So glad to hear you got in and everything is working now! I had a similar issue last month where the site was down for maintenance and I was panicking about deadlines. For anyone else still having trouble, I've found that the FAFSA site tends to work better early in the morning (like 6-8am) when there's less traffic. Also, if you're still getting errors, try switching from WiFi to mobile data or vice versa - sometimes it's a network routing issue. The key is not to panic about deadlines when it's clearly a system-wide problem. Financial aid offices are usually very understanding about these technical issues since they affect so many students at once.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact same nightmare last year! The FAFSA outages seem to happen every year around peak filing time, which is so frustrating when you're already stressed about deadlines. A few additional tips that helped me: 1) If you have access to a computer at your school's library or computer lab, try from there - sometimes it's an ISP-specific routing issue. 2) Keep a backup list of all your financial documents ready so when the site does come back up, you can fill everything out quickly before it potentially goes down again. 3) Consider starting a group chat with classmates also filing FAFSA - we shared real-time updates on when the site was working. Really glad to see Mohammed got through and finished his application! This community is so helpful during these stressful times.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue! My family's AGI is well under the $60k threshold and we qualify for reduced lunch, but I keep getting asset error messages even though the system never asked me about assets initially. What's really frustrating is that I've tried the correction process three times now and it just keeps looping me through the same screens without ever showing asset questions. After reading through all these responses, I'm planning to try a few things: first, I'll contact the financial aid offices at my son's target schools since @Diego Vargas mentioned they can override these errors. I'm also going to try logging in from a different browser/device like @Omar Hassan suggested, just in case it's a technical glitch on my end. It's somewhat comforting to know this is a known issue with the Department of Education, but incredibly frustrating that families are having to deal with this during such a stressful time. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it really helps to know I'm not going crazy!

I'm dealing with this exact same frustrating situation! My family's income is around $52k and we qualify for free lunch, so we should definitely be eligible for the simplified needs test. But just like everyone else here, I'm getting stuck in this endless loop where the system gives me asset error messages even though it never asked about assets in the first place. What's really driving me crazy is that I've attempted corrections four times now, and each time it takes me through identical screens, I submit, and then get the same error messages again. It's like the system is completely broken for families who actually need the most help with financial aid. After reading through all the helpful responses here (especially @Diego Vargas's explanation about the Department of Education acknowledging this as a known issue), I'm going to contact my son's top choice schools directly tomorrow. It sounds like the financial aid offices can override these system errors while we wait for the feds to fix their mess. Has anyone had luck with the different browser/device approach, or does it seem like this is purely a backend system issue that won't be resolved by clearing cookies? This whole FAFSA rollout has been such a nightmare - I feel terrible for all the students and families going through this stress during what should already be an overwhelming process.

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who switched from paper to online mid-process last year. I initially started with paper because I'm old school and prefer physical forms, but after reading about all the delays and potential issues, I decided to try online instead. The online FAFSA actually has a really helpful "Help and Hints" feature that guides you through each section, which I found more useful than trying to figure out the paper instructions on my own. Plus, you can save your progress and log back in from any computer with your FSA ID. If you're really concerned about your home internet, I'd suggest starting the online application, creating your FSA ID, and then completing it at a library or community center with reliable WiFi. The time savings alone (getting your SAR in days vs weeks) is worth the minor inconvenience of going somewhere with better internet.

As someone who just went through this decision process myself, I'd strongly recommend trying the online version first. I was in a similar situation with unreliable home internet and was leaning toward paper, but after reading about all the potential delays and complications, I decided to use my local library's computers instead. The online FAFSA saved my progress automatically every few minutes, so even when I had to take a break, nothing was lost. The real game-changer was the instant error checking - it caught two mistakes I made with my Social Security number and a tax form entry that would have definitely caused delays if I'd submitted on paper. The whole process took me about 45 minutes at the library, and I got my Student Aid Report back in 3 days. Given all the experiences shared here about paper delays, lost applications, and processing issues, I'd say the small inconvenience of finding reliable internet access is worth avoiding those headaches.

UPDATE: We got it fixed! After trying everything suggested here, what finally worked was having my son login, remove me as a contributor, wait 24 hours, then add me again. But the key was entering my email in ALL LOWERCASE - even though my FSA ID email has capitals. The form showed up in my account this morning! Now working through it and hoping for no more glitches. Thank you everyone for your help and commiseration! And special thanks to those who suggested not starting over - that saved us from making things worse.

So glad to see you got it resolved @PaulineW! I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now - my daughter sent me the contributor invitation over a week ago and nothing shows up in my dashboard. I've been stressed about the deadlines too. Going to try your solution tonight with the all lowercase email and removing/re-adding as contributor. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences here - it's frustrating that we have to troubleshoot a government system ourselves, but at least we're helping each other! Will update if this works for us too.

Great plan Ali! Just wanted to add one more tip - when you make those $50/month interest payments on your unsubsidized loan, make sure to specify that the payment should go toward INTEREST ONLY, not principal. Sometimes loan servicers will apply payments to principal first, which won't prevent the interest capitalization you're trying to avoid. You can usually do this online or by calling your loan servicer. Also, keep records of all your interest payments - it makes things easier when you graduate and transition to regular repayment. Good luck with the weekend job!

Just to add another perspective - I'm a parent who went through this with my daughter last year. One thing we discovered is that you can also make interest payments directly through your school's bursar office in some cases, which can be more convenient than dealing with the loan servicer. Also, if you're considering graduate school later, keep in mind that any unpaid interest on undergraduate loans will capitalize when you enter grad school too, not just when you start repayment. So paying that interest now really does compound the savings over time. Your plan sounds solid - reducing the unsubsidized amount and paying interest while in school is exactly what we wish we'd known to do!