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!

As someone who works in financial aid administration, I can confirm everything that's been shared here is accurate. Your original $18,000 is completely safe - the system treats increases as supplemental requests. One thing I'd add: when you submit the increase request, keep a screenshot of your confirmation page with the request number. If there are any processing delays, having that reference number will help expedite things when you call FSA. Also, once approved, the additional funds typically disburse within 3-5 business days after your school certifies the amount. Given your 3-week timeline, you should be in good shape!

I went through this exact situation last year with my daughter's Parent PLUS loan! Your original $18,000 is absolutely safe - they can't take that back once it's been disbursed to the school. The increase request is processed separately, so worst case scenario is they deny the additional $5,000 but you keep what you already have. I'd recommend calling your son's school first to confirm their internal deadlines for loan increases - some schools need the paperwork submitted to them by a certain date even if FSA approves it later. Also, when you log into studentaid.gov to request the increase, make sure you're selecting "request additional loan amount" rather than "modify existing loan" - I accidentally clicked the wrong option initially and it delayed my processing by a week. You've got plenty of time with 3 weeks, but definitely get that request submitted ASAP to avoid any last-minute stress!

I'm in the exact same boat! Just submitted my FAFSA a few weeks ago and had no idea the schools are the ones who actually give out the aid. This thread has been a lifesaver - I was getting worried that something was wrong since I wasn't seeing any dollar amounts on the FAFSA site. Going to log into all my college portals tonight and see if there's anything waiting for me. Thanks everyone for explaining how this actually works!

Hey Mason! I went through this exact same confusion last year as a first-gen college student. Here's what I wish someone had told me: check your student portals religiously, not just once but every few days since schools update them at different times. Also, some schools send award letters through regular mail too, so don't forget to check your mailbox! If you've been accepted to schools but haven't seen financial aid info yet, it's totally normal - some schools wait until closer to May 1st deadline. One tip that saved me: create a spreadsheet with all your schools and check off when you've received their award info so you don't lose track. The waiting is the worst part, but you'll get through it!

Thank you everyone for the advice! I'm going to start over with my daughter's application first, then have my husband join as the first contributor, followed by me. I'll make sure we have all our documents ready to go this time. One last question - approximately how long after submitting should we expect to receive the SAI calculation?

Just wanted to add one more thing that helped me when I was in a similar situation - when you restart, take screenshots of each page as you complete it. The FAFSA system can be glitchy and sometimes kicks you out, so having those screenshots saved me from having to re-enter everything multiple times. Also, if you run into any weird error messages during the process, don't panic - just close the browser completely, clear your cache, and start that section again. The system seems to have memory issues sometimes. Good luck with the restart!

I'm so sorry this is happening to you! As someone who just went through the FAFSA process myself, I can only imagine how stressful this must be. The difference between -15000 and 14376 is absolutely massive in terms of your aid eligibility. Based on everything everyone has shared here, it's clear this is a widespread system issue and definitely not something you caused. The advice about using the callback service, taking screenshots, and emphasizing the Pell Grant impact when you call sounds spot on. One thing I wanted to add - when you do get this resolved, you might want to consider waiting a bit before adding any more schools to your FAFSA, just in case there are still bugs in their system that could trigger this error again. Maybe add schools one at a time and check your SAI after each addition, at least until they get these synchronization issues fixed. I'm rooting for you to get this sorted out quickly! The fact that others have successfully gotten this exact error corrected gives me hope that FSA will be able to fix yours too. Please keep us updated - I think a lot of students would benefit from hearing how this gets resolved!

Wow, reading through all these responses has been both terrifying and reassuring at the same time! I'm a current college student and the thought of my SAI suddenly jumping by $30K would give me a heart attack too. It sounds like you have an amazing plan thanks to everyone's advice here. The fact that this seems to be a known "system synchronization error" is actually encouraging because it means FSA should have a process for fixing it quickly. One small thing I wanted to add - when you call tomorrow, maybe ask if they can put some kind of alert or flag on your account to prevent this from happening again if you need to make any future changes to your FAFSA. Since this seems to be a recurring bug, having them note your account as having experienced this issue might help prevent it from happening again. Also, I'm really impressed by how well you're handling this stressful situation! Keeping detailed records, researching the problem, and getting advice from this community shows you're being really proactive. That kind of preparation and persistence is exactly what you'll need when dealing with federal agencies. I'm definitely going to bookmark this thread in case I run into any FAFSA issues myself. The collective wisdom here about dealing with FSA is incredible. Best of luck tomorrow - I really hope you get this resolved quickly and can get back to focusing on your education instead of wrestling with broken government systems!