Financial aid officer here. This is a known issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. When the student and parent sections are completed more than 72 hours apart, the system sometimes fails to properly link the signatures. Here's what to do: 1. Have your daughter log in to her studentaid.gov account 2. Go to the FAFSA application and navigate to the Sign & Submit section 3. She'll need to re-sign (the information is all still there) 4. Then you should receive a new confirmation email within 24-48 hours 5. The SAI calculation typically follows 3-5 business days after that If you continue having issues, you can request a signature override, but you'll need to speak directly with an FSA agent for that. Be aware that call volumes are extremely high right now.

Update: Fixed our issue! We had my daughter log back in, and there was indeed a yellow warning icon on her dashboard about incomplete signature. She had to go through the FSA ID verification again (using her driver's license) and then re-sign. The system immediately sent a new confirmation email saying both signatures were received! Now we're waiting for the SAI calculation. Thanks everyone for your help!

This happened to my FAFSA too. My school financial aid office told me it could change my SAI calculation by quite a bit depending on my family's specific financial situation. In my case, it actually lowered my SAI by about 2000 points which meant I qualified for more aid! So this recalculation might actually be good news for you.

Just want to update - my son's corrected FAFSA was sent to his school yesterday, and they've already updated his financial aid package. The whole process took about 10 days from when we got that email. The good news is his SAI actually went down by about $3,500, which means more grants! So definitely wait for the recalculation before making any decisions.

just rememberd somthing important - check your spam folder!!! sometimes they send a more detailed correction email that gets filtered. i found mine there with actual instructions after freaking out for days lol

That's great you found the detailed instructions! For the W-2 upload, make sure you're using the Document Upload feature specifically (not just attaching to an email). And for the parent asset correction, double-check that you're reporting the value as of the date you initially submitted the FAFSA, not the current value. These are common issues that can create further delays. Once you make these corrections, I recommend taking screenshots of everything you submit. Also, keep checking your spam folder regularly, as additional communications might end up there too.

Just as an update - the Department of Education actually issued a formal apology about those erroneous forgiveness emails. They've implemented new verification procedures to prevent similar mistakes. I want to address a misconception I'm seeing in this thread - Parent Plus loans DO have some flexibility, but you need to be proactive. After consolidation into a Direct Consolidation Loan, you can access Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), which caps payments at 20% of your discretionary income. It's not as generous as the plans available for student borrowers, but it's something. Also, check if you might be eligible for the SAVE plan, which has replaced REPAYE for many borrowers and can offer better terms depending on your situation.

One important distinction to make: Parent Plus loans themselves aren't directly eligible for the SAVE plan. However, once you consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan, you can use the Income-Contingent Repayment plan, which is different from SAVE but still provides some income-based relief. The studentaid.gov site has a loan simulator tool that can help you see what your payments might look like under different plans. You'll need to log in with your FSA ID. If you're having trouble navigating the site or understanding your options, calling FSA directly is your best bet for personalized guidance.

After you appeal, make sure to ask about payment plans too. Many schools offer monthly payment options that can make the out-of-pocket portion more manageable than paying each semester. And always be careful about loans - federal loans have better protections than private ones.

Update: I called the financial aid office today and got a counselor who was actually helpful! She said they might be able to convert one of the unsubsidized loans to a grant based on our circumstances, and suggested I submit a formal appeal letter detailing our specific financial constraints. She also mentioned they have some departmental scholarships I could apply for as a biology major. It's still going to be a stretch financially, but potentially more manageable if the appeal works. Thanks everyone for your advice!