I'm dealing with something similar right now with my FAFSA loans through Nelnet! Been making payments for 2 months and they just sent me a delinquency notice saying I'm behind. The frustrating part is that when I call, each rep tells me something different - one said my payments were "pending processing" and another said they were applied to interest only instead of principal. It's like they don't even train their customer service people on how their own system works. I'm definitely going to try some of the suggestions here, especially the Payment Investigation request and checking if there's a name discrepancy. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - at least we know we're not alone in this mess!

This is absolutely infuriating and unfortunately way too common with FAFSA loan servicers right now. I went through something similar with FedLoan before they transferred my loans to MOHELA. Here's what I learned from my nightmare experience: 1. **Document EVERYTHING** - screenshots of every page, confirmation emails, bank statements, phone call logs with names/times 2. **Use the magic words** - when you call, say "I need to file a Payment Investigation under the Higher Education Act" - this triggers a different process than regular customer service 3. **Escalate immediately** - don't waste time with tier 1 support, ask for a supervisor or complaints department right away 4. **File complaints everywhere** - CFPB, your state attorney general, and the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman (studentaid.gov/ombudsman) The middle initial thing mentioned above is HUGE - I had a similar issue where they had my apartment number wrong and it was causing payment matching failures. Also check if they have the right Social Security number on file. Don't let them gaslight you into thinking this is normal. You have rights as a borrower and they are legally required to properly credit your payments. Keep fighting!

To answer your follow-up question: You need to report the Florida Prepaid Plan as a 529 plan asset on the FAFSA. Use the current value (what you'd receive if you canceled the plan today), not what you've paid in total over the years. Florida Prepaid doesn't report the value directly to FAFSA - you need to include it yourself when listing parent-owned education savings accounts. Also, remember the 2024-2025 FAFSA uses the new SAI formula instead of EFC. Under this system, having prepaid tuition has even less impact on aid eligibility than before.

Just wanted to add that you should also check if your daughter's college participates in Florida's Bright Futures scholarship program! If she qualifies, that combined with Florida Prepaid can really maximize your savings. We found that having the prepaid plan actually made us more strategic about applying for other aid since we knew tuition was covered. Also, make sure to submit your FAFSA before any state deadlines - Florida has some state grant programs that require early submission and having prepaid doesn't disqualify you from those either!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! We just checked and my son also had an incomplete identity verification! Once we fixed that I got the invitation email within 5 minutes. I can't believe they don't make this clearer in the process - we wasted WEEKS on this!!

This thread has been so helpful! I'm a high school counselor and we've been getting flooded with calls from panicked parents about this exact issue. Based on what I'm seeing here, it looks like the identity verification step is the main culprit for most families. I'm going to start having our students check their verification status FIRST before even attempting to invite parents. It's frustrating that the FAFSA system doesn't make this requirement more obvious - it would save everyone so much stress and wasted time!

UPDATE: The Department of Education just announced (as of last week) that they're reviewing all SAI calculations involving Schedule C business income due to a discovered calculation error. If your recalculation happened within the last 30 days and involves business income, you should be receiving an email about this soon. They're prioritizing reviews for current applicants with the largest SAI increases. This might solve your problem automatically, but I'd still recommend proceeding with the steps I mentioned earlier.

I'm dealing with something similar right now - my SAI went from $800 to $15,000 seemingly overnight. My parents own a small landscaping business and I'm wondering if that's what triggered it. The timing is awful because I need to finalize my aid package for next semester. Has anyone had success getting their school to provide emergency aid while waiting for an SAI appeal to be processed? I'm worried about having to drop classes if this doesn't get resolved quickly.

Your SAI of 12,856 is definitely workable! I'm a current college junior and when I was applying, I had a very similar situation - SAI around 13,200 with parents making about $65k. Here's what I learned: The most important thing is that each school calculates aid differently. I ended up getting offers that ranged from basically just loans at one state school to over $35,000 in grants at a private college. The private school that gave me the most aid actually ended up being my cheapest option overall. A few practical tips: - Apply to schools with good endowments if possible - they tend to be more generous - Don't overlook in-state public schools completely, but definitely cast a wide net - When you get your aid letters, create a spreadsheet comparing the actual out-of-pocket costs, not just the aid amounts - If you have a top choice that gives less aid than others, definitely try negotiating (politely!) Also, being first-gen is HUGE for scholarships. I probably got an extra $8,000/year just from first-gen specific programs. Make sure every application clearly indicates this status. You're going to be fine - that SAI means you'll definitely get aid, and being proactive about the process like you're doing now puts you ahead of most students!

Your SAI of 12,856 is definitely workable for getting financial aid! I'm a current college sophomore and when I was applying two years ago, I had a very similar situation - my SAI was around 13,500 and my family income was about $64k. Here's what I learned from my experience: you're in that "middle ground" where you won't get Pell Grants but you should still qualify for subsidized loans and institutional aid. I ended up getting aid offers that varied wildly between schools - from basically just loans at some state universities to over $20,000 in grants at a private college that ended up being my cheapest option. A few things that really helped me: - Applied to about 8-10 schools to have options to compare - Made sure to highlight my first-gen status everywhere (sounds like you're in the same boat) - Used schools' Net Price Calculators to get rough estimates before applying - Applied for tons of small external scholarships ($500-2000 range) that really added up Don't get discouraged by that number - focus on applying broadly and see what actual packages you get offered. Being first-generation college is actually a huge advantage for scholarships that a lot of students don't realize. You're asking the right questions early, which puts you way ahead of where most families are at this stage!