This is MY THIRD YEAR dealing with FAFSA and every single year there's some new ridiculous problem. Last year I couldn't link my tax info and the year before my daughter's school couldn't download the information. The whole system is a JOKE. Whoever designed this electronic process should be fired. The paper form at least WORKS even if it takes longer. And you can make photocopies before you send it in case they "lose" it (which happened to my friend's son last year).

Update: I tried several of your suggestions and finally got it working! I did three things that seemed to make the difference: 1. Logged in directly to studentaid.gov instead of using the email link 2. Went to the Action Items section where I found the pending signature 3. Used my phone on mobile data instead of my home wifi The signature went through! No more red error message. Our FAFSA is finally submitted after months of frustration. Thank you all for your help. Special thanks to the financial aid administrator who suggested the different network - that seems to have been the key factor.

Financial aid advisor here - this is a known issue with the FAFSA system after certain types of corrections. Here's what's happening behind the scenes: When you make a signature correction, the system temporarily removes your application from the visible dashboard while it processes the change and recalculates your SAI. This is different from regular corrections where data remains visible. Specifically for signature-only corrections: - The processing typically takes 48-72 hours - Your confirmation emails remain valid proof of submission - Your school's financial aid office can still see your FAFSA in their system - Once processing completes, your information will reappear If you're on a deadline for your school, contact your financial aid office directly and explain the situation. They can verify they have your FAFSA data even if you can't see it on your dashboard.

UPDATE: My information is back!!! Just logged in and everything's showing normally again. Looks like it was just the system processing like everyone said. Thanks for all the help and reassurance everyone! For anyone who has this happen in the future - just wait it out for a couple days before panicking!

One more important thing to remember: The 2025-2026 FAFSA asks for 2023 tax information. Since your dad is the contributing parent, he'll need to have his 2023 tax return information ready when completing his portion. Also, if your dad has remarried, his current spouse's information will need to be included too, even if they won't be helping pay for your education.

tbh i think its weird that they make kids reveal all this financial stuff about their parents. like what if ur parents dont want to share their tax info with u? my friend's dad refused to give his info and she nearly couldn't get financial aid at all.

UPDATE: You were all right about needing to be persistent! I used that Claimyr service to get through to Federal Student Aid, and they confirmed the loans were definitely disbursed to the school 2 months ago. Then I forwarded that confirmation to both the financial aid office AND the bursar's office, and CC'd the dean of students like someone suggested. Got a call back within 3 hours! Turns out there was a "system flag" on my son's account because they thought he was only half-time enrolled (he's full-time). They fixed it immediately and the loans just posted to his account this morning. The $17,800 balance is now zeroed out! Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!

Glad to hear it's resolved! For future reference, here's why this enrollment status issue affected your loan disbursement: 1. Federal student loans require at least half-time enrollment to disburse 2. Parent PLUS loans are connected to the student's enrollment status 3. When a system incorrectly flags enrollment status, it triggers an automatic hold on all aid This is a common issue that often requires exactly the escalation path you took. Great job advocating for your son!

Update for anyone with the same problem: I logged into my FSA ID account directly and found one son's application but not the other. My son checked and realized he had misspelled my email address when entering me as a contributor (he put .con instead of .com 🤦‍♀️). He fixed it and resent the invitation. Still no email, but when I logged in again this morning, both applications showed up in my dashboard! I've completed the parent contribution section for both of them now. \n\nSo yes, you CAN go ahead without waiting for the invite email! And triple check that your student entered your email correctly.

Thanks for the update! Glad you got it figured out! The .con vs .com thing is such an easy mistake to make and causes so much stress!