Confused about FAFSA parent verification - can I start application before son sends invite?

your fine, just start the application. my daughter and I just went thru this last week. the invite thing happens DURING the application process itself, not before. once u get to the contributor part in the aplication, it sends the notification to your son and then he can accept it. don't worry about being verified yet either, that part takes time but u can still work on fafsa

The parent actually has the process a bit backwards. Here's the correct order: 1. Student creates their FSA ID and starts the FAFSA application 2. When the student reaches the contributor section, they will add parent information and send the invitation 3. Parent creates FSA ID (which you've already done) and awaits verification 4. Parent receives invitation and completes their section You should NOT start a separate FAFSA application as a parent. You need to wait for your son to start it and invite you. The "good to begin" message is misleading - it just means your account is ready to be used when invited. Verification of your FSA ID can take 1-3 days but doesn't prevent you from working on the application once invited.

I clicked that "good to begin" button with my daughter's FAFSA and it completely messed things up!!! Had to call FSA support FOUR TIMES to fix it. DON'T DO IT!!!!

They said parents should NEVER start the FAFSA process - only students should. They had to delete the duplicate application and it took FOREVER. The whole system is so confusing!!

I'm a financial aid advisor, and I see this confusion all the time. The correct process is: 1. The student initiates the FAFSA application with their FSA ID 2. During the application, the student enters parent information and sends an invitation 3. The parent receives the invitation and completes their section As for verification - your FSA ID itself needs to be verified (which can take 1-3 days), but this doesn't prevent you from working on your child's FAFSA once invited. The "good to begin" message is just letting you know your account setup is complete, not that you should start a new application. If you haven't received an invitation yet, your son needs to start or continue his application and reach the point where he adds contributor information.

He doesn't need to complete his entire section first. When he gets to the contributor information page (about midway through the application), he'll be prompted to enter your information and send the invitation. He can do this before finishing his own sections. After you complete your part, he'll then need to go back in to submit the final application.

Lol same thing happened to us! My wife freaked out about the whole process. Turns out the FAFSA emails were going to my son's spam folder for some reason. Check there or have him login and resend the invite. The new system is a total mess compared to how it used to be imo

I went through this last month with my daughter and it was a nightmare. The FSA website kept timing out, and we couldn't get phone support for days. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual FAFSA agent who explained everything. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent confirmed what others said - student must start the application and add you as a contributor. That "good to begin" message is super misleading and caused us problems too.

It saved us hours of frustration. The agent also helped fix the duplicate application issue we had (made the same mistake you almost did). Much better than waiting on hold forever only to get disconnected!

Update: My son started his FAFSA application tonight and successfully sent us an invitation! The email came through right away, and I was able to log in with my FSA ID and complete my portion. Even though my account still shows as "verification in progress," it let me complete everything. Thanks everyone for preventing me from making a huge mistake by starting a separate application!

ugh we're still having problems with the verification part... my husband's SSN isn't matching for some reason even though we triple-checked it's correct. such a headache

Just wanted to chime in as another parent who went through this recently! The whole process is definitely confusing at first. I made the same mistake of thinking I needed to start the application myself. What really helped me was understanding that the FAFSA is technically your son's application - we're just contributing our financial information to it. The "good to begin" message on the parent portal is just confirming your FSA ID is ready to be used when invited, not that you should start a new application. Once your son sends that invitation, the process becomes much clearer. Also, don't stress too much about the verification timing - as long as you can log in and complete your section when invited, you're good to go!

As someone who just went through this exact same confusion last month, I can totally relate! The FAFSA system's messaging is so misleading for parents. I also thought I needed to start my own application when I saw that "good to begin" message. What saved me was calling my daughter's high school guidance counselor who explained that the student ALWAYS initiates the process. The key thing to remember is that verification of your FSA ID and receiving the invitation are two completely separate things. Your verification can still be "in progress" and you'll still be able to complete your portion once your son sends the invite. Just make sure he knows to start his application soon since you've already got your contributor account ready to go. The whole family will feel much better once you're actually working through it together rather than stressing about the confusing setup process!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm in almost the exact same situation - my daughter created her FSA ID months ago but we just set up our contributor accounts last week. I was also completely confused by that "good to begin" message and was about to start what I thought was my own FAFSA application. Reading everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful, especially learning that we need to wait for our kids to start the process and send us the invitation. It's frustrating how unclear the system's messaging is for parents - they really need to fix that wording! Thanks to everyone who shared their stories and advice. I'm going to have my daughter start her application this weekend so we can get the ball rolling properly.