This is SO helpful reading everyone's experiences! I'm a parent who's been struggling with the signature issue for my daughter's FAFSA since mid-January. We've tried everything the support reps suggested but nothing worked. Reading through all these comments, I'm realizing we probably need to check my Social Security card format more carefully. I think I've been using the name format from my driver's license instead of exactly what's on the SS card. Also definitely going to try the early morning approach - if 4:30am worked for you, Santiago, I'm willing to set that alarm! One question for anyone who got it working - did you complete the parent demographic section and signature all in the same session? Or were you able to save and return to just the signature part? My daughter started the application weeks ago and we've just been stuck on the signature step. Thanks for sharing your success story - gives me hope we can finally get this done! 🙏

Just wanted to add another potential solution that worked for my family! We were stuck on the parent signature issue for over a month, and what finally worked was having my mom sign using her phone's mobile browser instead of a computer. We tried Safari on her iPhone at around 2am (following the low-traffic time suggestion from this thread) and it went through on the first try! I think there might be something about the mobile browser that handles the signature verification differently. Also want to echo what others said about the Social Security card name format - we had to remove a middle initial that appeared on other documents but wasn't on the actual SS card. For anyone still struggling: don't give up! The combination of mobile browser + exact SS card name format + off-peak hours seems to be the magic formula. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this thread was a lifesaver! 🙌

This is such a helpful thread! I'm going through something similar with my son - we also filed his FAFSA late and just found out he's eligible for Pell Grant funds. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been so reassuring. One thing I wanted to add is that some schools also have emergency aid funds available for students who need immediate assistance while waiting for their Pell Grant disbursements to process. My son's school has something called a "short-term loan" program that can bridge the gap if students need help with books or other expenses right away. It might be worth asking about if your daughter needs any immediate support while waiting for her refund. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it really helps those of us who are new to navigating this process!

This whole thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm actually a recent college grad who went through the late FAFSA/Pell Grant process myself about three years ago. One thing I'd add is to make sure your daughter keeps all the documentation from this process - the disbursement notices, refund confirmations, etc. I needed mine later for verification purposes when I was applying for other aid programs. Also, if she's planning to continue her education beyond this degree (grad school, etc.), having a clean financial aid history with proper documentation really helps with future applications. It sounds like she's got great support from you advocating for her - that makes such a difference in navigating all this bureaucracy!

As someone who's also new to this community and dealing with the same FAFSA chaos, I can't thank everyone enough for sharing their experiences and solutions! My family got hit with the exact same confusing email after receiving confirmation back in February, and I was absolutely terrified we'd somehow lost our financial aid. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly reassuring - especially learning that this is a system-wide glitch and not something we did wrong. I'm going to follow the advice here: check our studentaid.gov account status first, then call each of my son's colleges directly to confirm they received his FAFSA data. The Claimyr suggestion for getting through to Federal Student Aid is brilliant - I've already bookmarked it in case we need direct help. It's honestly a relief to know there are actual solutions and that other families are successfully navigating this mess. This community is exactly what stressed parents like us need right now!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so grateful I found this thread! My family just received one of those confusing "complete your FAFSA" emails yesterday, even though we submitted everything in January and have confirmation numbers. I was starting to worry we'd somehow lost our place in line for financial aid. Reading everyone's experiences here has been such a relief - it's clear this is a widespread system issue with the new FAFSA rollout, not something individual families are doing wrong. The advice to check studentaid.gov directly and then contact schools is exactly what I needed to hear. I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr service if I need to reach Federal Student Aid directly - it sounds like a game-changer compared to sitting on hold for hours. Thank you all for sharing your solutions and keeping each other informed. It's communities like this that make stressful situations so much more manageable!

I'm dealing with a very similar situation with my daughter right now! Her loan counseling has been stuck in transmission for about a week, and like you, we're getting anxious with the semester approaching. One thing I discovered that might help - I called the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly (1-800-433-3243) instead of just the school, and they were able to see on their end that the counseling was completed but confirm whether it had actually transmitted. The agent told me that sometimes there are system glitches during peak season that cause counseling files to get "stuck" even though they show as submitted on the student's end. They were also able to manually trigger a re-transmission while I was on the phone, which saved me from having to wait another 5-7 days. Might be worth trying if you continue having issues with the school's financial aid office. As for the Parent PLUS showing as missing - I had the exact same confusion! Turns out most schools automatically generate that requirement until you actively decline it in their system. It's not very intuitive, but it's standard practice apparently. Hope you get it sorted out soon!

This whole thread has been so incredibly helpful! I'm a first-time parent navigating this process and I had no idea about so many of these practical solutions. The tip about calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly (1-800-433-3243) and the fact that they can manually trigger re-transmissions is exactly what I needed to know. I've been banging my head against the wall trying to reach our school's financial aid office. I'm definitely going to have my son check the "My Aid" section on studentaid.gov to see the transmission status, and try that manual "send to additional schools" option if needed. The completion certificate backup plan is brilliant too. One quick question for those who have been through this - when you called the FSA Information Center, did you need any specific information ready besides your child's FSA ID? Want to make sure I'm prepared before I call. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this community is amazing!

I went through this exact same panic last year! The FAFSA wording on that question is so misleading - I thought it was asking if I had already submitted transcripts to colleges too, not whether my daughter had graduated high school. Here's what worked for me: I did the correction on studentaid.gov that same night (took maybe 10 minutes), then called the financial aid office first thing the next morning. The key is being proactive about calling them - don't wait for the correction to process first. When I explained it was an honest mistake on a confusing question, they were super understanding and even flagged her file to expedite the summer aid review once the correction went through. My daughter ended up getting her full summer aid package, just delayed by about 3 weeks. You've got this! The fact that you caught it now means there's plenty of time to fix it before summer term starts.

I'm a financial aid counselor and see this mistake ALL the time - you're definitely not alone! The good news is this is one of the easier FAFSA corrections to make and schools are used to dealing with it. Here's my step-by-step recommendation: 1. Log into studentaid.gov tonight and submit the correction (change to "yes") 2. Screenshot the confirmation page for your records 3. Call the financial aid office tomorrow morning - explain it was an honest mistake on confusing wording 4. Ask specifically about their summer aid timeline and if they need any additional docs Most schools process summer aid separately from fall/spring, and many work on rolling deadlines through May or June. Since your daughter's SAI qualifies her for aid, you should be in good shape once the correction processes. The key is staying in communication with the school - they want to help students get their aid! Don't beat yourself up over this. The FAFSA wording is genuinely confusing and we see this exact mistake multiple times every aid cycle.