i forgot to mention!!! make sure ur daughter applies for summer jobs or internships with the EPA or park service! my friends kid did that and got some kind of enviro scholarship after. they need more ppl in those fields especially women!!

One more thing - make sure your daughter understands her Calculated Student Aid Index (SAI) will be based on your family income despite her independence in real life. This can lead to a lot of frustration when she sees her aid package. I recommend she have a direct conversation with the financial aid office AFTER applying but BEFORE accepting admission to clearly understand what her actual costs will be. Sometimes schools have institutional funds they can provide for students in unique situations that aren't reflected in the federal methodology. Another thing to consider - community college for the first year or two can dramatically reduce costs while she establishes state residency (if she moved to a different state). Many have specific transfer agreements with 4-year universities for environmental science programs.

Just checking back - were you able to create your FSA ID and get the process started? One thing that helps speed up verification is making absolutely sure your name, DOB, and SSN match exactly what's on your Social Security card. Even a small mismatch can delay the verification process.

Pro tip for anyone else reading this thread: if you're a parent filling out FAFSA in the future, create your FSA ID well BEFORE you plan to start the application process. The verification delay catches many families by surprise, especially when approaching deadlines. Also, for the 2025-2026 FAFSA, remember that the SAI (Student Aid Index) has replaced the old EFC (Expected Family Contribution), and the calculation methods have changed significantly. Many families are seeing different aid amounts than expected because of these formula changes.

Great news! Glad it resolved itself without requiring a call. This is happening to many families - the system is eventually processing most applications correctly, just with frustrating delays. Make sure your daughter keeps checking her email for any verification requests, as those have been delayed too in many cases.

That's such a relief! Ours just showed up too after about 3 days. The whole system needs a major overhaul - this is way too stressful for something so important to students' futures.

This happened to me too and it was because my FSA ID password had expired even though I could still log in!! Try updating your FSA ID password first, then wait 30 minutes, THEN try the signature page again. That's what fixed it for me.

UPDATE: I tried all of these suggestions and finally got it to work! For anyone else having this problem, here's what fixed it for me: 1. Updated my FSA ID password (thanks @profile9!) 2. Waited 30 minutes 3. Used incognito mode with all extensions disabled 4. Completed the form in one sitting (took about 40 minutes) No more pink error messages and my SAI score showed up immediately after submission! Thanks everyone for your help!

Just wondering - has your son decided where he MIGHT go for community college if he does decide to attend in spring? You should add that school to the FAFSA regardless. We were in this position last year and just added all possible schools, even though our son ended up taking fall semester off.

After reading through the replies, I want to clarify something important - when completing the FAFSA for an undecided student, you should: 1. Complete it by your high school's deadline to ensure graduation eligibility 2. List ALL potential schools (up to 20) that your son might attend 3. Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to minimize errors 4. Save a copy of your confirmation page and SAI calculation If he decides to attend in spring 2026, simply contact the school's financial aid office to confirm his FAFSA is on file. If he changed his mind about which school to attend, he can easily add schools to his FAFSA later through studentaid.gov. There's absolutely NO disadvantage to completing the FAFSA now, even if he doesn't attend until spring or not at all.