dont forget that even after you fix this you gotta make sure the colleges actually RECEIVE the updated info. my school said they never got my corrected fafsa even tho the site said it was processed. had to call financial aid office directly and have them manually pull it. whole system is broken imo

Just wanted to add another tip for anyone still struggling with this - if you're getting error messages when trying to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, check if your parent filed their taxes as "Married Filing Separately" vs "Married Filing Jointly". The FAFSA sometimes gets confused about which parent's tax info to pull if the filing status doesn't match what you selected in the original application. We had to go back and correct the filing status first before the DRT would work properly. Also, make sure you're doing this during IRS business hours (they have maintenance windows that can block the tool from working).

my cousin got the IL MAP grant last year and it showed right on her award letter from ISU. the amount was like $5600 i think? it was applied directly to tuition along with her pell grant.

As someone who just went through this process with my oldest last year, I can confirm that in Illinois the MAP Grant will definitely show up on your daughter's award letter from her college! No separate notification needed. One tip though - make sure to check the award letter carefully because sometimes state aid gets listed under a different section than federal aid, so it might not be immediately obvious. Also, if your daughter qualifies for MAP, the amount can vary quite a bit depending on her EFC/SAI and the college's cost of attendance. My son got about $4,800 at his state school. The whole process was much smoother than I expected once I understood how it worked!

Just checking back - were you able to get through the parent section? If you're still having trouble, there's a lesser-known workaround: you can submit the FAFSA without completing the parent section, then go back and add the parent information as a correction after submission. This sometimes bypasses the error.

So glad you got it working! For future reference (and anyone else reading this), the combination of off-peak hours + incognito mode seems to be the magic formula for these FAFSA errors. I work at a college financial aid office and we've been telling students about this workaround all month. The incognito mode helps because it bypasses any cached session data that might be causing conflicts with the IRS integration. Congrats on getting through the nightmare - now you can focus on the fun part of waiting for your financial aid offers! 😊

Just completed my son's verification process last week for this exact issue! Here's what worked for us: I created a simple document showing my financial contributions (housing, food, medical expenses, etc.) with approximate values and percentages. I included copies of my custody agreement, medical insurance card showing my son as a beneficiary, and text messages with his other parent discussing financial matters (with sensitive info blacked out). The financial aid office accepted this as proof I provide more than 50% support even though his stepmom claimed him on taxes. The whole process took about 3 weeks.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now! My daughter is a freshman and we went through this last year. The key thing to remember is that FAFSA dependency and tax dependency are completely separate systems with different rules. What helped me was keeping a simple spreadsheet throughout the year tracking major expenses - things like health insurance premiums, school supplies, clothing, food when she's home, etc. I didn't need exact receipts for everything, but having a general breakdown made the verification process much smoother when it came up. Also, don't stress too much about the verification if it happens. The schools understand that divorced families often have complex financial arrangements, and they're used to working through these situations. Just be honest and provide what they ask for.

Once you receive the aid packages, don't be afraid to appeal if the amounts seem insufficient. Many schools have a financial aid appeal process, especially if your financial situation has changed since filing taxes (job loss, medical expenses, etc.). You can sometimes get thousands more in aid just by asking and documenting your circumstances. Also, Parent Plus loans have an origination fee (around 4.2% currently) that gets deducted from the loan amount. So if you need $10,000 for costs, you'd need to borrow about $10,420 to end up with the full $10,000 after fees. Important to factor into your planning.

Just wanted to add one more tip from our experience last year - make sure your son accepts any aid offers by the deadlines! Some schools have pretty strict cutoff dates (usually May 1st but can vary), and if you miss them, they can withdraw the offer even if it's just grants or scholarships. Also, if he's considering multiple schools, don't feel pressured to accept the first aid package that arrives. It's totally fine to wait and compare all offers before making a decision. Some families create a spreadsheet comparing the total cost after aid at each school - makes it easier to see the real differences. One last thing about Parent Plus loans - the interest rate is fixed but tends to be higher than undergraduate direct loans (currently around 7.28%). So if your son qualifies for any additional direct loans in his name, those might be a better option to max out first before going the Parent Plus route.