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If you don't pass the credit check for a PLUS loan, you have two options: 1. Get an endorser (similar to a co-signer) 2. Appeal by documenting extenuating circumstances for credit issues If those don't work, there's actually a benefit: your daughter would become eligible for additional unsubsidized direct loans (up to $4,000-$5,000 more per year) since you were denied the PLUS loan. And yes, regarding the loan fee - if you need $10,000 for costs, you'd request about $10,440 to cover the fee that's deducted.
That's really helpful information! I didn't realize she could get additional unsubsidized loans if I'm denied. That might actually be better in some ways since the debt would be in her name rather than mine. Do you know if the interest rates on those additional unsubsidized loans would be lower than the PLUS loan rate?
yeah the parent plus loan intrest rate is way higher then the regular student loans. my daughters direct loans are like 5% something and my plus loans are over 8%. wish i knew that before :
Update: I checked the Federal Student Aid technical support bulletin and this is officially recognized as a known issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. The current recommendation is to wait 72 hours for the system to correctly recognize the signature status. If it doesn't resolve after that time period, you'll need to contact FSA directly. One important thing to note: even though it appears "submitted," your FAFSA isn't being processed without the signatures. Your SAI calculation won't begin until all signatures are properly recorded. So while frustrating, this shouldn't impact your final aid outcome.
Update on my situation - I finally got through to someone at FSA after using that Claimyr service someone mentioned above. The agent confirmed it's a display glitch and unlocked my FAFSA so we could add the missing signatures. It's officially submitted properly now. Such a relief!
Listen y'all FAFSA is driving me CRAZY to!!!! They keep sending emails about verification to me but when I log in theres NO verification needed!!!! But my SAI says "processing" for 6 weeks now!!!!! The whole system is garbage andit's like they dont WANT us to get financial aid!!!!
That's a separate issue. The verification emails are often sent automatically by the system while the SAI calculation is still processing. You should still check your "To Do" list on your school's financial aid portal, as they might require verification documents even if the FAFSA system doesn't show it.
UPDATE: We finally figured it out! After trying Claimyr to get through to an actual FSA agent (thank you for that suggestion!), we discovered the problem. Apparently when we first created the FAFSA account, my dad used his email as both MY contact email AND his own email for the contributor section. The system was trying to send contributor emails to him but was flagging it as a potential duplicate/security issue. The agent had us change my contact email to a different one, and within 5 minutes of making that change, the contributor invite finally arrived! Such a dumb technical issue but at least it's resolved. For anyone else having this problem, check if you're using the same email in multiple places on your FAFSA!
Great detective work! Glad you got it resolved. This is definitely going to help other people who might be having the same issue.
its back up for me just now! try again
This is why I always tell students to submit their FAFSA at least a week before any priority deadlines. The system gets overloaded every year during peak times. Glad to hear it's back up now though!
Grace Thomas
my sons fafsa got accepted without my wifes ssn too!!! she doesn't have one, shes not a citizen. they still gave him a good aid package 🙌 depends on ur situation tho
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Hunter Brighton
This is actually an important distinction. If OP's wife doesn't have an SSN because she's not a citizen or eligible non-citizen, that's a different situation than having an SSN but failing to include it. In your case, you correctly completed the application because you can't provide information that doesn't exist. In OP's case, it sounds like they need to submit a correction since their wife does have an SSN.
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