Based on your comments, here's what you should do tomorrow: 1. Call your financial aid office first thing and tell them about the Parent PLUS denial. Request the additional unsubsidized loan amount immediately. 2. While on the phone, schedule an appointment for a Professional Judgment review based on your sister's medical expenses. Ask what documentation you need to bring. 3. Inquire about nursing-specific scholarships at your school and any emergency funds they might have available. 4. Request a detailed breakdown of your SAI calculation to check for possible errors. With the additional unsubsidized loans bringing you to $9,500, you'll still have a gap of around $15,500. A combination of professional judgment review, departmental scholarships, payment plans, and possibly a smaller private loan might get you through the first year. Then you can reassess and apply for external scholarships with more lead time for your sophomore year.

Also look into your state's financial aid programs! Many states have grant programs that aren't tied to FAFSA results or have different income thresholds. Some states also have loan forgiveness programs for certain majors like nursing. Since you mentioned you're going into nursing, definitely check if your state has any healthcare worker incentive programs - some will pay for school in exchange for working in underserved areas after graduation. Your state's higher education website should have a list of all available programs.

Yes, absolutely contact your school's financial aid office directly. Explain the technical issues you experienced. Many schools are making accommodations for students who faced technical difficulties with the new FAFSA system. Bring documentation of your attempts (screenshots of errors, notes from when you called support, etc.). Also, once your FAFSA processes (usually 3-5 days), log back in to check your SAI (Student Aid Index) score. This replaces the old EFC and determines your aid eligibility. If it seems incorrect, you can submit corrections or appeal directly to your financial aid office with documentation of any special circumstances.

So glad to see you got through with Edge browser! I'm a college senior who went through similar FAFSA nightmares last year. Just wanted to add that if you run into any more technical issues, try using a different device entirely if possible - sometimes it's device-specific cache issues that cause problems even in incognito mode. Also, definitely keep checking your student aid email regularly over the next few weeks. The new system has been sending verification requests and updates at random times, and some schools are being more flexible with deadlines for students who can document technical difficulties. You've got this!

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!

alguien sabe si la fecha limite sigue siendo el 30 de junio? o cambio con el nuevo sistema FAFSA?

¡Hola! Como alguien nuevo en este proceso, quería agregar que si decides ir por la ruta del papel, también puedes llamar a la línea de ayuda federal al 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) para confirmar que recibieron tu formulario después de enviarlo. Me parece increíble toda la ayuda que están dando aquí - definitivamente intentaría todas las opciones electrónicas primero basándome en las experiencias que han compartido. ¡Mucha suerte con tu solicitud!

UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at FSA! Used the Claimyr service that was recommended and it worked perfectly. The representative confirmed it's a known system issue where joint-filing spouses sometimes get flagged incorrectly. They fixed my husband's SSN and unlocked the contributor section so I could add our asset information. Our daughter's updated SAI should be available in 3-5 business days. Thank you everyone for your help!

So glad you got this resolved! I'm dealing with a similar issue right now where my spouse's SSN isn't showing up correctly even though we filed jointly. Just signed up for that Claimyr service you mentioned - fingers crossed I can get through to someone soon. It's so frustrating that such a basic thing like recognizing joint tax filers is causing so many problems with the new system. Thanks for sharing your experience and the solution that worked!