Coming back to this thread - there was an official announcement from Federal Student Aid yesterday about intermittent login issues affecting some users. They're implementing a fix this weekend. If your daughter still can't access her account by Monday, definitely contact them directly as her account might need individual attention. Remember that the 2025-2026 FAFSA priority deadline for many colleges is coming up in March, so you'll want to resolve this soon!

I'm dealing with the exact same issue! My daughter has been trying to log into her 2025-2026 FAFSA for over a week now and keeps getting timeout errors. We've tried different browsers, clearing cache, and logging in at different times of day but nothing works. It's so frustrating because the deadline is approaching and we can't even get past the login screen. Has anyone found a reliable solution that actually works? The StudentAid.gov help page is basically useless and just tells you to "try again later.

quick tip for elmselect - make sure u put in the EXAXT school name. i kept getting no results until i realized i was typing "university of michigan" instead of "university of michigan-ann arbor" lol took me forever to figure that out

As someone who just went through this exact decision process last semester, I wanted to add a few things that might help: 1. **Grace period differences**: Federal loans have a 6-month grace period after graduation before payments start. Some private loans offer this too, but not all - definitely confirm this with any private lender you're considering. 2. **Tax benefits**: Federal loan interest is tax-deductible up to $2,500/year (with income limits). Private loan interest is also deductible, but it's worth noting for your future planning. 3. **Death/disability discharge**: This is morbid but important - federal loans are discharged if you become permanently disabled or pass away. Not all private loans offer this protection, so check the fine print. 4. **Consider community college**: If you're really struggling with costs, taking some gen ed requirements at community college over summer can reduce your total borrowing need. Many CC credits transfer and cost a fraction of university tuition. The mix approach you ended up with sounds really smart - maximizing federal protections while getting better rates where possible. Good luck with everything!

Thank you for the loan breakdown - that's really helpful. I knew there were limits but wasn't sure exactly what they were. I'm hoping with a combination of those federal loans, whatever we can contribute, and hopefully some merit aid, we can make this work without them taking on massive private loans or me emptying my retirement accounts.

I'm in a very similar situation with my daughter who's a high school senior! Her SAI came back at around 23,000 and I've been panicking about what that means for affordability. Reading through everyone's responses here has been so reassuring - especially knowing that merit aid is completely separate from need-based aid and that the SAI calculation being the same for siblings is normal. One thing I learned recently is that some schools actually have automatic scholarships for certain GPA/test score combinations that you don't even need to apply for separately. Has anyone here had experience with those? I'm wondering if it's worth having my daughter cast a wider net to include some schools where she'd be above their average student profile specifically for merit opportunities. Also @Sophia Russo - good luck with twins starting college the same year! That's going to be expensive but at least you'll get through the whole process at once instead of dealing with it twice.

To answer your follow-up questions: - Schools receive your information automatically once your FAFSA processes - no extra steps needed for the schools you listed on your application - Award letters typically come 2-4 weeks after FAFSA processing, but this varies widely by school - Most schools have acceptance deadlines about 2-4 weeks after they send award offers - For the entrance counseling and MPN: you can complete these anytime after your FAFSA processes, but they're specific to federal loans, not to a particular school. So you can do them once, even before you decide which school to attend One last tip: create a financial aid tracking spreadsheet to compare offers from different schools. Make sure you're looking at the net cost (after grants/scholarships) rather than just the total aid amount, since loans need to be repaid.

As someone who just went through this process last year, I wanted to add a few practical tips that really helped me: 1. Set up notifications on your phone for checking student portals - I checked mine every 2-3 days once my FAFSA processed 2. Create a dedicated email folder for financial aid communications so nothing gets lost 3. Screenshot your award letters when they come in - sometimes the portal links expire or change 4. If you're considering multiple schools, don't wait until the last minute to accept aid at your top choice. Some schools have limited funding and it's first-come, first-served even after they send offers Also, don't panic about the processing delay! My FAFSA took 7 weeks to process last year and I still got great aid packages. The schools know about the delays and many have extended their deadlines. Just make sure to communicate with their financial aid offices about your situation. Good luck - you've got this! The process seems overwhelming but once you get through it the first time, you'll feel so much more confident.

Update: I found my daughter's Student Aid Report on studentaid.gov (no email yet, but it's there in the dashboard). It shows all the information we entered and says processing is complete! It also lists her SAI number. I guess we really are done with the FAFSA portion. Now I'm checking each school's financial aid page to see which ones require the CSS Profile. Thank you all for your help - this community has been amazing!

Congratulations on getting through the FAFSA! It sounds like you figured everything out. Just wanted to add for other parents reading this - when you're checking for CSS Profile requirements, also look for any school-specific financial aid forms. Some colleges have their own supplemental forms in addition to FAFSA/CSS Profile. Also, make sure to note the deadlines for each school since they can vary quite a bit. Priority deadlines are usually earlier than final deadlines, and meeting priority deadlines can make a big difference in aid packages. Good luck to your daughter with her college applications!