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As someone who's navigated this exact situation, I completely understand your frustration! The FAFSA system really doesn't capture the full financial picture for blended families. I'm so glad to see from your update that the school's financial aid office was helpful - that's exactly the right approach. For anyone else reading this thread, I want to emphasize that the Special Circumstances/Professional Judgment process is really your best friend in these situations. A few additional tips from my experience: - When documenting the child support your husband pays, include both the court order AND proof of actual payments (bank statements, etc.) since sometimes what's ordered vs. what's paid can differ - If possible, get a letter from your husband's ex confirming the amounts and that payments are current - this can help speed up the review process - Keep a detailed spreadsheet showing the net effect on your household budget (support received minus support paid out) Don't give up if the first school you contact isn't as helpful as others. Each financial aid office has different policies and some are more experienced with these complex family situations. The appeal process exists for exactly these circumstances!
This is incredibly helpful advice! The spreadsheet idea is brilliant - having that visual breakdown of net child support impact would definitely make the appeal stronger. I hadn't thought about getting a letter from the ex, but that makes total sense for verification purposes. Thanks for sharing your experience - it's reassuring to know others have successfully navigated this process!
Just wanted to chime in as someone new to this whole FAFSA process - reading through this thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I had no idea that child support payments OUT weren't factored into the calculation, only what you receive. That seems so backwards for blended families. I'm bookmarking this thread because my partner and I are in a similar situation (though not quite as complex). It sounds like the key takeaway is: report everything accurately on the FAFSA itself, then immediately reach out to each school's financial aid office about their Special Circumstances process. The fact that different schools gave completely different responses is both frustrating and helpful to know ahead of time. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world advice that you can't find in the official FAFSA guides!
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For the original question about timing: - Parent PLUS: Apply May-June 2025 for the 2025-2026 year - Private loans: Apply 30-45 days before tuition due date (typically late July/early August for fall semester) Remember that interest accrues from disbursement for both loan types, so you don't want funds too early. And for the housing deposit specifically - check if the school offers any deferment options for financial aid recipients. Some do!
This timeline is super helpful, thank you! I'll definitely check about the housing deposit deferment. One more question - if I get approved for the PLUS loan but for less than the full amount requested, how quickly will we know so my daughter can apply for a private loan for the difference?
PLUS loan approval decisions are typically quick - often within 24-48 hours. You'll get an email notification when it's processed. If approved for less than requested, you'll see the approved amount in your studentaid.gov account. That gives you plenty of time to then apply for a private loan for any remaining gap (which typically process in 7-14 days). So the sequence works well if you follow the May-June timeline for PLUS.
Just wanted to add from my experience last year - make sure to check if your daughter's school participates in the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system for private loans. Some schools have specific requirements about when private loan applications can be submitted relative to PLUS loans. Also, keep in mind that if you're denied for PLUS, your daughter automatically becomes eligible for an additional $4,000 in unsubsidized federal loans (up to $5,000 for juniors/seniors), which might reduce how much you need from private loans. The financial aid office should walk you through this if it happens, but it's good to know ahead of time!
This is really valuable information! I had no idea about the additional $4,000 in unsubsidized loans if PLUS is denied - that could make a huge difference in how much we'd need from private loans. Do you know if there's a way to find out beforehand if her school participates in the COD system, or should I just call the financial aid office directly? I want to make sure I understand all the requirements before we start applying for anything.
You should definitely call the financial aid office directly to ask about COD participation and any specific timing requirements they have for private loans. Each school has different processes, and they'll give you the most accurate info. Also, that extra $4,000 in unsubsidized loans if PLUS is denied is a lifesaver - it happened to my friend last year and really reduced what they needed to borrow privately. The financial aid office will automatically offer those additional funds if you're denied, but it's smart that you're thinking ahead about it!
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PA parent here! Just wanted to add another data point - I submitted my FAFSA on March 2nd and got my PHEAA eligibility email this morning (April 3rd). My son qualified for $4,450 in PA State Grant funding with an SAI of 1,650. The award amount showed up in my PHEAA Account Access portal about a week ago, but I didn't get the official email notification until today. For everyone still waiting - it really does seem like they're making good progress through the March submissions now. The key thing that helped me was checking that portal daily rather than just waiting for the email. Also, when I called two weeks ago (after waiting on hold for 2 hours!), the rep mentioned they're prioritizing students by graduation year first, then by FAFSA submission date within each graduation year. Hang in there everyone - based on all the recent updates in this thread, it looks like most March submissions should be processed within the next couple weeks!
This is so helpful to know they're prioritizing by graduation year first! My daughter is a high school senior and we submitted our FAFSA on March 6th, so hopefully we're in that priority group. $4,450 is a great award amount - that will make such a difference for college costs. I've been checking the portal daily like everyone suggests but still showing under review. It's encouraging to hear they're definitely working through the March submissions now. Thanks for sharing your timeline and congratulations on getting the award!
Just joining this conversation as another anxious PA parent! I submitted my FAFSA on March 20th and have been refreshing my email constantly waiting for that PHEAA eligibility notification. My daughter's SAI is around 1,200, so I'm really hoping we qualify for a substantial PA State Grant to help with her college costs. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea about the PHEAA Account Access portal showing updates before the email arrives! I just created my account and it's showing "under review" but now I know to check there daily instead of just waiting for an email. It's both frustrating and reassuring to see that so many other families are in the same boat with these delays. Based on the recent timeline updates from folks who submitted in early March, it sounds like I might still have a few more weeks to wait, but at least there's light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and tips - this community support is making the wait much more manageable!
Welcome to the waiting club! With an SAI of 1,200 you should definitely qualify for a good amount of PA grant funding - that's well within the eligible range. I'm new to this whole process too but everyone here has been so helpful sharing their timelines and tips. Since you submitted on March 20th, based on what others are reporting it might be another 2-3 weeks, but they seem to be making steady progress. The portal tip is gold - I've been checking mine daily since learning about it here. Hopefully we'll both have good news soon!
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I'm going through this exact same situation right now! My daughter completed her portion of the 2025-2026 FAFSA five days ago, but I still haven't received any contributor invitation email despite having a verified FSA ID. It's so reassuring to read this thread and realize we're not alone in dealing with these technical issues. I've been checking my email obsessively (including spam folders) and my studentaid.gov dashboard is completely empty - no forms, no tasks, nothing. Based on all the helpful advice here, we're definitely going to try the remove/re-add method tonight. I'm also going to double-check that my daughter selected "Parent" rather than "Preparer" as the contributor type, since that seems like an easy mistake to make. The timeline pressure is real - our priority deadline is coming up in just over a week and I'm getting increasingly stressed about it. But reading Victoria's success story and all the other solutions people have shared gives me hope that we can get this resolved quickly once we try the right workaround. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions! This community support is invaluable when the official help channels are basically impossible to access.
Welcome to the club, Myles! It's honestly both frustrating and comforting to see so many parents dealing with this same issue. The fact that this thread keeps growing shows just how widespread these contributor invitation problems are with the new FAFSA system. You're smart to check the contributor type selection - that's definitely something that could cause problems if it was set incorrectly. And a week should be plenty of time once you get the invitation working. From what I've read here, most people who tried the remove/re-add method got their invitations within 24-48 hours, so you should be in good shape for your deadline. I'm new to all this too (just starting to learn about the FAFSA process for next year), but this thread has been such a goldmine of practical advice. It's amazing how much more helpful real parent experiences are compared to trying to navigate the official support system. Definitely keep us posted on how the remove/re-add method works for you - these success stories are really encouraging for those of us still figuring this all out!
I'm also experiencing this exact same issue with my son's 2025-2026 FAFSA! He submitted his portion over a week ago, and I've been waiting for the contributor invitation that never came. My FSA ID is fully verified, and we've confirmed the email addresses match exactly. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - it's both frustrating and reassuring to know this is such a widespread problem with the new system. The remove/re-add method seems to be the most reliable solution based on everyone's experiences here. I'm planning to have my son try removing me as a contributor tonight and then wait the full 24 hours before adding me back, as several people suggested. I'll also double-check that he selected "Parent" rather than "Preparer" for my contributor type. Our priority deadline is in 9 days, so I'm definitely feeling the pressure, but seeing Victoria's success story and all the other solutions shared here gives me confidence we can get this resolved in time. This community has been so much more helpful than the impossible-to-reach official support! Will definitely update once we try the workaround. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and practical solutions!
Nia Thompson
I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! My twin sons are both trying to create their FSA IDs for the first time and we keep getting that "phone number already in use" error. What's really confusing is that they have different phone numbers, but BOTH numbers are supposedly "already in use" - how is that even possible? We've been at this for almost a week and I'm getting really stressed about missing their college deadlines. Based on all the helpful advice in this thread, we're going to try the skip-phone-number method tomorrow morning. It's honestly mind-boggling that such a critical federal system has these kinds of basic functionality problems. Thank you everyone for sharing your solutions - this thread has been a lifesaver!
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Max Knight
•That's so strange that BOTH phone numbers are showing as already in use! That definitely sounds like a deeper system issue. The skip-phone method should work for both of your sons though - we had success with it even when multiple numbers in our family were showing the same error. One thing I'd suggest is creating their accounts one at a time rather than simultaneously, just in case there are any weird database conflicts. Also make sure you're using completely different email addresses for each FSA ID. The system seems really sensitive to any perceived duplicates right now. Good luck tomorrow morning!
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Simon White
I'm new to this community but found this thread while frantically searching for solutions to the same phone number error! My daughter has been trying to create her FSA ID for her first FAFSA application and we keep hitting that "already in use" wall. Reading through everyone's experiences has been both reassuring (we're not alone!) and incredibly helpful. The skip-phone-number workaround seems to be the consensus solution, so we're definitely trying that approach. Thank you all for sharing your real-world solutions - it's amazing how this community comes together to help families navigate these technical nightmares. Fingers crossed we can get past this hurdle and actually submit her application before her priority deadline next week!
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ElectricDreamer
•Welcome to the community! You're definitely not alone in this frustrating situation. The skip-phone-number method has been a game-changer for so many families here - I'd recommend trying it during off-peak hours (early morning or late evening) for the best chance of success. Also, make sure to have all your tax documents and other required paperwork ready before you start, so you can move quickly through the actual application once you get past the account creation hurdle. The new FAFSA is actually much shorter than previous years, so once you're in the system, it should go pretty smoothly. Don't stress too much about the technical glitches - there are definitely workarounds and you still have time to meet that priority deadline. Good luck!
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