As someone who just went through this process with my twins last year, I can't stress enough how important it is to check BOTH the student portal AND have your daughter check her student email regularly. We missed a deadline because one of my sons didn't see an email about additional verification documents that was sent only to his student account, not to me as the parent. Also, pro tip: if Riverdale has a financial aid checklist or "to-do" section in their portal, bookmark that page and check it weekly until everything is resolved. Some schools update requirements in real-time as they review applications, so what looks complete today might have new items tomorrow. Good luck with getting everything sorted before her decision deadline!

I'm just starting this whole FAFSA process with my youngest and this thread is both helpful and terrifying! The idea that schools can just keep adding requirements without proper notification is honestly shocking. I had no idea there were two separate processes - the federal FAFSA and then each school's own verification. @Nia Williams I hope you get everything sorted out quickly! It sounds like you've gotten some great advice here about checking the student portal regularly. I'm definitely going to bookmark this thread for when I inevitably run into the same issues in a few months. Question for everyone: Is there any way to predict which schools are more likely to select you for verification, or is it basically random? Trying to mentally prepare myself for what's coming!

UPDATE: You all were right about contacting the school directly! I finally spoke with my daughter's financial aid office this morning, and they were actually super helpful. They're sending us their Special Circumstances form where we can document our income change from last year. The counselor I spoke with said this happens all the time and they can likely adjust her aid package once we submit the documentation. I'm still annoyed that FAFSA's phone system is so terrible, but at least we have a path forward now. Thanks to everyone who helped point me in the right direction!

So glad to hear you got through to your daughter's school and they were helpful! This is exactly why I always tell people to bypass FAFSA phone support for these types of issues. The schools have way more power to actually fix things, and their financial aid staff are usually much more accessible. For anyone else reading this thread - Jamal's experience is a perfect example of why going directly to the school's financial aid office should be your first move, not your last resort. The special circumstances/professional judgment process exists specifically for situations like income changes, job loss, medical expenses, etc. that the standard FAFSA formula can't capture. Thanks for updating us with the good news! Hope everything works out with your daughter's aid package.

ALSO watch out for the CSS Profile if your kid's school requires it!!! It asks for WAY more financial info than FAFSA and calculates aid differently. Home equity, retirement accounts, etc can all factor in depending on the school. Some schools are SUPER stingy with aid thru that system.

As someone who went through this exact situation with my oldest child, I can offer some perspective. When my spouse got a new job that increased our income by about $50K between freshman and sophomore year, we saw our aid package drop by approximately $12K. The key things that helped us navigate this: 1. **Start planning NOW** - Don't wait until you receive next year's aid package to strategize. Use online EFC calculators with your projected new income to estimate changes. 2. **Look into payment plans** - Many schools offer monthly payment plans that can help spread costs throughout the year rather than large semester payments. 3. **Research outside scholarships** - Your daughter can apply for private scholarships that aren't income-dependent to help offset reduced institutional aid. 4. **Consider state-specific programs** - Some states have middle-income assistance programs that kick in when federal aid decreases. The most important advice: don't panic and make rash decisions. Yes, costs will likely increase, but with proper planning and communication with the financial aid office, it's manageable. Many families successfully navigate these income transitions during college years.

Just wanted to add another solution that worked for me - if you're still having trouble getting through to FSA even with the callback services, you can also try contacting your school's financial aid office directly. They have a direct line to FSA and can often get these field unlocks processed faster than individual calls. My financial aid counselor was able to submit the correction request on my behalf and it was processed within 48 hours. Not all schools offer this service, but it's worth asking! Also, keep in mind that these locked field issues seem to happen most often when people save and return to their FAFSA later - if possible, try to complete it in one sitting to avoid the problem altogether.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Got to the financial section, saved my progress, and now I can't edit my parent's bank account information that I entered incorrectly. It's so frustrating that they lock these sections - I understand wanting to prevent errors, but what about when we need to fix actual mistakes? Reading through all these responses gives me hope though. I'm going to try calling FSA first thing Monday morning, and if that doesn't work, I'll definitely look into that Claimyr service or contact my school's financial aid office. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions!

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! It's so frustrating because I need to verify some information before my school's financial aid deadline next week. I tried the correction portal method that @Diego Vargas suggested and it actually worked perfectly - I could see all my submitted information without having to make any changes. Just make sure you don't accidentally hit submit at the end! The new FAFSA system really is a mess compared to previous years. Thanks everyone for the helpful workarounds!

I'm having the exact same problem! Submitted my FAFSA three weeks ago and can only see the correction link when I log in. It's really stressful not being able to double-check what I submitted, especially since this is my first time doing FAFSA and I'm worried I might have made errors. I tried the correction portal method that several people mentioned here and it worked great - I could see all my information without making any changes. Just be super careful not to click submit unless you actually want to make corrections! Really hoping they fix this summary view issue soon because this workaround shouldn't be necessary.