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UPDATE: Just spoke to someone at FSA (finally!) who confirmed they ARE processing in order of submission date. They said applications from mid-January are being processed this week. She also mentioned that verification requests are causing additional delays for some applications, so if yours gets selected for verification, it might take longer.
my sister had this issue and it turned out she didn't complete the "additional financial information" section even though it didn't show as incomplete anywhere. check that section maybe? also does your SAI calculation show up anywhere? if not something is definitely still incomplete
One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - Parent PLUS loans can be eligible for Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) if you consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan. This can make monthly payments more manageable if you're struggling. Not a reason to take the loan necessarily, but good to know the option exists.
Update: I called my daughter's school and asked about payment plans. They offer a 10-month interest-free plan that would make our payments around $850/month. That's actually doable for us! So much better than taking on more debt. Thank you all for pointing me in the right direction!
I wanted to add one more thing that might be helpful. The timing of when SAI scores are calculated and displayed can vary widely depending on when the FAFSA was submitted and if there were any verification requirements.\n\nIf your daughter submitted her FAFSA earlier or had a less complex financial situation, her application might have been processed in an earlier batch. The Department of Education has been rolling out features of the new system gradually.\n\nAlso, do check if your son's FAFSA was selected for verification. If it was, the SAI might not be finalized until that process is complete, even if the application shows as \
Honorah King
my roomate had both types of loans and said the biggest benefit was when she lost her job after graduation, she could put her federal loan on hold but had to keep paying the private one even tho she had no income. thats why i took all the federal loans i could get even tho some of my private options had slightly better rates
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Demi Lagos
•That's a really valuable perspective, thank you. The safety net of being able to pause payments during hardship is definitely worth considering.
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Vera Visnjic
One final point to consider: if your daughter takes the federal loan first and then the private loan for the remainder, she'll end up with approximately 25% of her debt having federal protections. That's significantly better than 0%. Even this partial protection could be valuable in the future, especially since we can't predict economic conditions or personal circumstances years down the road.
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Demi Lagos
•You've all convinced me! She'll take the federal loan first and then use the private loan for the rest. Having some portion protected seems like the smart approach, and the administrative aspect of managing two loans doesn't seem that burdensome compared to the benefits. Thank you all for your helpful insights!
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