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UPDATE: Finally got in!!! What worked was a combination of things: 1. Used Firefox instead of Chrome (thanks @casual_browser!) 2. Cleared ALL cookies and history 3. Used the Forgot Username option as suggested 4. Called FSA using the Claimyr service someone mentioned - actually got through to a person who manually removed the security lock while I was on the phone with them The Parent PLUS application is now DONE and submitted! They said the approval should come through in 3-5 business days. Thank you all SO MUCH for your help!
Great news! Make sure to tell your son to check with his school's financial aid office in about a week to confirm they've received the PLUS loan information on their end. Sometimes there can be a disconnect between approval and the school actually receiving the information in their system.
Quick update on processing times - I'm a financial aid counselor, and we're seeing SAI calculations taking longer for several specific scenarios: 1. Students with divorced/separated parents (extra verification) 2. First-time FAFSA filers (additional security checks) 3. Applications with manual income adjustments 4. Applications submitted during high-volume periods (end of month) If you don't get your SAI within 10 business days, I recommend contacting your school's financial aid office - they often have back-channel access to see what's happening with your application.
Good news - after your SAI appears, the rest of the process moves much faster. Schools typically receive your FAFSA data within 3-5 days after SAI calculation, and most begin preparing aid packages shortly after. If you have scholarships with upcoming deadlines, many will accept screenshots of your SAI from your studentaid.gov account as preliminary documentation.
One more important thing: if you do end up needing to use the remove/re-add method, do it in small batches (2 schools at a time) rather than all at once. This reduces the chance of transmission errors. And only do this during business hours (Monday-Friday, 8am-8pm Eastern) when the FSA technical support team is available in case something goes wrong.
I'd wait at least 48 hours between batches and verify with the schools that they received the data before proceeding with the next batch. Also, keep detailed notes of which schools you've removed/re-added and when. This will be helpful if you need to escalate to FSA.
Just to clarify - the California Dream Act Application (CADAA) is specifically for undocumented students, DACA recipients, U visa holders, and students with TPS status who can't complete the FAFSA. If you're a California resident who is a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, you should complete the FAFSA, not the CADAA. Completing the wrong form can significantly delay your financial aid.
Ava Rodriguez
This is a known issue with the new studentaid.gov platform. I work in a university financial aid office, and we've been seeing this problem frequently. The technical explanation is that there's a synchronization issue between the FSA ID database and the main FAFSA database after the simplified FAFSA rollout. Important: DO NOT create multiple FSA IDs as some have suggested. This can cause more problems with your account and could potentially flag your application for verification. The fastest solution is to speak with an FSA agent who can manually reset the database connection for your account. If you're up against a verification deadline, make sure to ask the agent to note this in your file. They can add an extension code that will give you additional time for document submission while this technical issue is resolved.
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Amara Adeyemi
•Thank you for the professional insight! Good to know about not creating multiple FSA IDs - we were about to try that based on another comment. I'll definitely ask about the extension code when I finally reach someone. Really appreciate the help!
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Amara Adeyemi
Update: Finally got through to FSA! I used the Claimyr service someone recommended above and got a callback within 30 minutes. The agent confirmed there's a system-wide issue affecting parent/contributor access, especially for accounts that have gone through verification. The fix was that they had to clear some kind of "authentication flag" on our account and then had us do one more password reset while they monitored the system. We're back in now and can access everything! They also added a 14-day extension to our verification deadline because of the technical issues. Thanks everyone for your help! If anyone else runs into this, definitely ask about the authentication flag and request an extension if you're close to a deadline.
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Dylan Wright
•Glad you got it fixed! This whole FAFSA system is such a mess, but at least some of the agents know what they're doing. I'll remember that "authentication flag" thing if it happens to me again.
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