UGHHH why do they make this so COMPLICATED??? I've been trying to figure out why my son's application keeps saying "missing parent signature" for TWO WEEKS!!! The whole parent portal thing is so confusing - do we need to manage our own separate accounts or not?? And don't even get me started on the contributor questions...my ex-husband refuses to participate and there's no clear guidance on what to do when a parent won't cooperate. This whole system feels designed to prevent students from getting financial aid.

OMG the relief when that "submitted" confirmation finally appeared! I literally started crying. This year's FAFSA has been so much more stressful than previous years - all the new changes with the SAI replacing EFC, the contributor portal confusion, everything. At least we're done now. Fingers crossed for a good aid package! 🤞

I remember when we had to mail paper FAFSA forms! The online system may be glitchy, but at least we don't have to wait weeks for the mail anymore. Anyway, to your question - yes, my wife added her signature after processing last month and everything went fine. Just make sure you're on a stable internet connection and don't use a mobile device.

UPDATE: We successfully added my husband's signature this morning! I followed all your advice - used Chrome, cleared cache, took screenshots, and did it early in the morning (5:30 AM). The status now shows "Completed" and our SAI stayed the same. Thank you all for your help!

this happened with my parents too. ended up being because they were using their phones and didnt realize they needed to scroll down on the page to see the "continue" button lmao

UPDATE: We got it working! It was actually a combination of issues. First, my daughter-in-law had indeed started entering some parent info under her account. Then we had the timing out problem. What finally worked was: 1. Both of us logged out completely 2. Waited 45 minutes (made lunch, lol) 3. Cleared browser cache and cookies 4. She logged in first and sent a NEW contributor invitation to my email 5. I created a fresh session in an incognito window The system finally let me access the parent portion properly! Now working on finishing it up. Thanks everyone for your help - this forum saved us from missing her financial aid deadline!

im confused about all this... does this mean we should stop making payments until they figure it out? i cant afford the new payment amount

UPDATE: I just got off the phone with FSA after using Claimyr to get through. The agent confirmed that the IDR Account Adjustment for borrowers in repayment for 20+ years IS still happening, but implementation is delayed until after the litigation around the SAVE plan is resolved. She said they're still identifying eligible accounts and if you've truly been making payments for 20+ years, you should still qualify once they restart the program. She suggested making sure all your contact information is updated on studentaid.gov so you receive notifications when the program resumes.

my cousin works in a financial aid office and she says they get calls about this ALL THE TIME... apparently even some guidance counselors don't know the difference between the SAR and FAFSA which is crazy considering it's literally their job to help students with this stuff lol

For the 2025-2026 academic year, there's also a slightly different process since the FAFSA Simplification Act changes rolled out. The Student Aid Report (SAR) now prominently displays your Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of the old Expected Family Contribution (EFC). When scholarships ask for your "FAFSA summary," they specifically want this document because it shows your financial need via the SAI number. Make sure you're downloading the complete PDF version through your studentaid.gov account, not just viewing the abbreviated online version.