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is anyone else annoyed that they completely changed the fafsa system the same year as the election?? feels like nobody in government is paying attention to fixing these issues bc theyre all busy campaigning lol
UPDATE: I wanted to thank everyone for their advice! I followed several suggestions: 1. Contacted my school's financial aid office - they gave me a 3-week extension on the priority deadline! 2. Used Claimyr to actually reach someone at FSA after 9 previous failed attempts - they submitted an expedited review 3. Visited my local SSA office (had to wait 2 hours) and discovered there WAS a discrepancy in how my married name was formatted Good news - my verification finally went through this morning! The SSA office fix plus the expedited review from FSA seems to have worked. For anyone else dealing with this, definitely be persistent and try multiple approaches at once. Thanks again for all your help!
Excellent news! This is exactly the kind of multi-pronged approach that works best with these systems. I'm glad you got resolution before your deadline. For anyone else reading this thread with similar issues, this is a perfect example of being proactive rather than just waiting for the system to eventually work.
i had this same issue last year with the 2024-2025 fafsa. got stuck on a different page (the parent contributor one) but same deal - kept freezing and not saving info. ended up having to completely restart my application THREE TIMES. so frustrating. at least it seems like they're fixing things faster this cycle.
Quick update for everyone - the Department of Education just released a statement acknowledging the Assets page issue. They've deployed a fix as of yesterday evening, which explains why some of you are suddenly able to get through. They're also automatically reviewing applications that have been stuck in this stage for more than 10 days. Regarding the SAI number you received - that's the Student Aid Index that replaced the old EFC. This number is used by colleges to determine your aid eligibility. With an SAI of 4200, you'd likely qualify for partial Pell Grant funding (assuming no verification issues), and most state grants would be available to you as well. The "in review" status simply means they're matching your self-reported information with IRS data through the automated data retrieval system. This typically takes 3-7 business days, but shouldn't require any action on your part unless you're selected for verification.
Thank you so much for this detailed information! It's such a relief to hear they're actually acknowledging the problem. I wish they'd communicate better about these issues instead of leaving us all in the dark. I'll wait for the final processing before getting too excited about the aid possibilities.
Just got an update from my school (UCL) - they said the Department of Education sent out guidance to international schools yesterday with a temporary workaround. Apparently they can now access some basic information through a special portal, but the full data integration is still being worked on. You might want to check with Edinburgh if they received this update!
btw if ur going to edinburgh hit me up when u get there! i have friends who go there and they LOVE it. the financial aid stuff is stressful but dont let it ruin ur excitement about studying in scotland!!
This is a known issue with reciprocal contributor relationships in the new FAFSA system. When you're both contributors to each other's applications, the system can get confused, especially if there were previous applications. From my experience working in financial aid, I would recommend: 1. Print a copy of your school's financial aid deadline documentation 2. Take screenshots of the error/freezing issue 3. Call your school's financial aid office ASAP and explain the situation 4. Ask if they can grant you a deadline extension while you resolve the technical issues Most schools are aware of the FAFSA system problems this year and have processes in place for extensions due to technical difficulties. They may also have direct contacts at Federal Student Aid who can help resolve your specific issue.
Update: I followed the advice to try submitting during off-peak hours (5am!) and used different devices for each application. Mine went through but my son's is still stuck. I've contacted our school's financial aid office and they gave us a 2-week extension while we sort it out. Finally used Claimyr to reach an FSA agent who said there was indeed a 'ghost record' in the system. They're manually clearing it but said it could take 3-5 business days to fully process. Such a headache but at least we're making progress!
NebulaNova
Here's what I learned from my experience: make sure your mortgage is COMPLETELY CLOSED before you sign anything for your son's education. Not just approved - CLOSED. My lender did a final credit check 3 days before closing and found a Parent PLUS loan inquiry (not even an actual loan yet!) and it caused major problems. Had to get letters explaining it was just an inquiry and wasn't going to be processed until after closing.
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Zainab Omar
•Wow, I had no idea they would check that closely! Thank you for the warning - I'll make sure not to even APPLY for anything until after closing is 100% complete.
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Yara Sayegh
One last thing to keep in mind - when your son completes his financial aid package at his chosen school, they'll likely present the Parent PLUS loan as an option to cover the full remaining cost of attendance. This often appears in the financial aid award letter as if it's already approved or part of the package. Just remember that you do NOT have to accept the Parent PLUS portion until you're ready, and your son can still accept just his direct federal loans in the meantime. Many parents don't realize they can accept only part of the financial aid package presented in the award letter.
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Zainab Omar
•Thank you! That's super helpful to know. I was worried we'd have to make all loan decisions at once when he receives his award letter. Sounds like we can take it step by step, which works much better with my home buying timeline.
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