This thread has become an absolute masterclass in community problem-solving! As someone who just successfully completed my daughter's FAFSA after being stuck in the verification loop for 12 days, I can confirm that the comprehensive approach outlined here WORKS. Here's what finally worked for us: 1. Created a completely new Gmail account (not just for the application, but for the FSA ID itself) 2. Used Edge in InPrivate mode with ALL extensions disabled (including built-in ones) 3. Attempted at 5:30 AM when servers were less loaded 4. Manually typed every single piece of information - no copy/paste anywhere 5. Used ethernet cable instead of WiFi 6. Most importantly: called technical support through Claimyr to remove phantom records from our 4 previous abandoned attempts The technical support agent found THREE conflicting records in their system from our previous attempts. Once those were cleared, the verification went through immediately. This community has created better troubleshooting guidance than anything FSA provides officially. Isabella, thank you for starting this thread and sharing your success - it gave so many of us the roadmap to victory! For anyone still struggling: persist with this approach, it WILL work eventually. The system is broken, but beatable with the right strategy!

This thread has been absolutely incredible to read through! As someone who's about to start the FAFSA process with my twin boys next month, I'm both terrified and incredibly grateful for all the wisdom shared here. What strikes me most is how this community has essentially reverse-engineered solutions to a fundamentally broken system. The comprehensive troubleshooting guide that's emerged - fresh email accounts, Edge InPrivate mode, off-peak hours, manual data entry, wired connections, and using Claimyr for technical support - is more valuable than any official FSA documentation I've seen. Isabella, thank you for your persistence and for sharing your success story. And Savanna, your confirmation that the approach actually works with real details about the THREE phantom records is so reassuring! It's mind-boggling that families have to become IT experts just to apply for financial aid, but at least we now have a proven battle plan. I'm bookmarking this entire thread as my FAFSA survival guide. For anyone still stuck in verification hell - don't give up! The collective wisdom here proves that persistence combined with the right technical approach will eventually defeat this dysfunctional system. You've all turned a nightmare into a roadmap for success!

Welcome to the community! As another newcomer who's been following this incredibly informative discussion, I wanted to add my voice to thank everyone for sharing such detailed and practical advice. I'm also planning to return to school after becoming disabled, and this thread has been more helpful than anything I've found through official channels. One thing I'd like to emphasize that I haven't seen mentioned explicitly is the importance of keeping copies of ALL correspondence with financial aid offices, SSA, and other agencies involved in this process. I learned this the hard way when dealing with other disability-related bureaucracy - having a paper trail can be crucial if there are any discrepancies or if you need to appeal decisions. Also, for those mentioning professional judgment reviews, I'd suggest asking each school about their specific timeline and process for these reviews. Some schools handle them quickly while others can take months, which could affect your enrollment timeline. I'm curious - has anyone had experience with how changing from full-time to part-time enrollment mid-semester affects financial aid calculations? With disability, sometimes our health situations change unexpectedly and I want to be prepared for that possibility. Thank you again to everyone for creating such a supportive and informative discussion. This community is clearly an incredible resource for navigating these complex systems!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for creating such an incredibly comprehensive and helpful discussion! I'm also planning to return to school after becoming disabled and had many of the same questions about how disability status affects FAFSA applications. Reading through all the experiences shared here has been more informative than hours of trying to navigate official websites. The practical advice about organizing documentation early, understanding professional judgment reviews, and knowing about resources like Vocational Rehabilitation services and state-specific programs has completely changed my perspective on this process. A few key takeaways I'm noting for my own situation: - Start gathering disability-related expense documentation now (medical bills, transportation costs, adaptive equipment, etc.) - Research state-specific disability grant programs beyond federal aid - Connect with disability services coordinators who work directly with financial aid offices - Ask schools about their experience working with disabled students during the selection process - Look into emergency aid funds and disability-specific scholarships What really stands out is how many support systems exist that I had no idea about - from AHEAD's scholarship database to Independent Living Centers to the various funding sources that can work alongside FAFSA. It's clear that preparation and knowing what resources to ask about can make a huge difference. This community has transformed what felt like an overwhelming obstacle into a manageable process with clear steps and plenty of available support. Thank you to everyone who shared both their successes and challenges - it's invaluable to have real-world perspectives on navigating these systems as disabled students!

That's such a relief that you got answers! I'm in a similar situation - my FAFSA has been "In Review" for 2 weeks now and I was starting to panic. Your post inspired me to be more proactive instead of just waiting. I'm going to contact my school's financial aid office tomorrow and also try using Claimyr to see if there's verification holding up my application. It's frustrating that the system doesn't clearly communicate when verification is needed, but at least there are ways to find out. Thanks for sharing your update - it gives me hope that mine will move along once I know what's actually happening with it!

Wow, this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm a freshman applicant and my FAFSA has been stuck "In Review" for about 12 days now. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like this is unfortunately pretty normal for this year's cycle. I'm definitely going to follow the advice here - contacting my school's financial aid office first thing tomorrow and checking out Claimyr to see if I can find out what's actually happening with my application. The lack of transparency in the system is really frustrating when you're trying to plan for college expenses. Thanks to everyone who shared their timelines and solutions - it's reassuring to know I'm not alone in this!

I'm having the exact same experience right now! Just submitted my daughter's FAFSA this evening and immediately started second-guessing myself when I realized it never asked about our savings or checking accounts. I kept going back through each screen thinking I must have missed something important or that the system had glitched. It's such a relief to read through all these responses and learn that this is completely normal with the new simplified FAFSA! Like so many others have mentioned, the Department of Education really should have included some kind of notice explaining why asset questions don't appear for many families - would have saved us all from so much unnecessary panic. But after understanding how the new SAI calculation focuses primarily on income rather than bank account balances, I'm actually really grateful for these changes. It sounds like this streamlined approach could help more families like ours qualify for better financial aid, which is exactly what we need with college costs being so high. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences here - this community has been incredibly helpful for a newcomer like me trying to navigate these major changes to the FAFSA process!

I'm so relieved to find this discussion! Just submitted my son's FAFSA this morning and had that exact same moment of panic when it didn't ask about our savings account. I kept refreshing the page thinking there had to be additional screens I was missing. After reading through everyone's experiences here, it's incredibly reassuring to know this is completely intentional with the new simplified system. The Department of Education really should have included a brief explanation on the form itself - something like "Asset questions may not apply based on your income level" would have prevented so much unnecessary stress for families like us. But understanding how the new SAI calculation works by focusing primarily on income rather than bank account balances actually makes perfect sense. It sounds like this change could genuinely help more middle-income families qualify for better aid, which is exactly what we need. Thank you to this amazing community for helping newcomers like me understand that we didn't mess up our applications!

Wow, this thread is so helpful! I'm dealing with the same issue but with fewer schools (applying to 23). Reading through all these responses, I'm realizing I should probably organize my schools by deadline priority like everyone's suggesting. One question though - has anyone had experience with how this affects merit-based scholarships? I'm wondering if submitting my FAFSA to some schools later in my second batch might impact my chances for institutional scholarships that have early consideration deadlines. Some of my target schools mention that FAFSA submission is required for merit aid consideration, but they don't specify if there's a difference between being in the first vs second batch of submissions.

Just wanted to add another perspective on this - I actually encountered a technical glitch last year where my FAFSA got stuck in "processing" status for one of my batches and it took almost 2 weeks to resolve. The Federal Student Aid helpline was pretty useless (like others mentioned), but what finally worked was contacting my high school's guidance counselor who had a direct contact at the Department of Education. So my advice would be to loop in your school counselor early in this process, especially if you run into any technical issues. They often have resources and contacts that can expedite problems that would take forever to resolve on your own. Also keep checking the FSA website obsessively - sometimes the status updates aren't real-time and you might be able to make your swaps sooner than you think. 28 schools is impressive! I thought my 15 was a lot. The whole system really needs an overhaul to handle how students actually apply to college these days.