Quick update if you're still checking this thread: The Department of Education just announced that 2024-2025 Parent PLUS loan applications will open on June 3rd this year. You can find this information on their official Twitter/X account. Mark your calendar!

Just wanted to add my experience from last year - I was in the exact same boat and the waiting was torture! But once June rolled around and the application opened, everything moved pretty smoothly. One tip: make sure you apply for the full amount you need because you can't easily increase it later if you underestimate. Also, if your daughter's school uses a third-party payment plan service, you might be able to set up a temporary payment plan to bridge the gap until the PLUS loan disburses. My daughter's school worked with Nelnet Campus Commerce and they were pretty understanding about the timing issue. Hang in there - you're definitely not alone in this frustrating process!

my daughter just put like 3 random schools on her fafsa at first cause she wasn't sure where she was applying yet lol. then we added the real ones later after she decided. worked fine!

Thanks everyone for the super helpful advice! I submitted our FAFSA last night with the 8 schools she's already applied to. The process was much smoother than I expected! Now I feel prepared to add those other 2 schools once she submits those applications. Such a relief to know we're not missing out on aid by doing it this way!

Update: we finally got this resolved! For anyone else facing this issue, the agent told us that when a student submits their portion, if they click the browser back button or navigate away before the final confirmation page fully loads, it can create a "phantom application" that shows as signed for the student but never properly links to the parent. The fix was having my student log back in, click on "View Submitted Applications," find her submitted FAFSA, then click "Make Correction" and go back through each section (not changing anything) until she reached the signing page again. After re-signing, the application finally appeared in my portal.

This is such a frustrating but common issue with the new FAFSA system! I work in college financial aid and we've been seeing this exact problem constantly. Here's what I've found works best: First, have your daughter log into her FSA ID and go to "My Activity" to see if there's a completed 2024-25 FAFSA listed there. If yes, she should click on it and look for a "Share with Contributors" button or link - sometimes this step gets skipped in the process. If that option isn't available, try having her go to the "Make a Correction" option and simply re-submit without changing anything. This often triggers the contributor invitation to properly send. Also, double-check that your FSA ID email matches EXACTLY what she entered as your email on the application - even spacing or capitalization differences can break the link. The system is definitely buggy this year, but most families can get it working with these steps!

I had a similar panic last year with my son! What saved us was paying the deposit to hold his spot at his top choice ($500 we wouldn't get back) while we sorted out financial aid appeals. But I ALSO had him enrolled at community college as a backup. By mid-June, the university came through with a better aid package, and we canceled the CC enrollment. The $500 non-refundable deposit was worth the peace of mind. Don't forget to check for private scholarships too - my son got $3500 from local organizations that didn't even have many applicants!

I'm going through something very similar right now! My daughter's SAI also came back much higher than expected, and the FAFSA delays have made everything so stressful. What I've learned from talking to other parents and financial aid offices: 1) Definitely apply to CC as backup - most have rolling admissions through summer, 2) Call the dream school's financial aid office and ask about their appeal process AND if they can give you a preliminary estimate, 3) Consider paying the enrollment deposit if you can afford to lose it - it buys you time while keeping options open. The financial aid officers I've spoken with have been surprisingly understanding about the FAFSA chaos this year. Hang in there - you're being a smart parent by planning ahead!

One important thing nobody has mentioned yet - if your daughter is applying to multiple schools, you'll need to complete the Professional Judgment process at EACH school separately. They don't share this information with each other. Also, the timing can be tricky. Some schools want you to wait until you receive the initial aid package before requesting a review, while others prefer you start the process immediately after FAFSA submission. I recommend calling each financial aid office after submitting your FAFSA to ask about their specific process and timeline. Don't get discouraged if one school is more difficult than others - each institution has different policies and available funding. Some might adjust your aid significantly while others might make minimal changes even with the same documentation.

One thing that helped me when I went through this process was creating a spreadsheet to track each school's requirements and deadlines for Professional Judgment appeals. Some schools had online portals for uploading documents, others wanted everything mailed or faxed (yes, faxed in 2024!). Also, when you're gathering documentation, include a brief cover letter explaining the timeline of your job change. I found that being very specific about dates (like "employed at Company A until January 31, 2024, started at Company B on February 5, 2024") helped the financial aid officers understand the situation quickly. Your income drop from $74K to $52K is substantial enough that most schools should make a meaningful adjustment. Don't let anyone tell you it's "not enough of a change" - that's over a 29% reduction in income!