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THIS IS WHY I HATE FAFSA!!! They make these stupid mistakes and then make it IMPOSSIBLE to reach them to fix it. The whole system needs to be completely redesigned. It shouldn't be this difficult just to apply for financial aid that we QUALIFY for!
While I understand your frustration, remember that the 2024-2025 FAFSA has undergone a complete redesign with the new FAFSA Simplification Act. Many of these issues are temporary growing pains as they implement the new system. The new form should ultimately make the process easier with fewer questions and broader eligibility.
After trying all the suggestions here, please update us on what ended up working! It would really help other parents dealing with the same issue. Good luck!
Will do! Going to try the direct line tomorrow morning and the feedback center today. If those don't work, I'll try Claimyr as a last resort since fixing SSN issues seems pretty urgent.
Returning to the original question: for the "stuck in Review" issue, it will eventually complete processing, but if you need to make changes quickly (especially if your college deadlines are approaching), I recommend contacting Federal Student Aid directly. After the Review period ends, you'll have an opportunity to make corrections by clicking "Make FAFSA Corrections" after logging in. This allows you to update any information before your schools process your application. Just remember that any corrections will require signatures again from both you and your son.
btw if you do need to fix stuff after it processes remember your son will need to sign AGAIN after you make the changes. my daughter didnt realize she had to sign again after i fixed some tax info and we lost another week waiting 🙄
Quick update based on information just released yesterday: The Department of Education announced they will be enabling the school list editing feature sooner than mid-April. No exact date yet, but they're aiming for early March. This is in response to the high volume of similar complaints. In the meantime, still contact your new schools as they may have workarounds in place.
That's encouraging news! Where did you see this announcement? I'd like to follow their updates more closely since everything keeps changing.
After reading through all this I decided to try contacting one of my daughter's schools directly like others suggested. Just got off the phone with them and they were super helpful! They said this is happening to LOTS of people and they have a form we can fill out to verify our intent to apply for aid even though the FAFSA hasn't officially been sent to them yet. They said as long as we get that form in by their deadline, they'll hold our financial aid package until the FAFSA system allows the update in March/April. Might be worth asking if your new schools have something similar!
DONT FORGET the new FAFSA for 2025-2026 has that new SAI score instead of EFC too!! The whole system changed and it's SUPER confusing. My cousin's application got all messed up because she didn't realize how different everything is now.
Oh geez, I didn't even think about that! What's different about the SAI compared to the old system? Will that affect how they look at my tax situation?
The SAI (Student Aid Index) replaced the EFC (Expected Family Contribution), but the change won't affect how they handle tax disputes. The key differences are in how they calculate your aid eligibility - they're less generous with certain income protections and have changed how they assess multiple students in the same household. But for your specific tax issue, the process for resolving it remains the same regardless of EFC or SAI.
The worst part of all this is the timing. If you're trying to start school this fall (2025), you're cutting it close with financial aid. Most schools have priority deadlines for FAFSA in February-March for the following fall semester. Missing those can mean thousands less in institutional aid even if you still qualify for federal aid. If I were you, I'd: 1. File both tax returns ASAP 2. Submit FAFSA immediately after 3. Contact your school's financial aid office directly 4. Ask about any emergency or late consideration policies they have 5. Get documentation of your custody situation ready The tax dispute with your ex is important, but it's a separate battle that can be fought after your financial aid is secured.
You're right about the timing - I'm definitely getting anxious. The school I want to attend has classes starting in August, and their financial aid deadline for priority consideration was March 1st. Do you think I've already missed out on some aid options?
Missing the priority deadline often means you've missed out on school-specific grants and scholarships, but you should still qualify for federal aid like Pell Grants and Direct Loans. Call the school's financial aid office *tomorrow* and ask about late consideration policies - many schools hold back a portion of their funds for special circumstances or have cancellation scholarships that become available in July when other students change their plans.
Reginald Blackwell
The whole deadline system is a JOKE and deliberately confusing!!! My cousin filed by the "deadline" (the federal June 30 one) last year and ended up with ZERO grants because all the school and state money was gone. These different deadlines are just a way to trick students who don't have parents who understand the system. It's financial aid gatekeeping and it's GROSS.
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Statiia Aarssizan
•ya same thing happend to me!!! i filed in april thinking i was early and got nothing but loans offered to me. my roommate filed in november and got like $6k in grants from the same school. the whole system is rigged
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Aria Khan
To directly answer your question about where to find all the different deadlines: 1. Federal deadline: Always June 30 at the end of the academic year (so June 30, 2026 for 2025-2026 aid) 2. State deadlines: You can find these at: https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/fafsa-deadlines (they update this page each year) 3. School deadlines: You need to check each school's financial aid website or contact their financial aid office directly This is why we always recommend submitting the FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1. It's the only way to ensure you don't miss any deadlines.
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Tobias Lancaster
•Thank you so much for that specific link! That's exactly what I needed. I'm going to bookmark it and check for the 2025-2026 deadlines as soon as they're posted. You've been incredibly helpful!
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