I just got off the phone with my daughter's financial aid office. They confirmed that Parent PLUS applications won't be available until they process her FAFSA and send out her award letter, which they expect to do in early April. The June deadline is when everything needs to be completed, not when applications open. Thanks everyone for the clarification - I feel much better now knowing that I'm not missing anything!

As a parent who just went through this process last year, I can confirm what others have said - the Parent PLUS application won't appear on studentaid.gov until after your daughter's school processes her FAFSA and sends out the financial aid award letter. This usually happens between March and May. The timing can vary significantly by school, so I'd recommend calling your daughter's financial aid office directly to ask when they typically release award letters. That way you'll have a better idea of when to expect the Parent PLUS option to become available. The June deadline they mentioned is likely when they want all financial aid paperwork completed, not when applications open. Don't stress - you're not behind schedule!

One more thing to know - many private colleges require the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA. The CSS looks at more financial details and can result in different aid packages. If any of your son's schools require CSS, make sure to complete that too. Some institutions use it to award their own institutional aid, which can be substantial at well-endowed schools.

Welcome to the financial aid maze! As someone who just went through this with my daughter, I can tell you that an SAI of 2924 is actually pretty good news. You're definitely in Pell Grant territory - my daughter had a similar SAI and received about $5,200 in Pell funding. One thing I wish I'd known earlier is to start reaching out to the financial aid offices at each school NOW, even if they're not answering phones. Try emailing them with your specific SAI and ask for a preliminary estimate of what aid package you might expect. Most schools have online net price calculators too that can give you a rough idea. Also, don't panic if the first aid letters you get look confusing - they all format them differently and some make loans look like "free money" when they're not. Focus on grants and scholarships first, then subsidized loans if needed. You've got this!

UPDATE: Finally got it working! For anyone else having this problem, I forwarded the email to my Gmail like someone suggested, and then used Chrome incognito mode at 1am. The verification link worked perfectly! Now my FSA ID is verified and I can finish my FAFSA application. Thanks everyone for your help!

So glad you got it working! I've been having the same issue for the past week and was starting to panic about my deadline too. Going to try the Gmail forwarding + Chrome incognito + late night combo tonight. Really appreciate you updating the thread with what actually worked instead of just disappearing after getting help!

To give you some context on the technical side: colleges are having to completely rebuild how their systems interpret FAFSA data this year. The Federal Student Aid office changed not just the formula (from EFC to SAI) but also the entire data structure and transmission protocols. Many colleges built their systems around the old ISIR format and are now having to adapt to receive data in the new format. What's happening at your daughter's school is actually a good sign - they're implementing the required updates to process the new FAFSA data. Based on my experience working with several institutions, once these updates are complete, the processing of aid packages typically accelerates significantly. You might see a lot of movement within 7-10 days after their system comes back online. If you don't see updates within two weeks after their system upgrade, that would be the appropriate time to follow up directly with their financial aid office.

I'm going through the exact same thing with my son's college! His FAFSA was processed in early June but we're still waiting for the financial aid package. The uncertainty is killing me because I need to know if we should apply for parent PLUS loans or look into private loan options. It's so stressful not knowing what our out-of-pocket costs will be when fall semester is just around the corner. I keep refreshing his student portal hoping something will appear. At least it sounds like your daughter's school is being proactive about the system upgrade - that gives me hope that things will start moving faster once these technical issues are resolved.

UPDATE: IT WORKED!!! I tried two things that I think fixed it: 1) Entered his name in ALL CAPS as someone suggested, and 2) Tried submitting at 3am when server traffic was lower. The verification went through immediately! His contribution section is now completed, and I was able to submit my FAFSA application. THANK YOU to everyone who offered advice! I'm so relieved to have this resolved before my aid deadline.

Congratulations on getting it resolved! This thread is going to be so helpful for other people facing the same issue. The ALL CAPS + late night submission combo seems to be the magic formula. I'm bookmarking this for future reference since I'll probably need to help other students with FAFSA issues. Thanks for sharing your success story!