Just to add one more perspective as someone who went through this process recently - don't panic if you see conflicting information online about deadlines! The March 2nd deadline is the PRIORITY deadline for Cal Grants, meaning you get first consideration for funding. But CSAC does accept applications after March 2nd on a funds-available basis until September 2nd. Obviously you want to hit that March deadline, but if something goes wrong with your GPA verification or FAFSA, you're not completely out of luck. I had issues with my school's GPA submission and still got awarded a Cal Grant B in late April. The key is to keep following up and don't give up!

Just want to echo what everyone's said about checking your GPA verification status! I'm a current college sophomore and went through this exact same confusion two years ago. One thing that really helped me was calling my high school's registrar directly rather than just asking my counselor - they were able to tell me immediately whether my GPA had been sent to CSAC and even resend it while I was on the phone. Also, if you're worried about missing deadlines, you can actually submit your FAFSA correction/updates after the March 2nd priority deadline and still be considered for Cal Grants. The WebGrants portal that others mentioned is super useful - you can see exactly which documents CSAC has received and which ones are still missing. Don't stress too much about the complexity, the financial aid offices at the schools you're applying to are also really helpful once you get closer to making your final decision!

As a newcomer to this community and the FAFSA process, I can't express how grateful I am to have found this thread! My son just submitted his portion of the 2025-2026 FAFSA yesterday and I was already anxious about the parent invitation step after hearing so many horror stories. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly eye-opening - the identity verification issue seems to be the hidden culprit that's tripping up so many families. I'm definitely going to have my son check his verification status thoroughly before we even attempt to send me an invitation. It's absolutely mind-boggling that the FAFSA system allows students to think they're successfully sending invitations when there's actually an incomplete verification blocking the process. This kind of poor system design just adds unnecessary stress to an already overwhelming process. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share your troubleshooting steps and solutions - this community support is invaluable for families navigating this confusing system for the first time!

As someone who's completely new to the FAFSA process, this thread has been absolutely incredible to discover! I'm the parent of a high school senior and we haven't even started the 2025-2026 application yet, but after reading through all these experiences, I now know exactly what to watch out for. The identity verification issue seems to be the main trap that's catching families, and it's shocking that the system doesn't make this requirement more obvious. I'm going to make sure my daughter completes her identity verification fully BEFORE we even think about sending parent invitations. It's so reassuring to see this community helping each other navigate what is clearly a poorly designed system. Thank you to everyone who shared their solutions - you've potentially saved our family weeks of frustration and panic! I'll definitely be bookmarking this thread as we start our FAFSA journey.

I'm new to this community but wanted to add my perspective as someone who just went through this exact situation. My husband filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in early 2023, and our daughter applied for college financial aid for fall 2024. I was terrified about how it would affect her chances. The reality was much better than I feared. Our FAFSA was actually processed smoothly, and because our 2022 tax return (used for 2024-2025 FAFSA) showed lower income due to the financial crisis that led to bankruptcy, our daughter qualified for significantly more aid than we initially expected. She received nearly the full Pell Grant plus substantial state grants. The only "extra" step was that two of the colleges she applied to requested verification documents, including our bankruptcy discharge papers. But the financial aid offices were completely professional about it - they explained it was routine for families reporting significant income changes. One thing that really helped was being upfront about our situation from the beginning. When we toured colleges, I asked financial aid counselors directly about how they handle families recovering from bankruptcy. Every single one assured us that it wouldn't hurt her eligibility and might actually help. Don't let fear of the unknown stop you from making the financial decision that's best for your family's stability. Your daughter's future will be brighter with a financially stable parent, and the aid system is actually designed to help families exactly like yours.

I'm new to this community but wanted to share some encouragement as someone currently going through bankruptcy proceedings with a college-bound daughter. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful and reassuring - thank you to everyone who shared their experiences! What strikes me most is how many people have said that bankruptcy actually HELPED their financial aid situation rather than hurt it. That's completely the opposite of what I was expecting when I started researching this. The explanation about FAFSA using tax year data makes so much sense - if your income drops due to the circumstances leading to bankruptcy, that lower income gets reflected in the aid calculations. I'm particularly grateful for the advice from the financial aid professionals in this thread about being proactive and honest, keeping documentation organized, and knowing about the professional judgment review process. It's clear that colleges deal with families in financial crisis regularly and have systems in place to help. One thing I'm taking away is that I should stop viewing this as something that might hurt my daughter's opportunities and start seeing it as potentially opening doors to aid we might not have qualified for otherwise. The focus should be on getting our family financially stable so we can actually support her through college. Has anyone here had experience with how bankruptcy affects parent PLUS loans specifically? I'm wondering if there are any restrictions there that might be different from student aid eligibility.

Just a heads up - make sure you complete everything well before your daughter's priority deadline. Even after fixing the technical issues, the processing times for SAI calculations are taking 7-10 days for many students this year, and she'll need that SAI score to complete her college financial aid applications. Don't cut it too close!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so grateful to find this discussion! I'm currently dealing with a very similar issue where the FAFSA system keeps rejecting my tax information even though I've triple-checked everything against my 1040. Reading through all these solutions gives me hope that there's a way forward. The suggestion about using the specific workflow to add a spouse contributor seems particularly helpful - I had no idea there was a bug in the "Add Spouse" function. For anyone still struggling with technical issues, I've found that sometimes these government systems work better during off-peak hours (like early morning or late evening) when fewer people are accessing them. The servers seem less overwhelmed then. Also, if you're using any VPN or security software, try temporarily disabling it - I've seen that cause form submission problems on other federal websites. Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences and solutions here. It's reassuring to know we're all in this together navigating these FAFSA challenges!

As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to thank everyone for sharing such detailed and helpful experiences! Reading through this thread has been incredibly enlightening. I'm in a similar situation with my son who received a partial merit scholarship, and I was on the fence about completing the FAFSA due to all the technical issues this year. Seeing real examples like @QuantumQuester's daughter getting an additional $8k in grants on top of her merit award, and @Mei Chen's experience with subsidized loans, really drives home that these aid sources truly are separate pools. The insider perspective from @Andre Moreau about institutional policies and @Zoe Stavros's point about FAFSA potentially being required for merit renewal are exactly the kind of details you don't find in the official guidance. I'm definitely going to push through and complete our FAFSA now. Thanks for creating such a supportive space to navigate this confusing process!

As someone new to this financial aid journey, I just want to echo what others have said about the importance of completing the FAFSA even with merit scholarships! My daughter is a junior in high school with strong grades, so we're starting to research this process early. What really stands out to me from this discussion is how the merit and need-based aid systems work independently. The fact that @QuantumQuester's daughter received an additional $8k in grants on top of her merit scholarship is incredibly encouraging. And @Andre Moreau's insider perspective about different funding pools really helps explain why both types of aid can stack. I'm definitely bookmarking this thread for when we go through this process next year. The tip about contacting financial aid offices directly about deadlines and the reminder to list all schools on the FAFSA are exactly the kind of practical advice that makes this community so valuable. Thanks to @Yuki Kobayashi for asking this question - it's helped so many of us understand how this process really works!