One more thing to consider - many state schools have tuition discounts or reciprocity agreements with neighboring states. If your state university options are limited or expensive, look at schools in neighboring states that might offer reduced tuition rates that could be comparable to your in-state options. These agreements are often called things like "Good Neighbor Policy" or "Regional Student Program." Also, don't forget to look into outside scholarships from community organizations, religious groups, employers, and professional associations. While these are often smaller amounts ($500-$2,000), they can add up significantly if your daughter applies to many of them.

I'm new to this community but wanted to share something that might help! I just went through this exact situation with my daughter last year. One thing that really helped us was looking into work-study opportunities at her chosen school - these don't show up on the initial financial aid package but can provide $2,000-$4,000 per year in earnings that go directly toward school costs. Also, I'd recommend having your daughter apply to be a Resident Assistant (RA) in her sophomore year if possible. Most schools provide free room and board for RAs, which could save you around $10,000-$12,000 per year. It's competitive but worth applying for! Another tip - some schools have emergency financial aid funds for students who experience unexpected financial difficulties during the school year. These aren't widely advertised but can provide grants (not loans) of $500-$2,000 when families hit rough patches. The combination of federal loans, potential Parent PLUS through her father, work-study, and planning for the RA position really made college affordable for us. Don't give up hope - there are more options than it initially seems!

This is really helpful information! I'm in a similar situation with my son starting his junior year. I had no idea about the June timeline for Parent PLUS applications - I was getting worried that I was missing something. The suggestion about getting a signed statement of intent is brilliant too. I'm definitely going to call his school's financial aid office tomorrow to see if they have similar policies. It's frustrating that the timing doesn't align better with when we need to make these financial commitments, but at least now I know what to expect. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

As someone who went through this process last year, I can confirm that the June timeline for Parent PLUS applications is accurate. One thing I'd add is to make sure you have all your documents ready ahead of time - tax returns, bank statements, etc. When June rolls around, you'll want to submit that application as quickly as possible since processing can take several weeks. Also, if you're planning to borrow the maximum amount (cost of attendance minus other aid), double-check with the school's financial aid office about exactly how they calculate that figure. Some schools include things like transportation and personal expenses in their cost of attendance, which can affect your loan eligibility.

One final tip - have your son check with his school's financial aid office about scholarship opportunities. Many schools have institutional scholarships that go unclaimed because students don't apply. With his demonstrated financial responsibility, he might be an excellent candidate for merit-based aid that doesn't need to be repaid.

As someone new to navigating FAFSA, this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation with my daughter who has some savings from her part-time job. Reading through all these responses, it sounds like the consensus is pretty clear - only take what you need each year rather than borrowing "just in case." One question I have after reading through everything: when you decline loans for a given year, does that affect your eligibility or the amount you can borrow in future years? Or does each FAFSA application truly start fresh regardless of what you accepted or declined previously? Also, @Oliver Alexander, thank you for sharing your professional perspective - it's really reassuring to hear from someone who actually works in financial aid!

Just wanted to add one more crucial tip from our experience last week - make sure to disable any browser extensions (especially ad blockers and password managers) before starting the FAFSA. We kept getting weird errors and timeouts until we realized my ad blocker was interfering with the form validation scripts. Also, if you're using a shared computer, make sure to log out completely from any other accounts and clear the browser cache first. The system seems really sensitive to cached data from previous sessions. Good luck tomorrow! It sounds like you're well-prepared with all this great advice. The fact that you're planning ahead and asking these questions puts you way ahead of most families who just wing it.

As someone who just went through this process with my son two weeks ago, I can confirm that most of the advice here is spot-on! We followed the exact signing order that Gabriel outlined and it worked perfectly - no glitches or stuck applications. One additional tip I'd add: if you're planning to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (which I highly recommend), make sure your name on the FAFSA matches EXACTLY how it appears on your tax return. Even small differences like "Jr." vs "Junior" or missing middle initials can cause the data transfer to fail. Also, keep your phone nearby during the process. The system now sends text verification codes for certain steps, and there's usually a short time limit to enter them. We almost timed out once because I had left my phone in another room! You've got this! The new system really is more stable now than it was in the early months of the year.

Update: I logged in as parent and found my son's application on my dashboard! It was showing as "Contributor Information Needed" just like you all said. I went through the income linking process again and it worked perfectly. Both kids now show completed applications with "Processing" status. Thanks for all your help everyone!

Glad you got it sorted out! Just a heads up - make sure to check both applications periodically over the next few weeks. Sometimes one twin's application will process smoothly while the other gets flagged for verification or has some random glitch. I've seen parents think they're all set only to discover weeks later that one kid's FAFSA got stuck somewhere in the system. Also, once both are fully processed, double-check that the SAI calculations look reasonable for both - they should be identical since it's the same family financial info. If there's a big discrepancy, that's usually a sign something went wrong with the data transfer.