My daughter applied to 7 colleges and we had something similar happen. I just waited and everything went back to normal after about 5 days. All her financial aid offers came in just fine. Just don't touch anything else on the application! Just leave it be.

Thanks everyone for the reassurance! I'm going to leave it alone and just wait for the financial aid packages to arrive. It sounds like this is just a display glitch that doesn't affect the actual information the schools received. I'll check back in a week to see if the status has reverted to 'completed,' but I won't try to make any more changes. What a relief!

No, having a different parent submit the FAFSA next year won't affect your daughter's aid eligibility. Since you file jointly, the same household income is considered regardless of which parent completes the form. The only potential issue would be if you entered significantly different demographic information that might trigger a verification check. Also, just FYI - if your husband does next year's FAFSA, make sure he: 1. Creates his own FSA ID (don't share FSA IDs) 2. Indicates he's the same Parent 2 that was listed on this year's form 3. Enters demographic info exactly as it appears on tax documents This should prevent any processing delays next year.

my cousins financial aid got messed up cuz his parents switched who filled out the form each year and they kept getting verification requests...just fyi

That's correct about the loan limits. As a first-year dependent undergraduate student, your annual limit is typically $5,500 (with up to $3,500 subsidized). This amount increases slightly for future years, but the aggregate limit for your entire undergraduate degree is $31,000. This is why it's important to explore all grant and scholarship opportunities to minimize your loan borrowing. Also, when you accept your loans in the portal, you can often accept less than the full amount offered. Just because they offer $5,500 doesn't mean you need to take it all. Calculate your actual expenses and borrow only what you need.

One last important thing about Direct Loans: they offer income-driven repayment plans after you graduate. This means your monthly payments will be based on your income, not the loan amount. This is a huge safety net that private loans don't offer. If you're working in public service after graduation, you might also qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) after 10 years of payments. These federal benefits make Direct Loans much safer than private alternatives.

wait so if im starting college this fall and will be filling out my first FAFSA, will this affect me too? im so confused about all this loan stuff

One important thing to add - if you're concerned about the interest capitalization that happened during consolidation, you might want to make small extra payments (even $20-50/month) that go directly to principal once you start working toward PSLF. This can help reduce the overall size of your loan despite the capitalization. Also, keep an eye on the PSLF waiver programs. The Biden administration has been regularly extending and modifying these waivers to help more borrowers qualify, and there might be further adjustments that could benefit your situation.

what school is it? some schools are known for better financial aid than others

One more important point - even though your son only applied to one school, you still have the option of refusing to enroll if the financial aid package makes attendance impossible. Sometimes the financial aid office needs to understand that you literally cannot attend without additional support. Be prepared to demonstrate this with specific numbers if needed. Also, check if the school has a CSS Profile requirement in addition to FAFSA. Many private universities use both, and missing the CSS Profile could limit your institutional aid substantially.