Anyone else notice how EVERY YEAR there's some new "glitch" with FAFSA? Last year it was the SAI calculation being wrong, year before was the parent login issues. I'm convinced they do this on purpose to discourage people from applying for aid. The whole system needs to be scrapped and rebuilt from the ground up. They had 18 MONTHS to prepare for this rollout and still messed it up. SMH.

UPDATE: I finally got it working! Combination of three things worked for me: 1. Using the mobile app instead of browser 2. Doing it at 5:30am when server load was low 3. Entering income information in smaller chunks instead of all at once Thanks everyone for your help! For anyone else facing this issue, definitely try the mobile app and early morning approach. And contact your school's financial aid office to let them know about the technical difficulties - mine was very understanding and said they're giving flexibility on deadlines because of all the FAFSA issues this year.

That's fantastic advice! I hadn't thought about encouraging them to download that PDF. Do you have any ballpark estimate for how long the complete application should take when done properly? We want to set realistic expectations for our students and parents.

For a student with fairly straightforward finances (W-2 income, standard tax returns), about 45-60 minutes if they have all documents ready. For students with more complex situations (multiple contributors, business income, etc.), it can easily take 1.5-2 hours. That's actual focused work time, not counting gathering documents or waiting for contributor sections to be completed.

Something else to check - make sure the forms you received are actually federal verification forms and not the CSS Profile verification. Some private schools require both FAFSA and CSS Profile, and they each have their own verification processes. The paperwork looks similar but goes to completely different places.

In response to your question about expecting verification next year: Verification selection is partly random and partly based on certain triggers in your application. Having multiple students in college doesn't automatically trigger verification every year, but it does increase the chances. Some tips to reduce verification chances next year: 1. Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool when filing FAFSA 2. Double-check all figures before submitting 3. File as early as possible 4. Avoid leaving optional fields blank 5. Be consistent with information across all applications However, even with perfect applications, about 30% get selected randomly each year, so there's always a chance you'll need to go through this again.

engineer major = good choice!! my son did enginering and got a job paying 89k right after college and paid off his loans in 3 yrs. whatever u choose its prolly fine if shes in a field with good job prospecks

One more consideration: if your family might qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness in the future (requires working for government or non-profit), only the Parent PLUS loans would potentially qualify if consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan and repaid on an income-contingent repayment plan. While engineering isn't typically associated with PSLF, many engineers do work for government agencies (DOT, DOE, military, local governments, etc.) Also, the current administration has been exploring targeted loan forgiveness options. While nothing is guaranteed, federal loans have consistently had more relief options than private loans during economic hardships.

my cousin works in financial aid and she says a lot of ppl get confused about this. parent plus is in parents name ONLY. private loans let cosigners get released sometimes. thats probly what that person at ur workshop was talkin about

One thing to consider with private loans: even though they advertise co-signer release, the requirements to actually qualify can be pretty strict. My daughter made 30 on-time payments with Sallie Mae, but she was denied co-signer release because her debt-to-income ratio wasn't strong enough yet as a recent graduate. Make sure to read all the fine print about what's required beyond just making the payments.