Update for everyone: The Department of Education just announced they're working through a backlog of paper FAFSAs from January and February. They're prioritizing electronic submissions and those with approaching school deadlines. This is why I always recommend electronic filing when possible, but for those who submitted paper forms, contacting both your school and FSA directly is your best course of action.

I'm so glad you got it sorted out! Your experience is exactly why I always tell people to go electronic if at all possible. The paper processing delays have been getting worse each year, and with all the FAFSA changes this cycle, it's been particularly brutal. For anyone else reading this thread who might be in a similar situation - don't wait! Submit online immediately and document everything. Most schools are understanding about these processing delays if you communicate proactively with their financial aid office. And definitely keep that postal receipt if you mailed a paper form - it's your proof of when you actually submitted!

Here's an UPDATE on my similar situation: Paper form took 5 weeks to process (ugh!) but we finally got the SAI calculation yesterday. It's definitely slower than doing it all online, but it DOES eventually work. Make sure you follow up regularly though - nothing happens quickly without persistence!

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now! My son submitted his portion online three weeks ago, but I had to mail my parent section due to constant "system unavailable" errors. I've been checking the status daily and it still shows "processing parent information." Reading through these comments is both reassuring (that it's a common issue) and terrifying (the processing times!). I'm definitely going to call his school's financial aid office tomorrow morning and also try that Claimyr service someone mentioned. Has anyone had luck getting updates by calling the school versus calling FSA directly? It sounds like the schools might be more helpful.

Update: I finally got through to someone at FAFSA (after taking the advice about using Claimyr - it actually worked!) and they confirmed our application is just waiting on IRS verification. They said they can't expedite it, but I also called my son's school and they were super understanding. They said they'll make a note on his file that the FAFSA was submitted before their priority deadline and will hold his aid package. Apparently they're seeing this with tons of students this year. Such a relief! Thanks everyone for your help!

This is such great news to hear! I'm a parent who went through something similar last year with my older daughter's FAFSA. The key thing you did right was being proactive and contacting the school directly - so many families just wait and hope the FAFSA will magically fix itself. For anyone else reading this thread who's in a similar situation: don't underestimate how understanding financial aid offices can be when you communicate early. They're dealing with these verification delays constantly this year and most have internal processes to handle them. The worst thing you can do is stay silent and miss deadlines without reaching out. Fingers crossed your son's verification processes quickly now! And thanks for updating us - it's really helpful for other families dealing with the same issue.

FINAL UPDATE: Success! The financial aid office called this morning to confirm they FINALLY received my son's FAFSA information. They said it came through late yesterday. They're expediting his financial aid package and should have it ready by the end of next week, which is just in time for the tuition deposit deadline. Lessons learned for anyone dealing with the same issue: 1. Just because your FAFSA shows "processed" doesn't mean schools actually received it 2. Be persistent with both FSA and your school's financial aid office 3. Get reference numbers for everything 4. Have the school check for name mismatches if they say they didn't receive anything Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions! This system is seriously broken, but we made it through.

Wow, what a journey! Thanks for sharing all the updates - this is exactly the kind of real-world problem-solving that helps other families navigate this mess. I'm bookmarking this thread because I have a feeling we're going to need these tips when my younger daughter applies next year. The fact that you had to fight this hard just to get the system to work as intended is absolutely ridiculous. Glad your persistence paid off and your son will get his aid package in time!

As someone who just went through this nightmare last month, I feel your pain! The new FAFSA system is so poorly designed when it comes to communicating what parents need to do. Here's what saved me after wasting hours on this: 1. Create your FSA ID at studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account BEFORE clicking any links 2. Use YOUR personal email (not your daughter's) and make sure it matches exactly what she put when adding you as a contributor 3. Wait at least 10-15 minutes after creating the FSA ID before trying to access anything 4. If you're still getting errors, have your daughter log into her FAFSA and resend the contributor invitation - sometimes the original links get corrupted The "unable to complete action" error almost always means you're trying to access the parent section without having your own FSA ID set up first. It's such a basic thing but nowhere in their emails do they clearly explain this! Once you get your FSA ID created and verified, everything should work smoothly. Don't give up - your daughter's aid depends on getting this done!

This thread is incredibly helpful! I'm a new parent going through this process and was getting the exact same "unable to complete action" error. Reading through everyone's experiences, it's clear that the FSA ID creation step is crucial but poorly communicated. I just wanted to add one more tip for other newcomers: when creating your FSA ID, double-check that your name matches EXACTLY how it appears on your Social Security records (including middle initials, hyphens, etc.). Even small discrepancies can cause verification delays. Also, if you're divorced or separated, make sure you're the correct parent contributor based on your daughter's living situation and tax filing status - the system is very strict about this now. Thanks to everyone who shared their solutions - this community is a lifesaver for navigating these confusing new FAFSA requirements!