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.

This is INCREDIBLY helpful - thank you so much! I'm printing this out as our action plan. Really appreciate everyone's advice and guidance with this unexpected situation. You've all saved us a lot of confusion and potential problems!

As someone who went through a similar mid-year transfer situation, I'd also recommend having your son check if the new school requires any additional forms beyond the FAFSA. Some schools have their own institutional aid forms or verification documents that transfer students need to complete, especially for mid-year transfers. Also, ask about their refund policy in case he needs to withdraw from any classes - transfer students sometimes have different deadlines and policies than continuing students. The earlier he can get all this sorted out, the smoother his transition will be!

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!

That's really helpful - thank you! My SS card has my full middle name spelled out, so I'll make sure to include that exactly in my FSA ID update. I'll update here once I get this resolved in case it helps someone else with the same problem.

I went through this exact same nightmare last year! The FSA ID/SS card name mismatch is so common but the system makes it feel impossible to fix. Here's what finally worked for me: 1. Updated my FSA ID to match my SS card EXACTLY (including middle name spelled out completely) 2. Waited the full 3 business days (don't try to rush this step!) 3. Called the school's financial aid office while waiting - they were able to put a note on my file about the delay so I wouldn't miss priority consideration 4. After the waiting period, the FAFSA corrections went through smoothly The waiting is agonizing when deadlines are looming, but skipping the wait time just makes it fail again. Also definitely contact your school's aid office - they deal with this constantly and can often work with you on deadlines when it's a known FAFSA system issue, not student procrastination. Good luck! You're so close to getting this resolved.