your school's financial aid office now to let them know you're expecting this loan - it'll speed up the certification process once you're approved. You're going to be fine! Try to focus on getting excited about your master's program instead of worrying about the loan. Good luck!

Hey Elin! I'm new to this community and also navigating FAFSA for the first time, so your post really resonated with me. After reading through all these responses, I feel like I've learned so much! I had no idea that timing could be so critical for institutional aid - I was planning to submit with just my top 3 schools and add others later, but now I'm definitely going to include all 10 slots right away. The story about missing out on aid by adding schools later really opened my eyes. One question I still have after reading everything - if I end up not applying to some of the schools I put on my FAFSA, is there any downside to having included them? Or is it really just better to cast a wide net initially? Thanks for asking all the questions I was too nervous to ask myself! It's so helpful to see other first-gen students going through the same process.

Hi Elin! Welcome to the first-time FAFSA club! 😅 I'm also navigating this process as a first-gen student, and your questions are spot on. After reading through all the amazing advice here, I'm convinced that adding all your school codes upfront is the way to go. What really struck me from everyone's experiences is how much the timing can impact institutional aid opportunities. Even though federal aid is standardized, schools apparently distribute their own grants and scholarships on more of a first-come, first-served basis. That's definitely something I didn't realize before! I'm planning to make a spreadsheet with all my potential schools and their federal codes, plus each school's individual financial aid deadlines. It sounds like some schools have priority dates that are way earlier than the main FAFSA deadline, which could be a game-changer for aid eligibility. One thing that's been reassuring to learn is that you can update your school list later without any fees - I was worried there might be costs involved like with some application processes. And while it's a bit nerve-wracking that schools can see your other choices, it sounds like that rarely affects your actual aid amounts. Thanks for starting this discussion - it's been incredibly helpful for all of us first-timers! Good luck with your applications!

Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I called our school's financial aid office this morning and confirmed we can borrow up to the cost of attendance minus other aid through Parent PLUS, and that it's per academic year. They also explained that while my daughter's $5,500 federal loan is disbursed by semester, we need to start planning for next year since the amounts and process will be slightly different. Really appreciate all the explanations about repayment timelines too - we're going to request deferment on the Parent PLUS until after graduation.

Welcome to the community! As someone who just went through this process with my own child, I wanted to add a few practical tips that might help: 1. When you apply for the Parent PLUS loan, make sure to do it early in the process - approval can take a few weeks, and you want the funds available before tuition deadlines. 2. Keep detailed records of all loan disbursements and payments. The loan servicers can be confusing to deal with, and having your own documentation helps immensely. 3. Consider setting up automatic payments for any loans you do take - most servicers offer a 0.25% interest rate reduction for autopay, which adds up over time. 4. If your daughter's college costs change (like if she moves off-campus junior year), you can adjust your Parent PLUS borrowing accordingly each year. The Parent PLUS loan process definitely has a learning curve, but this community is great for getting real-world advice from parents who've been through it. Don't hesitate to ask more questions as they come up!

My daughter went through this exact situation last year! I remember being so confused about why we needed to submit another FAFSA when she'd just been approved for Spring. What nobody told me was that some schools have scholarship programs with January deadlines that require the FAFSA to already be processed! She missed out on applying for a $2500 departmental scholarship because our FAFSA wasn't completed in time. Learn from my mistake!

As someone who just went through this process myself, I can confirm that yes, you absolutely need to complete the 2025-2026 FAFSA now even though your daughter just got approved for Spring 2025. I made the mistake of thinking I had more time since we "just finished" the last application, but I quickly learned that financial aid operates on academic year cycles, not calendar years. The 2024-2025 FAFSA only covers through Spring 2025, so if your daughter plans to attend Summer 2025 or Fall 2025, you'll need the new application. I ended up rushing to complete ours in early January and barely made our school's priority deadline of February 1st. My advice? Get it done this week while you still have all your documents organized from the previous application!

Update: I got my SAI score today! It was processed without any issues or additional information needed. Thanks everyone for reassuring me that I wasn't going crazy. The new system is definitely different but I guess that's a good thing if it makes the process faster. Now to figure out what this SAI number actually means for financial aid...

Congratulations on getting your SAI! That's such a relief when you've been worried about whether everything went through correctly. For anyone else reading this thread who might be in a similar situation, Oscar's experience is a perfect example of how the new FAFSA process is supposed to work. The streamlined system with automatic IRS data retrieval has eliminated a lot of the manual data entry that used to cause so many errors and headaches. While the change confused those of us familiar with the old process, it's actually working as intended for most families. Thanks for sharing your update - it's helpful for other parents who might be experiencing the same anxiety!