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Why does the FAFSA website ALWAYS have issues right around deadline time? It's almost like they WANT students to miss out on financial aid. Been dealing with this garbage system for 3 years now. Every single year, same story, different error messages. 🙄
You're not wrong. The system definitely gets overloaded during peak periods. That's why I always recommend students submit at least 3-4 weeks before priority deadlines. Even with a perfect system, last-minute technical issues can happen.
Easy to say "submit early" but some of us need our parents' final tax info and they always wait till the last minute to get their documents together. Not everyone has perfectly organized families!
UPDATE: I tried the incognito mode + phone hotspot suggestion from @profile3 and IT WORKED!! Got past the error screen and was able to complete my entire application! For anyone else having this issue - definitely give this solution a try. Thank you all so much for the help!
So glad it worked for you too! No idea why that specific combination fixes it, but I've told several friends with the same issue and it's worked for most of them. Weird tech problems require weird solutions I guess!
I'm going thru the exact same situation with my daughter's school (different top-tier college). We got a similar email basically saying "wait and see" but her roommate already got her full package for next year?! Makes no sense. The stress is killing me because we literally can't afford to continue without similar aid to what she received freshman year. Are we supposed to just wait until July or August to know if we can afford to return??
This is unfortunately becoming more common. The financial aid cycle is completely disrupted this year with the delayed FAFSA rollout and the new SAI calculation system. Schools are handling it differently - some are sending preliminary packages based on last year's data, others are waiting for complete FAFSA processing. For both you and the original poster: I strongly recommend reaching out to the Dean of Financial Aid (not just a counselor) explaining the hardship this uncertainty is causing. Be polite but firm that you need some indication of aid levels for planning purposes. Sometimes escalating above the standard financial aid office can yield results.
Thanks, I'll try reaching out to the Dean directly. At this point we're prepared to transfer if they can't give us any answers. Just wish they understood what families go through with this uncertainty!
Update from the financial aid world: The Department of Education recently announced they're still experiencing significant delays processing 2025-2026 FAFSAs, particularly with the new SAI calculation system. Many schools are operating with incomplete information, which explains (but doesn't excuse) their vague responses. Here's the important part: federal student aid amounts (Pell Grants, subsidized loans, etc.) should still be available regardless of when your FAFSA is processed. It's the institutional aid (money from the college itself) that works on a first-come, first-served basis at many schools. I still recommend scheduling that direct conversation with financial aid to clarify exactly what your options are.
Thank you for this update! This makes more sense now. I'm scheduling that meeting with financial aid tomorrow morning and will specifically ask about federal aid vs. institutional aid. I'll update this thread once I know more in case it helps others in similar situations.
UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at FSA using that Claimyr service (totally worth it btw). Turns out there was a mismatch between my dad's reported income and what they had on file from the IRS. The weird thing is we used the data transfer tool so it should have matched automatically! The agent manually noted the correction and said processing should resume within 3-5 business days. Just wanted to update in case anyone else runs into this problem!
That's a common issue this year - the Data Retrieval Tool is pulling the right numbers, but the system is sometimes comparing it to the wrong year's tax data. Glad you got it sorted out! Make sure you keep checking your status because occasionally they need additional verification after the first issue is resolved.
Just wanted to update everyone! My ex checked this morning and the tax information magically appeared! It looks like it did eventually link automatically through the IRS DRT tool, even though it initially said it couldn't. We're so relieved - the SAI calculation is now complete and everything looks correct. Thanks for all the advice!
man i wish id seen this thread last week!! spent like 3 hours trying to figure out why my wifes tax info disappeared from our daughters fafsa. ended up starting over completely and lost all our previous info. the whole system is trash tbh
Tyrone Hill
My daughter is in both groups and she says this one has been more helpful for her specific situation with the Parent Plus loan eligibility questions. The other group seems to have more first-gen college students who aren't getting parental support. Different needs maybe?
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Rudy Cenizo
•That's actually a really good observation. I've noticed that trend too. I'm hoping by consolidating, we can bring those different perspectives together. First-gen students often have unique FAFSA challenges that others might not think about, while parents navigating Parent Plus have their own set of hurdles.
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Kirsuktow DarkBlade
One more suggestion - maybe compile a list of the most helpful posts/resources from your group that aren't already covered here? That way we don't lose valuable information during the transition, especially with the 2025-2026 FAFSA changes still causing confusion for many applicants.
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Rudy Cenizo
•That's a fantastic idea! We had a really useful thread about the new Contributor Access process and another about appealing SAI calculations with unusual financial circumstances. I'll put together a resource list and share it here as we make the transition.
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