Just wanted to add that timing matters too! If you're applying for fall semester, try to get your Parent PLUS application submitted by late spring/early summer. The earlier you apply, the sooner your daughter's financial aid office can finalize her complete aid package. Also, if you're denied for the PLUS loan (which can happen even with decent credit due to their specific criteria), your daughter becomes eligible for additional unsubsidized federal loans - up to $4,000 more for freshmen/sophomores and $5,000 more for juniors/seniors. So it's not the end of the world if you don't get approved! Best of luck with the process - it's confusing at first but once you get through it the first time, it becomes much easier for subsequent years.

Marina, I went through this exact same confusion last year with my son! Here's what I learned: you definitely need to apply through studentaid.gov (not FAFSA directly), and you'll need your own FSA ID as others mentioned. But here's something that might help - before you apply for the Parent PLUS loan, call your daughter's financial aid office and ask about their "Cost of Attendance" breakdown. They can tell you exactly how much gap you have between her current aid and total costs, so you know exactly how much to borrow. Also, some schools have Parent PLUS loan information sessions in April/May - worth asking if they offer one. It really helped me understand the whole process better than trying to figure it out alone online!

Just to follow up on what others have said - this happens more often than you'd think. The FAFSA system recently underwent significant changes with the FAFSA Simplification Act, and many parents accidentally create applications for themselves while trying to navigate the new contributor process. Don't worry about it affecting your son's SAI (Student Aid Index, formerly EFC) calculation or his overall financial aid package. The system treats each FSA ID as a completely separate entity. As for deleting, if you absolutely can't find the option through the steps I provided earlier, you can also send an email to [email protected] requesting deletion of your application. Include your name and FSA ID username (not password), and they can handle it that way too.

I work at a financial aid office and see this ALL the time! Don't stress about it - you're definitely not the first parent to accidentally create their own FAFSA while helping their kid. The good news is that incomplete applications automatically expire after the deadline passes, so even if you do nothing, the emails will eventually stop. But if you want to delete it now (which I'd recommend), follow the steps others have mentioned about going to the bottom of your application summary page. And yes, your son's processed FAFSA is completely safe - there's zero connection between your accidental application and his completed one.

I'm so glad I found this thread! My daughter and I have been dealing with this exact same FSA ID verification issue for the past 10 days. We've tried everything - different browsers, devices, times of day, and even went to three different FAFSA workshops hoping someone could help us get past that dreaded page 6 verification step. Reading through all these responses gives me so much hope! We're going to try the combination approach tonight: new email address + very early morning hours (around 2-3 AM) + incognito browser + making sure we use her exact legal name from her Social Security card. I also really appreciate the tip about contacting the schools directly and documenting everything. I've been taking screenshots of every error message we get, so hopefully that will help if we need to appeal any deadlines. One question for those who got through - after you finally completed the FSA ID verification, were you able to go straight into filling out the FAFSA or did you have to wait for any additional verification steps? Just want to know what to expect once we hopefully get past this hurdle! Thank you all for sharing your experiences and solutions. It's such a relief to know we're not alone in this frustrating process!

I'm dealing with this exact same FSA ID verification nightmare right now! My son has been stuck on that page 6 verification for almost two weeks and we're getting desperate with his college deadlines approaching fast. After reading through all these incredibly helpful responses, I'm planning to try the combination approach tonight: creating a brand new email address, attempting at 2-3 AM Eastern time, using Microsoft Edge in incognito mode, and making absolutely sure we use his exact legal name as it appears on his Social Security card (no nicknames or shortened versions). I've also been documenting everything with screenshots and call logs, which seems like it will be crucial if we need to contact his schools about deadline extensions. The tip about emailing [email protected] is golden - I'm sending them our documentation first thing tomorrow morning. It's both reassuring and infuriating to see so many families going through this same technical disaster. The fact that students are missing priority deadlines because of THEIR broken system is absolutely unacceptable. But I'm so grateful everyone is sharing what worked for them - gives me real hope we can get through this! Will definitely update this thread with our results to help other families dealing with this mess. Fingers crossed the middle-of-the-night approach works for us like it did for others!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this nightmare! As someone who just went through FAFSA hell myself, I feel your pain. The SSN conflict issue seems to be happening to more families this year - I wonder if it's related to all the FAFSA system changes they made. One thing that helped me when I couldn't get through to FSA was reaching out to my kids' high school guidance counselor. She had direct contacts at some of the colleges and was able to advocate for deadline extensions while we sorted out our technical issues. High school counselors deal with these problems all the time and often have insider knowledge about workarounds. Also, if you're on social media, try reaching out to @FAFSA on Twitter with your situation. Sometimes public pressure gets faster responses than going through normal channels. Document everything and don't give up - your kids deserve that financial aid!

I'm so glad to see this thread and that you got it resolved! I'm actually a newcomer here dealing with a very similar issue - the FAFSA system is telling me I already have an account when I'm trying to help my daughter with her application, but I've never created one. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful, especially the specific advice about calling right at 8am and asking directly for the FSA ID Resolution Center. It's frustrating that this seems to be such a common problem this year. I'm wondering if the new FAFSA changes have somehow made the system more sensitive to SSN conflicts, or if there's just been an increase in data entry errors. Either way, it's reassuring to know there's a specific department that can actually fix these issues. I'm planning to follow the strategy outlined here - call first thing tomorrow morning, contact my daughter's school financial aid office to explain the situation, and document everything just in case. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions. This community is a lifesaver when you're dealing with these bureaucratic nightmares!

So glad to see your update that you're getting positive responses from the schools! This gives me hope for my own situation. I just wanted to share what I learned from my experience - when I called using Claimyr, the FSA agent mentioned that they're also working on sending out official notifications to colleges about this issue, which should make the appeal process even smoother for families still dealing with this. For anyone still struggling, don't give up! The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and it sounds like most schools are being reasonable once they understand what happened. Keep pushing and document everything like everyone has said!

This thread has been so incredibly helpful! As someone who's been lurking here trying to figure out this exact same issue, I can't thank everyone enough for sharing their experiences and solutions. Our SAI jumped by $25k in March and I've been losing sleep over it. Reading through all the advice about getting a case number from FSA, documenting everything, and contacting schools directly has given me a clear action plan. I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr service since so many people have had success with it. It's frustrating that we have to become advocates and detectives just to get accurate financial aid information, but at least now I know it's possible to get this resolved. Will update once I make some progress!