my roommate had this EXACT problem and it turned out his bank was blocking the verification attempts from the school!! call your bank and ask if they're blocking any verification attempts from your school. some banks have super strict fraud prevention especially for student accounts

Just wanted to add that if you're still having trouble after trying all these suggestions, check if your school requires you to accept your aid package first before setting up direct deposit. At my university, I had to log into the financial aid portal and formally "accept" each component of my aid (Pell Grant, loans, etc.) before the direct deposit option would even appear. Also, some schools have a waiting period after accepting aid before you can set up banking info - mine was 24-48 hours. Don't panic if it doesn't work immediately after accepting!

Just as a follow-up - be sure to have your daughter log back in exactly after the 3-day review period to check her SAI calculation and make sure everything looks correct. Sometimes there can be issues with the parent contribution information that aren't apparent until the full calculation is complete.

I went through this exact same situation last month! The automated emails really need better wording - they make it sound urgent for both parents when usually only one needs to act. Just wanted to add that you can also check your daughter's FAFSA dashboard to see if there are any actual "to-do" items listed. If everything shows as complete there, you're definitely good to go. The 3-day waiting period is standard and nothing to worry about!

One more thing to be aware of: once your son's identity is validated and you complete your contributor section, the system will calculate his Student Aid Index (SAI). This is the new replacement for the old EFC (Expected Family Contribution). It might take 3-5 days after you submit for the SAI to be calculated and for the information to be sent to the colleges he listed. Just so you're prepared for that additional waiting period.

Just wanted to share my experience from last month - we went through the exact same situation! My daughter completed her portion and we got the validation pending message. I was so anxious to get everything done that I kept checking every few hours. The validation actually completed in about 6 hours, much faster than the 2 days they warned us about. One tip that really helped: make sure your son has his email notifications turned on and checks his spam folder too. The validation completion email went to my daughter's spam for some reason. Once we got that notification, I was able to complete my contributor section immediately and it only took about 30 minutes since I had all my documents ready. Don't stress too much - sounds like you're being really proactive and that's exactly what you need to do. The new FAFSA is definitely more confusing than the old one, but once you get through this validation step, the rest goes pretty smoothly!

Just wanted to add one more tip since you mentioned this is your first time - make sure to submit the FAFSA as early as possible! Even though the federal deadline isn't until June, many states and colleges have much earlier deadlines for their own aid programs. Some are as early as February or March. Since aid is often awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, submitting early can make a big difference in the amount of aid your daughter receives. Good luck with the process!

I just went through this process last month with my son! One parent FSA ID is definitely the way to go. I'd also suggest setting up a dedicated folder (physical or digital) with all your FAFSA documents now - tax returns, W-2s, bank statements, investment records, etc. Having everything organized in one place will make the actual application process so much smoother. Also, if your daughter doesn't have her own FSA ID yet, she'll need to create one too since students need their own account to sign the FAFSA electronically. Don't stress too much though - the new simplified FAFSA is actually much easier than the old version!

Quick update on verification timing - most schools process verification documents within 2-3 weeks, but it can take longer during peak periods (which we're in right now). Call your school's financial aid office and explain your situation with the tuition deadline. Most schools have a process to place a temporary hold on your account while verification is being processed. They don't want to lose students over processing delays, so they're usually willing to work with you on this.

So glad to hear you got it sorted out with your school! This is exactly why communication is key during the verification process. For anyone else reading this thread who might face similar issues - don't wait until the last minute to contact your school's financial aid office. Most schools are very understanding about verification delays, especially during peak processing times, and they have procedures in place to help students avoid losing their enrollment or going to collections. Keep copies of all your submitted documents and follow up regularly until you get confirmation that everything has been processed. The stress is real, but there are usually solutions available if you advocate for yourself!