FAFSA account creation stuck on final page - tried everything

This happened to me with my son's account last week. After talking with FSA support, I found out there's a browser compatibility issue with their newest security update. Try these steps that worked for me: 1. Use Chrome specifically (not Edge or Firefox) 2. Disable ALL browser extensions before starting 3. Make sure your browser is fully updated to the latest version 4. Clear cache AND cookies specifically for studentaid.gov 5. When you reach the final page, wait a full 30 seconds before clicking 'Create Account' Something about clicking too quickly triggers their anti-bot measures. After I followed these steps exactly, it worked on the first try.

I've been working through the SAME EXACT ISSUE with my twins' FAFSA accounts! The frustrating part is that their system doesn't even tell you what's wrong. After THREE failed attempts, I discovered it was actually something unexpected - we were using special characters in the password that their system doesn't accept, but it wasn't showing an error. Try making a password with ONLY letters and numbers (no $, #, %, etc.) even though that seems less secure. Worked immediately for us.

lol fafsa website is always trash. happens every year. just keep trying different times of day. worked for me at like 2am when traffic was low

After spending 6 frustrating hours with the exact same issue for my son's account, I finally got through to someone helpful at FSA who explained that the account creation system is timing out for certain ISPs. They suggested using a mobile hotspot instead of home wifi, which bizarrely worked for us! Apparently some home internet providers have security features that conflict with the FAFSA authentication process.

When I was trying to create my FAFSA account I had this exact problem and it drove me INSANE!!! Turns out there was already an account associated with my email from years ago that I completely forgot about. Maybe check if your daughter's email was ever used before? You can try the 'forgot password' option with her email to see if that's the issue.

After dealing with that exact same FAFSA account creation issue, I was ready to throw my laptop out the window! When I called, I kept getting disconnected or waiting forever. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual FSA agent in about 8 minutes. They helped identify the exact problem (was a data validation issue with our address format) and stayed on the line while I completed the setup successfully. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - totally worth it for my sanity!

@skepticalparent - Yes, it really does work! It's not accessing your FAFSA account or anything - it just connects you through to the actual government FSA phone line but bypasses the hold times. You still talk directly with official FSA agents. I was hesitant too but after 3 hours of getting disconnected, I was willing to try anything.

Hey, did any of these solutions work for you? I'm helping another parent who's stuck with the same issue and would love to know what finally fixed it for you.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now with my son's FAFSA account! It's so frustrating that the website doesn't give any clear error messages. Reading through all these solutions is super helpful - I had no idea about the browser extension conflicts or the existing account possibility. Going to try the Chrome + hotspot + simple password combination first. Has anyone found that certain times of day work better than others? I'm wondering if server load during peak hours might be making the problem worse.