Thank you everyone for all your help. I feel much better knowing there are options to appeal this. I have an appointment with financial aid next week, I'm gathering all our documentation about the 401k withdrawal for medical expenses, death certificate, and current financial situation. I'll also check with the school about their institutional aid options. Fingers crossed we can get this sorted out - my daughter has worked so hard and deserves this opportunity.

Good luck with your appointment next week! Just wanted to add that when you meet with financial aid, be prepared to explain not just the 401k withdrawal but also how your current monthly budget looks without that one-time money. They often want to see that your day-to-day financial situation doesn't match what the FAFSA formula calculated. Also, if your daughter hasn't already, make sure she's applying for outside scholarships too. With your family's circumstances, she might qualify for scholarships specifically for students who've lost a parent or are from single-parent households. Every bit helps when you're trying to avoid taking on too much debt. You're doing everything right by advocating for her - don't give up!

UPDATE: Has your son tried logging into studentaid.gov in incognito/private browsing mode? This fixed the SSN issue for my younger brother! Apparently the site stores some verification data in browser cookies, and when they conflict with new information, it can cause these bizarre errors. Worth a try!

I'm dealing with the exact same nightmare! My daughter's FAFSA has been stuck in SSN verification limbo for over a month now. What's really frustrating is that we can see her SSN is correct in our tax documents and everywhere else, but the FAFSA system just won't accept it. We've tried everything - different browsers, clearing cache, even having her create a completely new FSA ID. Nothing works. The phone lines are absolutely useless - either busy signals or 3+ hour hold times that end in disconnections. I feel like we're being punished for their broken system. At least it's somewhat reassuring to know we're not alone in this mess, but it doesn't help with the anxiety of potentially missing financial aid deadlines while their system sorts itself out.

I had something kinda similiar happen but with my daughter's SSN instead. I had to leave it blank too. Our application has been "processing" for almost a month now with no updates. Calling tomorrow because this is ridiculous.

Just wanted to add another success story to help ease your worry! I had the exact same SSN error with my husband's information about 6 weeks ago. Used the "no SSN" workaround after multiple failed attempts. Got my SAI within 10 days and everything processed smoothly - no verification required. I think the key difference from some of the horror stories is that our tax return was already processed by the IRS, so they could easily match our information. If your taxes are filed and processed, you should be in good shape. The system really is just buggy with SSN validation, but the backend processing seems to handle these cases well now.

Update: I wanted to follow up and let everyone know what worked for us. I called the financial aid offices at all four schools my daughter was considering. Each had different "preferred" deadlines but confirmed we wouldn't lose eligibility for Parent Plus loans if we waited until she made her final decision. We decided to wait until all aid packages came in before applying. Once she chose her school, we completed the Parent Plus application through studentaid.gov - it took about 15 minutes and the credit approval was instant. Thanks to everyone who helped calm my nerves during this stressful process!

Congratulations on getting through this process successfully! Your experience is really valuable for other parents who might be facing the same stress. I'm dealing with a similar situation right now with my son - we have financial aid packages from two schools but still waiting on his top choice. Your approach of calling each school directly to understand their specific policies sounds like the smart way to handle it. It's reassuring to know that the "preferred" deadlines aren't actually hard cutoffs for Parent Plus eligibility. Thanks for taking the time to update everyone with how it all worked out!

I just wanted to add - make sure you're using the CORRECT FSA ID. If you're a dependent student and you're accidentally using your parent's FSA ID (or vice versa), the system might be redirecting you to the form that account was previously working on. It's a simple mistake that happens more often than you'd think, especially if you have multiple FSA IDs saved in your browser.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue! Been trying for days and it's so frustrating. I followed @Camila Jordan's detailed steps from earlier - completely logged out, cleared ALL browser data including cookies, restarted browser, went directly to studentaid.gov and logged in fresh. That actually worked for me! I was finally able to access the 2025-2026 form instead of getting redirected to last year's. Definitely worth trying those specific steps before calling - saved me hours of waiting on hold. Good luck everyone!