This thread has been absolutely incredible to follow! I'm currently stuck with this exact same "unknown error occurred" message and honestly thought I was losing my mind trying to figure out what was wrong. It's both frustrating and comforting to see so many other students dealing with this - clearly the FAFSA system has some serious issues this year. Based on all the amazing troubleshooting advice shared here, I'm planning to try the comprehensive approach that seems to work for most people: Microsoft Edge in incognito mode at around 5-6am, with all browser extensions disabled, VPN disconnected, and I'll definitely check with my parents about potential duplicate FSA IDs (they helped my older brother with his FAFSA about 3 years ago, so this could totally be the issue). What I find most valuable about this discussion is how everyone's sharing not just what worked, but also the technical details like waiting 10-15 minutes after clearing cache, session management issues, and even making sure the actual student does all the clicking. These insights are way more helpful than any official support I've been able to find. I'm also going to start documenting everything with screenshots just in case I need to prove to my school that I've been trying to submit before the deadline. It's honestly ridiculous that applying for financial aid requires becoming a tech troubleshooting expert, but I'm so grateful for this community support. Will definitely report back after my early morning attempt - fingers crossed!

Just wanted to add my success story to this amazing thread! I was stuck with the same "unknown error occurred" message for over a week and tried everything - different browsers, clearing cache, different devices, you name it. Nothing worked until I found this discussion and tried the comprehensive approach everyone recommended. What finally worked for me: Microsoft Edge in incognito mode at 5:30am on a Sunday, all browser extensions disabled, VPN disconnected, and most importantly - we discovered my mom had THREE different FSA IDs from helping my two older siblings over the years! Once we consolidated those accounts and I tried during the off-peak hours, everything worked perfectly. The duplicate parent account issue is so real and way more common than I expected. Parents often forget they created accounts years ago or sometimes create new ones thinking they lost access to old ones. Definitely check this first! Also want to emphasize the importance of documenting everything with screenshots. Even though I got mine working, I kept all my error screenshots just in case, and actually ended up helping a friend prove to their financial aid office that they'd been trying to submit on time. Thank you to everyone in this thread for not giving up and sharing such detailed solutions. This community troubleshooting has been infinitely more helpful than any official support. For anyone still struggling - don't lose hope, these solutions really do work!

Hey Paolo! I completely understand your frustration with unreliable internet - been there! Just wanted to share another angle that might help: if you decide to go the library route (which I'd also recommend), consider bringing a USB drive or having your email ready to save copies of everything. Some libraries have time limits on computer use, so having your documents organized and maybe even pre-typed in a Word doc can speed things up. Also, I noticed you mentioned state grant deadlines - make sure to check if your state has its own FAFSA deadline that's earlier than the federal one. Some states have priority deadlines in February or March for their grant programs. The mobile app suggestion from Rita is solid too - I used it to double-check my info after submitting. You've got this!

Hey Paolo! Just wanted to chime in as someone who recently went through FAFSA hell myself. Since you're worried about your internet cutting out, here's what saved me: I actually started filling out the FAFSA on my phone using mobile data while sitting in my car outside a Starbucks with free wifi as backup 😅 That way if my data got spotty, I could quickly connect to their wifi without losing progress. The mobile app really is solid like Rita mentioned. Also, pro tip - screenshot each page after you fill it out, just in case something goes wrong. I know it sounds paranoid but it gave me peace of mind! And definitely check your state's specific deadline - mine was a full month earlier than the federal deadline and I almost missed it. You've got tons of good options here, don't stress too much about the mailing delays!

Hi! I just went through this same process with my eldest last year and completely understand your confusion. The FAFSA completion is just step one - think of it like submitting your tax documents to an accountant, but each college is a different accountant who will give you their own unique "bill." Your daughter will receive individual financial aid award letters directly from each school she was accepted to, typically arriving 3-6 weeks after they receive her FAFSA data. These letters will show the actual dollar amounts for grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans specific to that institution. A few things that helped us stay organized: - Set up email alerts for her student portals (aid info often appears there first) - Create a simple comparison chart for when multiple offers arrive - Don't hesitate to call financial aid offices directly if you have questions about their timeline The SAI you're seeing is essentially your "financial need score" that schools use in their calculations, but each school has their own aid formulas and available funds. Some schools might offer significantly more aid than others even with the same SAI. The waiting is definitely the hardest part, but you're right on track! Most families receive their aid packages well before the May 1st decision deadline.

I'm in the exact same situation with my son! His FAFSA was processed about 10 days ago and I keep refreshing studentaid.gov expecting to see actual aid amounts somewhere. This thread has been such a lifesaver - I had no idea that the SAI was just a calculation for schools to use rather than our actual financial aid. I've already started implementing several of the great suggestions here: created a tracking spreadsheet with all his schools and acceptance dates, set up a dedicated email folder for financial aid communications, and started checking his student portals more frequently. One thing I discovered while setting up the portals is that a couple schools have a "Financial Aid Checklist" section that shows the status of different steps in their process. It doesn't show dollar amounts yet, but at least I can see that they've received his FAFSA data and are "reviewing for aid eligibility." The 2-6 week timeline everyone mentioned is really helpful for setting expectations. I was starting to worry we were behind schedule, but it sounds like we're right on track. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this process feels so much less overwhelming now!

I'm dealing with a similar verification situation right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I've been stuck in identity verification for about 10 days after updating my dad's tax information. Reading through everyone's experiences, I'm realizing I need to check that separate "verification status" section that Oliver mentioned - I've probably been looking at the wrong status this whole time! For anyone else going through this, I just want to add that my school's financial aid counselor told me they're seeing verification delays across the board this year, not just for students who made changes. She said they've already extended their priority deadline once and are prepared to do it again if needed. So definitely reach out to your schools ASAP - they're much more understanding about these delays than you might expect. The stress is real though! Scholarship deadlines are terrifying when you're stuck in verification limbo. Thanks to everyone who shared their timelines and tips - it really helps to know we're not alone in this process.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now and this thread has been a lifesaver! I've been in identity verification for about 2 weeks after correcting my mom's employment status from "employed" to "self-employed" - apparently that was enough to trigger the whole verification process. What's really frustrating is that I thought I was being responsible by fixing the error, but now I'm potentially going to miss financial aid deadlines because of it! I just checked the verification status section (thank you Oliver for that tip!) and mine says "Documents Under Review" so hopefully that means they received everything properly. I'm definitely going to call my schools tomorrow morning at 8 AM like Liam suggested, and I'll make sure to emphasize that this delay isn't my fault. It's so stressful not knowing if you'll get your aid package in time, but reading everyone's experiences here gives me hope that the schools will be understanding. Has anyone had experience with verification delays specifically related to changing parent employment status? I'm wondering if that triggers additional review steps since it affects more than just income numbers.

New to this community and currently dealing with this exact same parent invitation issue! My daughter has been stuck on this step for almost a week now, and I'm so relieved to find this thread with all these detailed solutions. We've been banging our heads against the wall trying the basic name/SSN matching over and over, but clearly we weren't considering all these formatting quirks that everyone has discovered. After reading through all these experiences, we're going to systematically work through the full troubleshooting checklist tonight: verify exact hyphen usage in my wife's last name, have both parents log into our FSA accounts first to "refresh" them, confirm our accounts are fully verified (not just created), check for any sneaky extra spaces, update our profile information including addresses, and try again during early morning hours when the system is less busy. I'm also going to double-check which browsers we used when originally creating our FSA IDs - that compatibility tip was something I never would have considered! It's honestly mind-boggling that something as important as financial aid applications has become this technically finicky, but I'm so grateful this community has documented all these hard-won solutions. The pressure of scholarship deadlines while dealing with these system glitches is incredibly stressful - thank you all for sharing your troubleshooting expertise!

New to this community and currently experiencing this exact same parent invitation error with my son's FAFSA! We've been stuck for several days now and I'm so grateful to have found this incredibly detailed thread. Reading through everyone's troubleshooting experiences has been eye-opening - we were just doing the basic name/SSN checks over and over without realizing there are so many formatting nuances that can cause issues. Tonight we're going to work through the comprehensive checklist: checking for exact hyphen formatting in my husband's last name, having both parents log into our FSA accounts first to refresh them in the system, verifying our accounts are fully verified (not just created), looking for any extra spaces in name fields, updating all profile information including addresses, and trying again during early morning hours when the system is less congested. The browser compatibility tip was particularly surprising - I never would have thought to check if we're using the same browsers that were used during the original FSA ID setup! It's honestly frustrating that applying for financial aid has become this technically complex, but I'm so thankful this community has documented all these solutions. The stress of approaching scholarship deadlines while dealing with these system glitches is intense - thank you all for sharing your hard-won expertise!