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might sound dumb but did u check ur email? sometimes they send a special link to complete signatures that bypasses the regular login process. i ignored mine for like a week then finally found it lol
Not dumb at all! Checking email folders now... you never know! These days I'm willing to try absolutely anything to get this resolved.
UPDATE: We finally got it working!! It was actually a combination of things: 1) Having my parent use the "Fill out a parent form for a student who has already started a FAFSA form" option 2) Using incognito mode to prevent cookie issues 3) Making sure the email address matched exactly what was on the initial application. Thanks everyone for your help! The new FAFSA system is such a maze to navigate.
Glad you got it resolved! For anyone else reading this thread with similar issues, I recommend taking screenshots of each step of the FAFSA process in case you need to backtrack later. The new system sometimes loses information between sections.
Congrats! Now prepare yourself for the verification process - that's a whole new level of paperwork fun 🙃
One more thing to keep in mind - if you're eligible for renewal but choose to start a new application instead, the system will still recognize your FSA ID and may flag the application for additional review to verify why you're submitting a completely new form instead of renewing. This isn't always an issue, but it can add processing time in some cases.
whatever u do DONT cosign private loans for ur kid!! my friends daughter dropped out and now shes stuck paying them all herself
This is an important point. With Parent PLUS, the parent is the only borrower - the student has no legal responsibility. With private loans, if you co-sign, both you AND your student are legally responsible. If you want your student to have some "skin in the game," consider having them take out the federal Direct loans in their name (which have lower interest rates than PLUS), and then you take the PLUS loans for the remainder.
Thanks everyone for the great advice! I think I'm leaning toward PLUS loans now, mainly for the federal protections and simplicity. The income-contingent repayment options make me feel better about my variable income. I'll probably apply this weekend. Has anyone had any issues with the credit check part of the PLUS application?
The PLUS loan credit check is much less stringent than private loans. They're only looking for major adverse credit events in the past 5 years: defaults, bankruptcies, foreclosures, tax liens, wage garnishments, or accounts over 90 days delinquent. They don't consider debt-to-income ratio or credit score numbers. If you don't have those major adverse events, you'll likely be approved without issue.
Update: I was able to add University of Tampa to my daughter's FAFSA! It was actually pretty simple. I logged in with my parent FSA ID, clicked on "Make FAFSA Corrections" and then went to the school selection page. Tampa's school code is 001538. The FAFSA is now reprocessing but should be sent to Tampa in 3-5 days according to the confirmation page. Also, I checked their financial aid website and they do require the CSS Profile for merit scholarships, but not for need-based aid. Now I just need to figure out if we need to submit that too since she has pretty good grades. Thanks everyone for your help!
That's great news! Glad to hear it worked out smoothly. For the CSS Profile, if your daughter's GPA and test scores are competitive for Tampa's merit scholarships, it's probably worth completing. Merit aid can significantly reduce costs at private universities, sometimes making them comparable to state schools. The CSS Profile is more detailed but not terribly difficult if you have all your financial information handy.
Harmony Love
My nephew had the same issue and we just ignored it bc his school said they had everything. But then he didn't get his full financial aid package and had to appeal!!! Turns out there WAS a problem with his FAFSA even though the school said they had it. Something about incomplete parent contribution info that didn't transfer right. So maybe double check everything to be safe?
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McKenzie Shade
•This is a good point. While the warning itself is likely a display bug, it's always wise to verify all parts of the application were received correctly. Specifically check that: 1. The SAI calculation is complete 2. All parent contribution sections show as completed 3. All schools on the list confirm they received the FULL data package Sometimes schools receive partial FAFSA data, which can cause issues later in the financial aid packaging process.
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Melissa Lin
Update: I finally got through to FSA after using that Claimyr service someone recommended (which actually worked surprisingly well). The agent confirmed it's definitely just a display glitch and our FAFSA is fully processed and properly transmitted to all schools. They said they're still working on fixing various UI bugs from the FAFSA Simplification rollout. For anyone else seeing this issue - if your SAI is calculated and your schools confirm receipt, you can ignore the expiration warning! Thanks everyone for your help!
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Eve Freeman
•Glad to hear you got confirmation! This is great information. The new FAFSA system is definitely still working through some growing pains. For future reference, always save confirmation numbers and screenshots of any "processed" status pages - they can be invaluable if questions come up later.
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Romeo Quest
•Thanks for updating us!! The whole system is SUCH a mess this year. My daughter's friend just got a completely different error saying her parents' tax info was missing when they definitely entered it. These glitches are giving everyone anxiety!!
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