Hey! I just wanted to chime in as someone who works in financial aid - what you're experiencing is unfortunately becoming more common this cycle due to ongoing FAFSA Simplification issues. A $6,000 SAI jump with that mysterious $45,000 asset increase is almost certainly a system error, not a reflection of your actual financial situation. Here's what I'd recommend doing TODAY: 1. Download your original SAR and the new reprocessed SAR from studentaid.gov and compare them section by section 2. Use Claimyr to call FSA (seriously, it works - I've recommended it to dozens of students) 3. When you call, ask specifically for a "line-by-line review of SAI components" and focus on that asset discrepancy 4. Contact your schools' financial aid offices immediately - don't wait for FSA to fix it first Most schools are holding aid packages when students can demonstrate they're dealing with reprocessing errors. The key is being proactive about communicating with them. Also, document everything! Get reference numbers, agent names, dates/times of calls, etc. If this takes multiple calls to resolve, having that paper trail will help. The fact that you didn't submit any corrections makes this even more suspicious. Keep pushing - you shouldn't lose Pell eligibility due to a system glitch!

I'm so sorry you're going through this stress! As a fellow student who's dealt with FAFSA issues, I can only imagine how nerve-wracking it must be to see such a dramatic SAI increase right when you're finalizing college plans. Based on what everyone has shared here, it really does sound like you have a strong case for this being a system error - that $45,000 asset jump is way too suspicious to be legitimate. The fact that multiple people have experienced similar reprocessing issues this cycle suggests there are ongoing technical problems with the new FAFSA system. I'd definitely echo what others have said about using Claimyr to get through to FSA faster. When you call, be prepared with your specific numbers and don't let them brush you off - a $6,000 SAI increase that affects your Pell eligibility is absolutely worth their time to investigate thoroughly. Also, while you're working on getting this fixed, you might want to look into whether your schools have any emergency aid funds or institutional grants that could help bridge the gap if there are delays in resolving this. Many colleges have become more flexible with aid appeals given all the FAFSA problems this year. Keep us posted on what you find out - I'm really hoping this gets resolved quickly for you!

As a newcomer to this community, I just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this entire thread has been! I've been struggling with the exact same account creation issue for the past few days and was starting to panic about missing my financial aid deadline. Reading through everyone's experiences and solutions has been such a relief - it's reassuring to know I'm not the only one dealing with this frustrating problem. I'm planning to try the successful combination tomorrow morning: incognito mode + Gmail + VPN disabled + early morning timing. It's honestly ridiculous that we need so many workarounds for a basic government website in 2025, but I'm grateful for this community sharing practical solutions. Will definitely update if I manage to get through the account creation process. Thanks everyone for being so helpful to fellow students navigating this mess!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to jump in as another newcomer who's been silently following this thread while dealing with the same nightmare. I've been stuck on that first screen for 4 days now and was honestly about to give up. But seeing all these success stories after the maintenance gives me hope! I'm definitely going to try the magic combo tomorrow: incognito + Gmail + no VPN + early morning. It's wild that in 2025 we need a whole playbook just to create an account on a government website, but I'm so grateful for this community sharing real solutions instead of the useless "try clearing your cache" advice you get everywhere else. This thread should honestly be pinned - it's more helpful than anything on the official site! Will report back with my results. Fingers crossed! 🤞

As a newcomer to this community, I want to express how incredibly helpful this entire discussion has been! I'm currently in the exact same situation with my son's FAFSA - we applied for Medicaid about a month ago, got income verification confirmation, but are still waiting on the final approval letter. Reading through everyone's real experiences has been so much more valuable than the generic advice you find elsewhere. The clarification that the FAFSA asks about "eligibility" rather than "enrollment status" is crucial, and @Zara Rashid's follow-up with the Federal Student Aid office really sealed the deal for me. I'm definitely going to mark "Yes" based on our confirmed income eligibility. The documentation tips from @PixelWarrior and others are gold - I've already started organizing all our application confirmations and emails into a verification folder. It's amazing how this community breaks down these complex government program intersections in such a practical, supportive way. Thank you all for making this overwhelming process feel much more manageable!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so grateful to have found this discussion! I'm currently dealing with this exact same Medicaid/FAFSA timing issue with my daughter's application. We submitted our Medicaid application about 4 weeks ago and received confirmation that our income qualifies, but we're still in the "processing" stage waiting for the official approval. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly enlightening - especially the distinction between "eligibility" vs "enrollment" that several people clarified. The real-world experiences shared by @PixelWarrior and others, along with @Zara Rashid's official confirmation from Federal Student Aid, have given me the confidence to mark "Yes" on the FAFSA based on our verified income eligibility. I'm also taking everyone's advice about documentation seriously - I've already created a folder with all our application confirmations, income verification emails, and status screenshots just in case we get selected for verification. This community's practical, supportive approach to navigating these complex government program overlaps is exactly what families need when dealing with these stressful situations!

So glad you got this sorted out! Your experience is exactly why I always tell people to call their financial aid office directly instead of relying on online portals. The verification process has been taking forever this year - I know several people who had to wait 3-4 weeks just to get their documents processed. $6,800 in Pell Grant money plus institutional aid is going to make such a huge difference! Just a heads up - once your aid package is finalized, make sure to accept it promptly because some schools have deadlines for accepting financial aid offers. Congrats on getting through this stressful process!

This whole thread is such a perfect example of how confusing the financial aid process can be for first-time applicants! I went through the exact same panic last year when I only saw loans on the federal site. What really helped me was creating a checklist: 1) Confirm FAFSA is fully processed (no verification flags), 2) Check school-specific financial aid portal (not just studentaid.gov), 3) Call financial aid office directly if anything seems off, and 4) Ask about both federal AND institutional aid opportunities. Chris, it sounds like you're on the right track now, but for anyone else reading this - don't be afraid to advocate for yourself! Financial aid offices are there to help, and they'd rather answer your questions than have you miss out on aid you're eligible for.

I just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact situation two years ago with my daughter's FAFSA. The anxiety you're feeling is completely understandable - I was losing sleep over it too! But I can confirm that the professional judgment process really does work. Here's what I learned: Submit your FAFSA exactly as your tax return shows (joint income), then immediately contact each school. Don't wait for the FAFSA to fully process - start gathering your documentation right away. I made the mistake of waiting and it delayed everything by weeks. The documentation I needed was pretty straightforward: utility bills showing separate addresses, a brief letter explaining the separation timeline, and my individual W-2 vs the joint tax return. Most schools had their own special circumstances form that walked me through exactly what they needed. The hardest part was just getting started, but once I submitted everything, the financial aid offices were actually very helpful. My daughter ended up getting significantly more aid after the adjustment. Hang in there - you're doing everything right by asking these questions and being proactive!

I'm new to this community and currently dealing with this exact situation! My husband and I separated in February 2023, but like many of you, we filed jointly for tax year 2023. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful and honestly a huge relief. I was starting to panic thinking there was no way to fix this. A couple questions for those who have been through this: When you contacted the financial aid offices, did you call or email first? And did any of you run into issues where schools required legal separation documents? We don't have any formal paperwork - just started living separately and managing finances independently. I have lease agreements and utility bills showing different addresses, but I'm worried that won't be enough. Also, for those whose appeals were successful - did the schools end up using just your individual income, or did they do some kind of partial calculation? I'm trying to get a sense of what kind of aid adjustment I can realistically expect. Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences. This community has been a lifesaver during such a stressful process!