Just wanted to add my perspective as someone who went through this exact situation last year with my daughter. Those "You Don't Qualify" messages on studentaid.gov are basically meaningless - they're just generic placeholders while the system processes everything. My daughter had an SAI of around 14,000 and we saw the same confusing messages, but she ended up receiving unsubsidized loans at every school she applied to, plus need-based grants at two of them. The key thing to remember is that each school determines your aid package independently based on their own cost of attendance and aid policies. Some schools took 6+ weeks to send their financial aid letters even after receiving the FAFSA data, so patience is definitely required. One tip: if any of his schools use their own financial aid forms (CSS Profile, etc.), make sure those are submitted too - sometimes delays happen when schools are waiting for multiple documents. You're doing everything right by checking each school's portal. The real answers will come from those individual award letters, not from the FAFSA website itself.

I went through this exact same panic last year with my twin sons! Seeing those "You Don't Qualify" messages under both loans and grants made me think we'd made some terrible mistake on the FAFSA. But everyone here is absolutely right - those messages are just generic placeholders while the system processes everything. Both my boys had SAIs around 16,000-17,000 and initially saw the same confusing messages. Fast forward a few weeks, and they both received unsubsidized loan offers at every school they applied to, plus one son got a small Pell Grant at his higher-cost school and the other got merit aid. The hardest part is just waiting for each school to process everything and send their award letters. Some schools were super quick (2 weeks) while others took almost 2 months. And you're right to be confused - the whole system could definitely be clearer about what those early messages actually mean (or don't mean). Hang in there! With that SAI, your son will definitely qualify for federal loans at minimum, and possibly more aid depending on where he's applying.

This thread is so helpful! We're in a similar situation - my daughter's FAFSA was processed in February and we're still waiting on packages from 4 out of 6 schools. Reading through everyone's experiences makes me realize we need to be more proactive about calling. One thing I wanted to add that our high school counselor mentioned is that some schools are also dealing with staffing shortages in their financial aid offices this year, which is contributing to the delays on top of all the FAFSA technical issues. She recommended keeping a spreadsheet with each school's financial aid office phone number and the date/outcome of each call so you can follow up systematically. I'm going to start making calls this week and will definitely ask about verification requirements and check all the student portals. Thanks everyone for sharing - it's such a relief to know we're not the only ones feeling stressed about this!

I'm in the exact same boat and feeling so much better after reading all these responses! My daughter's FAFSA was processed in late January, she's been accepted to 4 schools, but we haven't received a single financial aid package yet. I was starting to panic thinking we did something wrong, but it sounds like the delays are widespread this year. I'm going to start calling the financial aid offices tomorrow and definitely check all her student portals tonight - that's such a good tip that I hadn't thought of. The spreadsheet idea is also genius for staying organized. It's such a relief to know we're not the only family dealing with this uncertainty. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and advice - this community has been invaluable for navigating this stressful process!

UPDATE: We figured it out! For anyone facing this issue in the future - the problem was incredibly simple but impossible to guess. My wife's middle name was entered as "Marie" on her Social Security card, but in the FSA ID system it was recorded as just "M" (initial only). Once we tried that variation, everything went through perfectly. Thank you everyone for your suggestions! Special thanks to the person who recommended checking against her SS card formatting - that's what led us to the solution.

Great job troubleshooting this! Your experience highlights exactly why the new FAFSA system can be so frustrating - these minor formatting differences that worked fine in previous years now cause major roadblocks. The fact that your wife's middle name was stored as just "M" instead of "Marie" in the FSA database is a perfect example of how picky the real-time verification has become. I'd definitely recommend that other families screenshot or write down the exact format that works once they get through, because you'll need that same formatting for renewals and any future children going through the process. Thanks for posting the solution - this will help so many other parents who run into the same issue!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now with my twin daughters' applications! It's such a relief to find this thread because I was convinced we had somehow broken the system. We consented to the IRS data retrieval back in February before getting locked out, and when we finally got back in last week, it went straight to asking about investments and completely skipped all the income questions I remember from my older son's FAFSA two years ago. Reading everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful - it sounds like this is actually how the new system is supposed to work, even though it feels completely wrong as a parent. I think I'm going to follow the advice here and call the helpline to confirm they have our tax information before submitting, just for my own peace of mind. Has anyone had issues with the Direct Data Exchange not working properly, or does it seem pretty reliable once you get past the initial technical problems?

As someone who just completed this process with my daughter last month, I can confirm this is exactly how the new 2025-2026 FAFSA is supposed to work! The Direct Data Exchange (DDX) automatically pulls your tax information from the IRS once you provide consent, which is why you're only seeing questions about investments and assets that aren't on your tax return. I was equally confused when it happened to us - after years of manually entering every line from our tax forms, it felt wrong to skip that entire section. But our SAI came back correctly with all our 2023 tax data included in the calculation. The new system has eliminated about 26 questions from previous years, and most of those were the detailed tax questions we used to have to answer manually. If you already consented to IRS data retrieval before getting kicked out, you should be good to submit. The lack of transparency is definitely unsettling, but the technology actually works pretty well once you get past the learning curve!

just wondering why your son is 13 and going to UCI? that seems really young for college, is he some kind of genius?

I went through something very similar last year with my nephew's FAFSA! He had to file paper forms due to tax complications and we were panicking about missing deadlines too. Here's what worked for us: 1. Document EVERYTHING - keep copies of all your mailings, certified mail receipts, any communication attempts with FSA. This becomes crucial when advocating with the school. 2. Contact your congressional representative's office! I know it sounds dramatic, but they have staff specifically for federal agency issues like this. They can often get FSA to expedite your case or at least confirm receipt. We got a response within 48 hours after months of radio silence. 3. UCSD's financial aid office is actually pretty reasonable about FAFSA delays (based on what I've heard from other UC families). Ask about their "promise to pay" option - it's different from paying upfront because it acknowledges pending aid. 4. If you do end up paying anything out of pocket, pay the minimum possible (maybe just the enrollment deposit) rather than full tuition. This keeps your spot secure while preserving your cash flow. The system is absolutely broken this year, but don't lose hope! Your daughter earned that UCSD spot and there are ways to make it work. Keep pushing and don't let bureaucracy steal her opportunity!