I want to echo what others have said about the California Dream Act Application (CADAA) being the right path for your student. I've helped several SIJS students navigate this process, and it's important to know that many community colleges in California have specific outreach coordinators for undocumented and AB 540 students who understand these complex situations. One additional resource that hasn't been mentioned is the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office "I Can Go to College" website - they have a specific section for AB 540 students that breaks down the entire process step by step. Also, consider reaching out to local immigrant rights organizations in your area, as they often have volunteers who specialize in helping students with college applications and financial aid. Given his exceptional GPA and the approaching deadlines, I'd also suggest applying to multiple community colleges in your area - not just his first choice. This gives him more options for financial aid packages and increases his chances of connecting with counselors who really understand his situation. Some colleges are simply better equipped to serve AB 540 students than others. You're doing incredible work advocating for this student - having a mentor who cares enough to research all these options can truly change the trajectory of his life.

I just want to add one more thing that might be helpful - if your student is planning to work while attending community college, he should know that once his work authorization comes through, California has some great on-campus job programs specifically for AB 540 students. Many community colleges participate in the Work-Study Program for California residents (separate from federal work-study), and some have paid internship programs that don't require citizenship status. Also, I'd recommend having him start building his college application portfolio now - personal statement, letters of recommendation from teachers, documentation of any volunteer work or extracurricular activities. Even though community college admission isn't as competitive, having these materials ready will be crucial when he applies for scholarships and eventually transfers to a 4-year university. Many scholarship applications open throughout the year, not just during traditional financial aid seasons. His resilience in maintaining a 4.5 GPA while navigating such a complex immigration situation shows incredible character - that's exactly the kind of story that scholarship committees love to support. Don't let him underestimate the power of his personal journey when applying for private scholarships that value overcoming adversity.

UPDATE: For anyone having similar issues, I finally got this resolved! Turns out there were two problems: 1) My son had entered my email with a typo as someone suggested, and 2) The system was getting confused because I had an old FSA ID from when my daughter applied years ago that used a different email. \n\nI used the Claimyr service that someone recommended here to get through to an agent quickly. They fixed both issues and now I can log in normally. Just submitted my parent portion today - what a relief! Thanks everyone for your help.

Wow, glad you got it sorted out! The multiple FSA ID issue is something I hadn't heard about before but makes total sense - the system probably didn't know which account to authenticate. Thanks for sharing the resolution, this will definitely help other parents who run into the same problem. The FAFSA rollout has been such a mess this year with all these technical glitches!

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who works in college admissions (though not financial aid specifically). What I've observed is that many families get so focused on the merit vs. need-based aid breakdown that they lose sight of the bigger picture. Some schools that practice displacement might still offer you a better overall financial aid package than schools that stack, simply because they have more generous baseline policies. Also, don't forget to factor in the renewal requirements for merit scholarships. Some require maintaining a 3.5 GPA, others just 3.0, and some have no GPA requirement at all. A renewable $15k merit scholarship with a 3.0 requirement might be more valuable long-term than a $20k merit scholarship requiring 3.7 GPA if your daughter struggles with the transition to college academics. Finally, consider appealing your financial aid package if other comparable schools offered better terms. Many schools will match or at least partially match competing offers, especially if your daughter is a strong candidate they want to enroll.

I went through this exact situation two years ago with my son! The merit vs need-based aid confusion is so real. What I learned is that you really need to look at your final award letter holistically. My son got $16K in merit from his top choice, but when we compared the TOTAL aid packages from all his schools, a different school that gave him less merit money but more need-based aid actually ended up being $3K cheaper per year. One tip: when you call the financial aid office, ask them to break down exactly how they calculated your "demonstrated need" after applying the merit scholarship. Some schools are really transparent about this calculation, while others are frustratingly vague. Also ask if there are any additional institutional grants or aid programs your daughter might qualify for that weren't included in the initial package - sometimes there are departmental scholarships or special programs that can stack on top of everything else. The whole process is honestly more complicated than it needs to be, but don't get discouraged! That $18,500 in merit money shows your daughter is a strong candidate, which often means the school wants her there and might be willing to work with you on the financial package.

I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been battling this exact same username creation nightmare for the past 4 hours and was starting to think there was something seriously wrong with my computer or internet connection. Reading through everyone's experiences has been both incredibly helpful and absolutely infuriating - how is it possible that a government website in 2025 has this many undocumented requirements and browser compatibility issues? I've been making almost every mistake mentioned here: using Safari, trying usernames with my initials and birth year, including periods and underscores, and probably copy-pasting between attempts which might be adding hidden characters. The "invalid response" error message is completely useless when there are apparently dozens of secret rules that could be causing the rejection. Based on all the amazing advice shared here, I'm going to try the [Random Adjective][Random Noun][Numbers][Random Word] formula on Chrome after clearing my cache completely. Something like "FuzzyPenguin583Cloud" that has absolutely nothing to do with my personal information whatsoever. It's honestly shameful that students have to become amateur tech detectives just to START applying for financial aid. The Department of Education should be making this process easier, not creating barriers that prevent people from accessing education funding. Thank you all for sharing your solutions - this community troubleshooting is more valuable than anything on the official FAFSA help pages!

I'm going through this EXACT same frustration right now! Just spent the last 2 hours getting that same "invalid response" error and was about to throw my laptop out the window. This thread is such a lifesaver - I had no idea there were so many hidden requirements that they don't actually tell you about anywhere! I've been using Safari and trying variations of my name with numbers, which apparently are like the two biggest mistakes you can make based on everyone's experiences here. Going to switch to Chrome right now and try something completely random like "PurpleCactus847Moon" following that formula someone shared. It's absolutely ridiculous that we need an entire community discussion just to figure out how to create a username for a government website! The fact that the error message just says "invalid response" instead of actually explaining what's wrong is so unhelpful. Students are already stressed enough about college applications and financial aid without having to become tech support specialists. Thank you everyone for sharing your solutions - will definitely report back if this works! 🤞

As a newcomer to this community, I just want to say how incredibly helpful this entire thread has been! I'm currently dealing with my first ever FAFSA correction and was completely lost when I saw my status stuck on "Started" for the past week. I had no idea there were so many hidden steps in the process - the electronic signature requirement especially wasn't obvious to me at all. Reading through everyone's experiences has been such a relief because I was starting to think I had somehow broken the system or that my corrections had been lost entirely. The step-by-step breakdown that several people provided is exactly what I needed to understand where I went wrong. I'm definitely going to follow the advice about taking screenshots of confirmation pages and setting reminders to check my status after making any changes. It's honestly frustrating that something as critical as financial aid has such a confusing user interface, but I'm so grateful to have found this community where people actually help each other navigate these challenges. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - you're probably saving countless students from missing important deadlines!

As someone who just joined this community after running into the exact same FAFSA correction issue, I can't thank everyone enough for sharing their experiences! I've been stressing out for the past three days thinking my corrections disappeared into the void, but now I understand that "Started" status just means I didn't complete all the final steps. The breakdown of the submission process that several people provided is incredibly helpful - I had no idea about the electronic signature requirement or that you have to review ALL sections even if you only changed one thing. It's pretty ridiculous that the FAFSA system doesn't make this clearer, but at least now I know what to look for. I'm definitely going to follow everyone's advice about screenshotting the confirmation page and checking my status within 24-48 hours. The tip about calling FSA early in the morning is also gold - I tried calling yesterday evening and gave up after an hour on hold. Really appreciate this community for helping newcomers navigate these confusing processes!