This is such valuable information! As someone new to the Parent PLUS loan process, I had the same misconception as your husband. It's really reassuring to see so many people confirm that you can take partial amounts. The fact that you're being strategic about using savings to minimize debt is admirable - I wish more parents understood they have this flexibility. The interest rates mentioned here are eye-opening too. Thanks for asking this question, it's helping a lot of us newcomers understand the process better!

As someone who just went through this process with my oldest, I can confirm what everyone is saying - you absolutely can take less than the full Parent PLUS amount! We were approved for $22,000 but only took $8,500. The key thing is to be very clear about the amount you want when you complete the Master Promissory Note on studentaid.gov. One thing I'd add that I don't see mentioned - make sure you understand the disbursement schedule. They typically split the loan amount between fall and spring semesters, so if you're taking $7,000 total, expect about $3,500 each semester. Also, the origination fee gets deducted from each disbursement, so factor that in when calculating what you'll actually receive. You're making a really smart financial decision by minimizing the debt!

This thread is such a lifesaver! I'm a parent helping my daughter with her FAFSA and we made the exact same mistake with the birth month. Reading through everyone's experiences has been so reassuring - it's clear this happens to a lot of families and there are definitely ways to fix it. I'm going to call our school's financial aid office first thing Monday morning based on all the advice here. It's frustrating that such a small typo can cause such big problems, but I feel much more confident now knowing that the original submission date gets preserved and there are multiple paths to resolution. Thank you to everyone who shared their stories and solutions!

Wow, what a comprehensive thread! As someone who works in college admissions, I see students panic about FAFSA issues like this all the time. I'm really glad Kayla got her situation resolved and that everyone shared such detailed experiences. One thing I'd add for future readers: if you're dealing with ANY FAFSA verification issue, document everything! Keep screenshots of error messages, save confirmation numbers from phone calls, and maintain a timeline of what you tried and when. This documentation can be incredibly helpful if you need to escalate the issue or if there are any questions later about your submission date for aid priority. The FAFSA system definitely has its quirks, but there are always solutions - it's just a matter of finding the right pathway and being persistent!

Quick correction to my earlier comment - I meant to say your SAI is above the Pell Grant cutoff (not below). For 2025-2026, the maximum SAI to qualify for Pell Grants is expected to be around 6656. However, you're still likely to qualify for subsidized loans, work-study, and institutional aid, especially with a sibling also in college. Sorry for any confusion!

I'm in a similar situation - SAI of 21,450 with parents making about $80k. What really helped me was creating a spreadsheet to track all my aid offers as they came in. Don't just look at the total aid amount, but break down grants vs loans vs work-study. Some schools that seemed expensive initially ended up being more affordable after aid. Also, if you haven't already, make sure you've applied to your state's grant programs - many have deadlines separate from FAFSA and can provide additional funding even with higher SAI scores. The CSS Profile schools might also offer more institutional aid if you're applying to any of those.

I just went through this exact situation with my partner who doesn't have an SSN! The trick is to exit completely, then re-enter the FAFSA through the STUDENT'S account (not the parent's account). Then when you get to the contributor section, there's a special workflow for adding contributors without SSNs that only appears when you're logged in as the student. The system is incredibly confusing because it gives different options depending on which account you're using to access the form. When you go through the student account, you'll see a checkbox that says "My contributor does not have a Social Security Number" which isn't visible through the parent account for some reason. Hope this helps!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm a new member here and dealing with the exact same issue - my mom is a permanent resident without an SSN and I've been stuck on this FAFSA signature page for weeks. Reading through all these solutions gives me hope that I can actually get this figured out before my deadline. It's really frustrating that there are so many different workarounds and the system doesn't make any of them clear. The fact that the solution changes depending on whether you log in as a student vs parent is just ridiculous - how are families supposed to know that? Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences, especially @Scarlett Forster for that student account tip. I'm going to try that approach first thing tomorrow morning!

UPDATE: After trying everything suggested here, I FINALLY got through to someone at FSA using the Claimyr service mentioned above. The agent told me that account recovery requests from early February got stuck in a processing backlog due to a system error. They were able to manually push my account recovery through, and I got access back within 36 hours. If anyone else is facing this same issue, don't wait for the automated system - you need to talk to an actual human agent who can manually verify your identity and push the recovery request through the system.

I'm so sorry you're going through this! I just joined this community because I'm having similar issues with my FAFSA account being locked out. Reading through all these responses has been really helpful - I had no idea that so many people were experiencing the same problems with the new system. I'm definitely going to try calling right at 8 AM tomorrow using those specific phrases that Leila mentioned ("technical account access issue" and "FSA ID verification problem"). It's reassuring to know that there are actual FSA agents working on clearing the backlog and that schools are being understanding about extensions. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions - this thread is like a lifeline for those of us stuck in FAFSA limbo!