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Sent mine by mail in january still nuthin back yet. The whole fafsa thing is a JOKE this year!! My friend got his SAI and it was way higher than expected so now hes not eligible for the Pell Grant he was counting on. Maybe its better yours is taking forever lol atleast you can plan for worst case
OMG that's my biggest fear!! Did your friend's income change or something? I'm counting on getting at least $4000 in Pell and if my SAI comes back too high I'm literally going to have to drop out.
UPDATE: I took everyone's advice and called my school's financial aid office this morning. They were super understanding and gave me a 2-week extension on my FAFSA deadline! I'm going to try submitting online tonight using Chrome in incognito mode like someone suggested. Thank you all SO MUCH for the help and sharing your experiences! I'll update again once I get something processed.
That's excellent news! Most schools are being flexible this year because the new FAFSA rollout has been so problematic. If you still have trouble with the online submission, try completing it during off-peak hours (very early morning or late evening) when the system typically has less traffic.
my neighbor had this exact problem and ended up gettin selected for verification becuz the numbers didnt match the IRS data. took FOREVER to sort out but they still got aid eventually
To address your original question more directly - the wording "parent's 2022 income" is using the possessive singular form (note the apostrophe before the 's'), referring to just one parent - you, as the parent completing the FAFSA. If it were meant to be both parents, it would be "parents' income" with the apostrophe after the 's'. Regarding verification: Beyond W-2s, having a copy of your separation agreement (if formal) or documentation showing separate residences during 2023 can be helpful. Each school's verification process varies slightly, but most will request a statement explaining the discrepancy between FAFSA data and IRS data, along with supporting documentation.
i remember they kept sending me emails about parent contribution even after my kid graduated lol
Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! I created my FSA ID tonight and got the email verification right away. Waiting on the SSN verification now, but at least I know I'm on the right track. My daughter can send me the contribution invitation once that's done. This was so much clearer than anything on the studentaid.gov site!
Great job getting it set up! The SSN verification usually processes within 1-3 days. Once that's complete, you'll be all set to complete your portion when your daughter sends the invitation. Make sure to keep your FSA ID username and password saved somewhere secure - you'll need it again for next year's FAFSA and for any other federal student aid processes.
one thing no one mentioned!! if ur grandaughter is close to 24 she might just wanna wait til shes legally independent by age? my cousin skipped a year and went back when she didnt need her parents for fafsa anymore
As a follow-up to my earlier comment: For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, there are some new provisions that might help your situation. The FAFSA Simplification Act created a new category called "provisional independent students" that includes situations where contact has been lost with parents. For your granddaughter's specific situation, I recommend a two-pronged approach: 1. Submit the FAFSA marking the "Cannot provide parent information" option 2. Immediately contact each school's financial aid office with your documentation 3. Specifically ask about both dependency override AND professional judgment options 4. Request consideration under the new provisional independent status guidelines if applicable Each school will have different forms and processes, so she'll need to work separately with each institution she's applied to.
Alejandro Castro
This new FAFSA is SUCH a disaster!!! 😡 I've been dealing with this exact problem for TWO WEEKS now and still no correction button. Called them 4 times and got 4 completely different answers. One said wait 3 days, another said 5 business days, another said 14 days, and the last one said I need to submit a special form that doesn't even exist on their website!!! The whole system is BROKEN and they keep lying to cover it up. I'm convinced the "correction" feature is just completely broken right now and none of them want to admit it. My daughter's financial future is at stake and these incompetent bureaucrats can't even get a basic website function to work. BEYOND FRUSTRATING!!!
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Bruno Simmons
•I understand your frustration, but I've had several students successfully make corrections to their 2025-2026 FAFSAs this month. The system is working, but it's definitely inconsistent. I'd recommend trying from a different browser or device if you're still having issues after two weeks.
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Landon Morgan
UPDATE: The correction button appeared today (6 days after submission)! We were able to add the custodial investment account without any issues. The system recalculated our SAI and it went up by about $1,800, which isn't as bad as I feared. Thank you all for the reassurance and guidance - this forum has been more helpful than the official customer service!
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Zane Gray
•Great news! And now you won't have to worry about verification flags for unreported assets. Always better to be accurate upfront!
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Lourdes Fox
•told ya!! glad it worked out!!
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