To answer your specific question about Parent PLUS vs. private loans: 1. Parent PLUS pros: Fixed interest rates, income-contingent repayment options if you consolidate, loan forgiveness possibilities, death/disability discharge 2. Private loan considerations: Interest rates vary based on credit (with your 780+ scores, you might get competitive rates), fewer repayment options, fewer protections With your excellent credit, you might get a better rate with private loans, but you lose the federal protections and flexibility. I'd recommend applying for PLUS first, then comparing the rate with private loan offers before deciding.

dont forget to check if ur school has a payment plan option!! we do 50% upfront and then 5 monthly payments for each semester. no interest just a small setup fee. helps us avoid some loans.

The whole FAFSA system is a disaster this year!! First they delay the application release, then they put out a buggy Beta version, then the main release has all these glitches... My daughter missed out on thousands in first-come-first-served state grants because of these delays and now we're stuck with more loans. So frustrating!!!!

Quick follow-up: For anyone else with this problem, make sure you complete your section IMMEDIATELY after being restored. I waited a few hours after getting access back, and when I tried to log in again, I was removed a second time! Had to go through the whole browser trick again. Don't delay once you get access back!

yeah its completley ridiculous!!! my nephew is going through the same thing right now and my sister is losing her mind. they need to fire whoever was in charge of this disaster and go back to the old system that actually WORKED! now my nephew might have to take a gap year because of this mess.

I was in the same boat last week - absolutely desperate after waiting since January. I finally got through to someone at Federal Student Aid after using that Claimyr service someone mentioned above. They connected me to an actual FSA agent who found that there was a small discrepancy in how we reported our retirement accounts that was causing the delay. They fixed it on the spot and our information was sent to schools within 3 days! Now we finally have aid packages coming in. Don't give up - sometimes it just takes reaching the right person who can actually help.

I think the FAFSA automatically assumes a student household size of 1 (just the student) for calculation purposes if that field is blank. Obviously that would result in a much higher SAI than if you have a household of 4! Definitely make that correction from your daughter's account. \n\nI saw a presentation from a financial aid administrator who said this is one of the most common errors they're seeing this year, along with the parent contribution not being split correctly between multiple students.

That makes sense why our SAI seems so off! If they're calculating as if she's in a household of 1 instead of 4, that would explain a lot. I'll make that correction right away. Thanks for the explanation.

Just following up - after you contact your school's financial aid office, make sure to get documentation of your conversation. Ask them to note in your file that you're experiencing the known signature verification glitch. Many schools are implementing workarounds where they'll process your preliminary FAFSA data while waiting for the signature issues to be resolved. Also important - don't create multiple applications as someone suggested. This can cause even more problems in the system and potentially flag your application for verification, which adds another layer of complications.

FYI I just saw on the FSA Twitter that they're doing system maintenance this weekend that's supposed to fix the signature issues. Maybe wait until Monday before trying again? Good luck!