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I was worried about the same thing! But I've logged in like 50 times (I'm obsessive lol) and my application has processed normally. Got my SAI calculation after about 3 weeks. Just don't click on any "edit" or "update" buttons while you're in there if you're worried!
Does anyone else think it's RIDICULOUS that we're all scared to even check our applications? The whole FAFSA system is such a disaster this year. My son's college financial aid office told us they're seeing TONS of students with unexplained corrections and delays. They actually advised us not to touch the application unless absolutely necessary!
It's definitely been a challenging rollout with the FAFSA Simplification Act changes. While I understand the caution, official FSA guidance doesn't support the "don't log in" approach. The issues are related to system processing, not user logins. Your son's school is likely being cautious due to the high volume of problems they're seeing.
The FAFSA system is BROKEN!!! My triplets all had different SAIs last year and no one could explain why!! We had to file appeals with every single college and it was a NIGHTMARE. The whole system is designed to confuse parents and students. Keep pushing until you get answers!!!
triplets omg i can't even imagine doing 3 applications 😱
UPDATE: Mystery solved! After going through both applications with a fine-tooth comb (and finally getting through to FSA), we found TWO differences that were causing the SAI discrepancy: 1. One twin did indicate planning to work during college while the other didn't 2. One application had a small typo in how many months our family size would remain the same (I put 9 months for one and 12 months for the other) The FSA agent explained that these two factors combined created the $1,200 difference. She helped me correct both applications so they're consistent now. The SAIs are still processing but should be the same when they're recalculated. Thanks everyone for your help!
This is a great example of why it's important to be extremely consistent when completing multiple FAFSA applications for students in the same household. I recommend that parents create a document where they record all their answers for the first application, then refer to it while completing subsequent applications. This helps avoid these types of discrepancies.
my daughter and i had the same thing happen last week!! what ended up fixing it was both of us using the SAME device (we used her laptop). For some reason when we used different devices the system couldn't sync properly. might be worth a try if nothing else is working!
UPDATE: We finally got it to work! For anyone who finds this thread later, here's what solved it for us: 1. We both logged out completely 2. Cleared browser cache and cookies 3. I logged in as the contributor first and went through each section again (even though everything showed complete) 4. Found that in the household section, even though all fields were filled and had green checkmarks, there was a hidden validation error that only appeared when I clicked the "Continue" button again 5. After fixing that and seeing the balloon page AGAIN, my daughter waited about 30 minutes before logging in 6. This time the system recognized my submission and she was able to complete the application Our SAI calculation came through about 4 hours later. Thanks to everyone for your help! The new FAFSA system definitely has some serious technical issues.
Glad you got it working! Your experience highlights why it's so important to start the FAFSA process early. With all these technical glitches in the new system, what used to take an hour can now take days or even weeks to complete. Thanks for sharing your solution - it will definitely help others facing the same issue.
Thank you for updating the thread with what worked! This is exactly the kind of hidden validation error we've been seeing at our financial aid office. I'm going to save your steps to share with other families who encounter this issue.
lol welcome to fafsa 2025-26... where everything's made up and your data doesn't matter! 🤣 but srsly tho the new "simplified" system is 10x worse than before
RIGHT?! they literally made it wayyyy more complicated and buggy. my counselor said they've had more fafsa problems this year than the last 5 years combined
Update on this issue: The Department of Education released a patch yesterday for this specific problem. If your parent logs in today, they should see an option that says "Recover previous contribution data" on their dashboard. This should restore the information they previously entered. If that option doesn't appear, there's a workaround: 1. Have your parent create a new contribution from scratch 2. On the first page where they enter their name/info, there's now a small link at the bottom that says "Load saved information" 3. Clicking that will usually recover their previously entered data Hope this helps with your May 1st deadline!
UPDATE: IT WORKED!! My mom logged in this morning and saw the "Recover previous contribution data" option! She clicked it and everything she had entered was there. She was able to complete the signature process and now my FAFSA shows as submitted! Thank you SO MUCH for letting me know about the patch!!!
Muhammad Hobbs
i just checked mine again after reading this thread and my SAI magically appeared today!!! maybe check yours again?
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Sasha Reese
•Just checked and still nothing for me. Fingers crossed it updates soon! When did you originally submit yours?
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Muhammad Hobbs
•like 2.5 weeks ago. hang in there!!
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Sasha Reese
UPDATE: My SAI finally showed up this morning! Looks like I just needed to be patient after all. Thanks everyone for the advice and reassurance. For anyone else with this issue - mine took exactly 8 days to process.
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Sadie Benitez
•Great news! This is pretty consistent with what we're seeing this cycle - most applications are processing in 7-10 days. Now make sure to check with your school's financial aid office about next steps for finalizing your aid package.
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