I JUST finished my FAFSA yesterday after WEEKS of the same problem!!! The whole system is BROKEN! My daughter got into her dream school but might lose her spot because these technical issues delayed our financial aid application! Does anyone know if schools are being understanding about these FAFSA delays? Should we contact the financial aid office directly??

just tried again after seeing this post and IT WORKED!!!! FINALLYYYYY!!!! thx for giving me hope lol

its back up for me just now! try again

This is why I always tell students to submit their FAFSA at least a week before any priority deadlines. The system gets overloaded every year during peak times. Glad to hear it's back up now though!

Update: I checked the Federal Student Aid technical support bulletin and this is officially recognized as a known issue with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. The current recommendation is to wait 72 hours for the system to correctly recognize the signature status. If it doesn't resolve after that time period, you'll need to contact FSA directly. One important thing to note: even though it appears "submitted," your FAFSA isn't being processed without the signatures. Your SAI calculation won't begin until all signatures are properly recorded. So while frustrating, this shouldn't impact your final aid outcome.

Update on my situation - I finally got through to someone at FSA after using that Claimyr service someone mentioned above. The agent confirmed it's a display glitch and unlocked my FAFSA so we could add the missing signatures. It's officially submitted properly now. Such a relief!

The entire financial aid system is DESIGNED to be confusing and inefficient! They create these arbitrary deadlines and then drag their feet processing everything. It's absolutely RIDICULOUS that parents have to jump through so many hoops just to pay for their kid's education with LOANS WE HAVE TO PAY BACK WITH INTEREST!!! The Parent PLUS loan is especially predatory since there's basically no borrowing limit and the interest rates are higher than student loans. UNC system knows this and takes their sweet time processing these loans because they know parents are desperate. My advice? Call them DAILY until it's processed. Be the squeaky wheel.

Just to follow up on my earlier comment - make sure you've completed both the Parent PLUS application AND the Master Promissory Note (MPN). Many parents don't realize these are two separate steps. You also need to complete entrance counseling if this is your first Parent PLUS loan. Also, if UNC-G's timeline doesn't work for you, remember you have other options: 1. Most schools will place a temporary credit on the student's account if they can see the Parent PLUS loan is in process 2. You can request a payment plan to break up the balance 3. Private education loans are another option (though usually at higher interest rates) Hope this helps ease some stress!

Actually, the treatment of 529 plans with divorced parents depends on who the CUSTODIAL PARENT is according to FAFSA guidelines. Under the simplified FAFSA process, the custodial parent is the one who provided more financial support in the past 12 months, regardless of the actual custody arrangement. If you're the custodial parent by FAFSA's definition, and the 529 plan is owned by your ex-husband (the non-custodial parent), then: 1. You DO NOT report the 529 plan on your FAFSA 2. Your ex DOES NOT complete a FAFSA at all 3. Your son should be prepared to explain the situation if selected for verification The 529 plan would ONLY be reported if: - You own it (then you report it as your asset) - Your son owns it (then he reports it as his asset) Since the account is owned by the non-custodial parent, it's effectively invisible to the FAFSA calculation, which is actually beneficial for aid eligibility.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I called FSA using that Claimyr service (got through in less than 10 minutes!) and got confirmation: since I'm the parent who provided more support and will be completing the FAFSA, I do NOT need to report the 529 account that my ex-husband owns. They said if we get selected for verification, we'll just need to explain the ownership situation. I was overthinking this so much! Such a relief to have it sorted out before applications are due.