This thread has been such a lifesaver! I'm currently battling the same "unknown error occurred" message and was about to give up completely. Reading through everyone's detailed solutions and success stories gives me so much hope that there's actually a way through this nightmare. I love how this has turned into like the ultimate community troubleshooting guide for this error. The combination approach that keeps coming up (Microsoft Edge + incognito mode + early morning hours + disabled extensions + checking for duplicate parent FSA IDs) seems to be the magic formula. I'm definitely going to try this tomorrow around 5am. One thing I'm curious about - for those who successfully got through using the early morning timing, did you notice if certain days of the week worked better than others? I'm wondering if weekends might have even less server traffic than weekday early mornings. Also planning to document everything with screenshots and check with my parents about potential duplicate accounts (they helped my older sister a few years back). It's honestly ridiculous that we need to become tech support experts just to apply for financial aid, but this community support has been incredible. Thanks to everyone who shared their solutions - you're literally saving students' college dreams! Will report back with my results.

This thread has been absolutely incredible to follow! I'm currently stuck with this exact same "unknown error occurred" message and honestly thought I was losing my mind trying to figure out what was wrong. It's both frustrating and comforting to see so many other students dealing with this - clearly the FAFSA system has some serious issues this year. Based on all the amazing troubleshooting advice shared here, I'm planning to try the comprehensive approach that seems to work for most people: Microsoft Edge in incognito mode at around 5-6am, with all browser extensions disabled, VPN disconnected, and I'll definitely check with my parents about potential duplicate FSA IDs (they helped my older brother with his FAFSA about 3 years ago, so this could totally be the issue). What I find most valuable about this discussion is how everyone's sharing not just what worked, but also the technical details like waiting 10-15 minutes after clearing cache, session management issues, and even making sure the actual student does all the clicking. These insights are way more helpful than any official support I've been able to find. I'm also going to start documenting everything with screenshots just in case I need to prove to my school that I've been trying to submit before the deadline. It's honestly ridiculous that applying for financial aid requires becoming a tech troubleshooting expert, but I'm so grateful for this community support. Will definitely report back after my early morning attempt - fingers crossed!

Hi! I just went through this same process with my eldest last year and completely understand your confusion. The FAFSA completion is just step one - think of it like submitting your tax documents to an accountant, but each college is a different accountant who will give you their own unique "bill." Your daughter will receive individual financial aid award letters directly from each school she was accepted to, typically arriving 3-6 weeks after they receive her FAFSA data. These letters will show the actual dollar amounts for grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans specific to that institution. A few things that helped us stay organized: - Set up email alerts for her student portals (aid info often appears there first) - Create a simple comparison chart for when multiple offers arrive - Don't hesitate to call financial aid offices directly if you have questions about their timeline The SAI you're seeing is essentially your "financial need score" that schools use in their calculations, but each school has their own aid formulas and available funds. Some schools might offer significantly more aid than others even with the same SAI. The waiting is definitely the hardest part, but you're right on track! Most families receive their aid packages well before the May 1st decision deadline.

I'm in the exact same situation with my son! His FAFSA was processed about 10 days ago and I keep refreshing studentaid.gov expecting to see actual aid amounts somewhere. This thread has been such a lifesaver - I had no idea that the SAI was just a calculation for schools to use rather than our actual financial aid. I've already started implementing several of the great suggestions here: created a tracking spreadsheet with all his schools and acceptance dates, set up a dedicated email folder for financial aid communications, and started checking his student portals more frequently. One thing I discovered while setting up the portals is that a couple schools have a "Financial Aid Checklist" section that shows the status of different steps in their process. It doesn't show dollar amounts yet, but at least I can see that they've received his FAFSA data and are "reviewing for aid eligibility." The 2-6 week timeline everyone mentioned is really helpful for setting expectations. I was starting to worry we were behind schedule, but it sounds like we're right on track. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this process feels so much less overwhelming now!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm experiencing the exact same FAFSA frustration! I submitted mine about 11 days ago and have been obsessively checking my email for any updates about Pell Grant eligibility or my award letter. The waiting is so stressful when you're trying to figure out your financial situation for the upcoming semester. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful and reassuring. I had no idea that the new FAFSA system rollout was causing such widespread delays this year - I was starting to think I had made some kind of mistake on my application! The consistent advice about calling the financial aid office directly rather than waiting for emails really resonates with me. I've been hesitant to "bother" them, but it's clear that being proactive is actually necessary given all the technical issues. The tip about asking specifically whether my school has received my FAFSA data (versus just federal processing being complete) is something I never would have thought to ask about, but it sounds like that gap is where a lot of problems occur. I'm also really grateful to learn about provisional enrollment options - that could be a huge relief for managing registration deadlines while waiting for aid to be finalized. Planning to call my college's financial aid office tomorrow morning armed with all the great questions people have suggested here. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences - this thread has made what felt like an overwhelming situation feel much more manageable!

Hi everyone! As a newcomer to this community, I'm going through almost the identical situation and this thread has been such a lifesaver! I submitted my FAFSA about 9 days ago and have been anxiously waiting for any communication about my Pell Grant or financial aid package. Like many of you, I was starting to worry that I had done something wrong or missed a step. Reading through all these experiences has been incredibly reassuring - it's clear that the new FAFSA system rollout is causing major delays for students everywhere, not just me! The consistent advice about calling the financial aid office directly instead of waiting for emails has really convinced me that's the right approach. I've been hesitant to reach out thinking I should be patient, but it sounds like being proactive is actually expected and necessary this year. The tip about asking specifically whether my school has actually received my FAFSA data (versus just federal processing being complete) is something I never would have thought to ask about, but it seems like that's where many of the issues are happening. I'm also really grateful to learn about provisional enrollment options - that could be a game changer for managing registration deadlines while waiting for aid decisions. I'm planning to call my college's financial aid office first thing tomorrow morning with all the great questions people have suggested here. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and creating such a supportive discussion - it's made this stressful process feel so much more manageable knowing we're all in this together!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for sharing such detailed and helpful experiences! I'm currently helping my nephew navigate his first dependency override application, and this thread has given me so much valuable insight about what to expect for the renewal process. It sounds like the most important thing is getting clear, written documentation from the school about their specific renewal policies rather than relying on verbal assurances. The experiences shared here - both positive and negative - really highlight how much schools can vary in their approaches and communication. I'm definitely going to bookmark this thread and refer back to it when we get to the renewal stage. The practical tips like setting calendar reminders and proactively contacting the financial aid office are exactly the kind of real-world advice you can't get from official websites. Thanks to everyone for creating such a supportive and informative discussion!

As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to share my recent experience that might help clarify this situation. I just went through the dependency override process with my daughter last month, and I had the exact same question about the "3-year approval" language. After reading through all these helpful responses, I called our financial aid office and asked for specific clarification. What I learned was that their "3-year approval" means they won't require us to resubmit all the original supporting documentation (counselor statements, court records, etc.) for years 2 and 3, but we DO still need to submit an annual confirmation form along with our FAFSA each year. The form is essentially a one-page document where we attest that our circumstances haven't materially changed and that we understand our obligation to report any changes immediately. It takes about 5 minutes to complete versus the months of documentation gathering we did initially. I think the confusion comes from financial aid offices trying to reassure families that the hardest part is over, but not being clear about what minimal steps are still required each year. Definitely recommend getting your school's specific renewal process documented in writing - it varies so much from school to school based on what everyone has shared here!

Just joined this community after dealing with this exact same parent invitation nightmare! My son and I have been stuck on this step for days, and reading through everyone's detailed troubleshooting experiences has been incredibly helpful. We tried the basic name/SSN matching multiple times but clearly weren't thinking about all the formatting nuances. Tonight we're going to work through the comprehensive checklist from this thread: checking for hyphens in names, logging into both parent FSA accounts first, verifying full account verification (not just creation), looking for extra spaces, updating profile addresses, and trying during off-peak hours. One thing I'm also going to check is whether we're using the same browser my parents used when they originally created their FSA IDs - that tip about browser compatibility was something I never would have thought of! It's honestly ridiculous that applying for financial aid has become this technical, but I'm so grateful this community has figured out all these workarounds. The stress of scholarship deadlines while dealing with these system glitches is no joke - thank you all for sharing your solutions!

New to this community and currently dealing with this exact same parent invitation issue! My daughter has been stuck on this step for almost a week now, and I'm so relieved to find this thread with all these detailed solutions. We've been banging our heads against the wall trying the basic name/SSN matching over and over, but clearly we weren't considering all these formatting quirks that everyone has discovered. After reading through all these experiences, we're going to systematically work through the full troubleshooting checklist tonight: verify exact hyphen usage in my wife's last name, have both parents log into our FSA accounts first to "refresh" them, confirm our accounts are fully verified (not just created), check for any sneaky extra spaces, update our profile information including addresses, and try again during early morning hours when the system is less busy. I'm also going to double-check which browsers we used when originally creating our FSA IDs - that compatibility tip was something I never would have considered! It's honestly mind-boggling that something as important as financial aid applications has become this technically finicky, but I'm so grateful this community has documented all these hard-won solutions. The pressure of scholarship deadlines while dealing with these system glitches is incredibly stressful - thank you all for sharing your troubleshooting expertise!