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My daughter waited till literally the LAST DAY of priority deadline to do her part last year and I was SO MAD!!! But tbh her section only took like 20 minutes since she didn't have any income or assets to report. And yes the married filing separate thing is annoying... we have to do it for specific tax reasons but the FAFSA system seems to hate it lol
One more thing to mention - make sure both you and your husband have access to all the verification documents that might be requested if you get selected for verification (which is more common with MFS status): - Tax returns for both parents - W-2s for both parents - Any business income documentation if applicable - Asset information (bank statements, investment accounts) - Any untaxed income documentation Having these ready will save you a lot of time if verification is requested. And yes, unfortunately the student must complete their section first - there's no way around that requirement.
i went thru this last month for my son at state university. his school financial aid office told me they need the fafsa NOW but the plus loan later. the email they sent was super confusing tho!!!!! also make sure you know what your efc/sai is before you apply for the plus because you might not need as much as you think
Great point about checking your SAI (Student Aid Index, formerly EFC) first. The amount you're eligible to borrow through Parent PLUS can be up to the cost of attendance minus any other financial aid received, but you shouldn't borrow more than necessary given the interest rates.
Update from my daughter's financial aid office: They told me the 2024-2025 Parent PLUS application will be available starting April 28th, 2024. So just a couple more weeks to wait. I also asked about whether my daughter needed to complete any additional forms for her school specifically, and they said yes - many schools have their own supplemental forms beyond the federal requirements, so it's worth checking your portal or contacting your financial aid office directly.
This is super helpful! I just checked her student portal and there IS a school-specific financial aid form that wasn't mentioned in any of the emails. Going to complete that today - thank you for the reminder!
the whole system is TRASH!!! i never got ANY emails for my son's fafsa and missed his priority deadline. called FSA 6 TIMES and they kept saying "it's coming" but nothing ever did. ended up having to drive to his school's financial aid office and do it from their computers with their help. DON'T TRUST THE EMAILS JUST GO IN PERSON IF YOU CAN!!!
I'm sorry you had that experience. For anyone reading this thread: if you're approaching an important deadline and haven't received the parent email, you can also try an alternative solution: you and your student can sit down together with both of your FSA IDs ready, and complete the application in one session. The student completes their part, then immediately hands the device to the parent who logs in with their own FSA ID to complete the parent section. This bypasses the email invitation process entirely.
UPDATE: Mystery solved! Turns out my son didn't actually finish his portion - he thought he submitted but only saved his progress. When we logged back in together, there was a big "CONTINUE" button on his dashboard. After he completed the final steps and properly invited me, I got the email within an hour. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions! For anyone else having this issue, definitely double-check with your student that they fully completed their part and didn't just save their progress.
Thanks for posting this update! This is actually one of the most common issues we see with the parent email invitation process. The FAFSA redesign for 2025-2026 has made the submission vs. save distinction more clear than previous years, but students still miss it. For future applicants reading this thread: there should be a confirmation page and email if the student section was properly submitted.
did u check if there's actually an email too? i found out they emailed my son with the specific correction (not me, the parent, even tho im the one who filled everything out 🙄) and he never told me bc he doesn't check his email lol
Omg you might be onto something! My daughter is terrible at checking her email too. I'm going to have her log in and check right now. Thanks for the suggestion!
After you've checked all the suggestions above, I strongly recommend trying again with the Claimyr service that was mentioned. I've heard from several financial aid advisors that it's currently the most reliable way to reach FSA. The new FAFSA system has created unprecedented call volumes and their call center simply can't handle it. Also, contact your daughter's college financial aid office directly. They often have dedicated channels to FSA and can sometimes see more details about what's flagged in your application. Many schools are being flexible with deadlines this year because of all the FAFSA issues.
That's a relief to hear about schools being flexible. I'll definitely contact her university's financial aid office tomorrow. And yeah, at this point I'm willing to try that Claimyr service because nothing else has worked. Thanks again for all your help!
Aisha Rahman
Something else to consider - has your son checked if he's eligible for any income-driven repayment plans on his federal loans? The new SAVE plan can significantly reduce monthly payments based on income and family size. As a teacher with a child, he might qualify for very low payments on the federal portion. Some borrowers are eligible for $0 monthly payments while still making progress toward forgiveness. This won't help with the Sallie Mae loans, but freeing up money from federal loan payments could help manage the private loan burden. For the Sallie Mae issues specifically, document every payment with dates, confirmation numbers, and screenshots showing how they're misapplying funds. Contact the loan servicer in writing (not just by phone) and request a detailed explanation of how payments are being applied. If they don't resolve it, escalate to their ombudsman office, then CFPB as others suggested.
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Zara Khan
•I hadn't heard about the SAVE plan! Is that different from the older income-based repayment plans? I'll definitely have him look into that. And thank you for the documentation advice - he's been trying to handle this all by phone which clearly isn't working. I'll help him draft a formal written request about the payment application issues.
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Luca Ferrari
One more thought - if he's teaching in a Title I school, he might be eligible for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant program for any future education. It provides up to $4,000 per year for teachers who commit to teaching in high-need fields at schools serving low-income students. If he's considering a master's degree to increase his salary, this could help fund it without taking on more loans.
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Carmen Flores
•my sister did TEACH grant and it ended up converting to a loan bc the paperwork requirements are INSANE!!! they make it super easy to mess up the annual certification. be really careful with this one
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