I'm a newcomer here but dealing with a very similar situation right now! Just wanted to add that I called my school's financial aid office this morning after reading through these responses, and they were incredibly helpful. They confirmed that as long as your SAI number is showing in your studentaid.gov account and your status says "Processed Successfully," you're good to go. The financial aid counselor I spoke with mentioned that they've been getting a lot of calls about this exact issue - students panicking after receiving outdated letters. She said their office actually tracks when they receive updated FAFSA information from students, and there's often a 2-4 week lag between when corrections are processed and when the old "incomplete" letters stop going out. One tip she gave me: if you're still worried, you can also check the "School Information" section in your FAFSA account to see the transmission dates to each school. If those dates are recent (after your corrections), then your schools definitely have your complete information. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences here - it really helped calm my nerves!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so grateful to find this discussion! I'm actually going through the exact same thing right now - got my SAI number last week and then received what looked like an official "incomplete application" letter yesterday. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring. I was honestly panicking because I thought something had gone wrong after I finally saw that SAI number appear. The timing everyone is describing matches exactly what I'm experiencing - I made some corrections about a month ago related to tax information, then got the SAI, and now this scary letter shows up. Based on all the advice here, I checked my FAFSA status page and it does say "Processed Successfully" with a date that's definitely after my corrections were submitted. No red alerts or action items in my message center either. I'm going to follow the suggestion to call my school's financial aid office directly rather than trying to get through to Federal Student Aid - that seems like the most practical approach. It's really comforting to know this is such a common experience and that the system just has these timing issues with outdated notices. Thank you to everyone who shared their stories - it's made me feel so much less alone in dealing with this confusing process!

I'm a PA parent who helped my daughter navigate this exact situation last year! A few additional tips that might help: 1) PHEAA sometimes updates their online portal with preliminary award info before sending official notifications, so check your account daily starting mid-April. 2) If you're comparing out-of-state options, remember that PA grants only work at PA schools, so factor that portability into your decision. 3) Some schools have "PHEAA pending" placeholders in their financial aid systems - ask if yours does this to get a clearer picture earlier. 4) Keep documentation of all your communications with both schools about extensions/estimates - it helps if there are any issues later. The waiting is brutal, but most families figure it out! Also, don't forget to submit your renewal FAFSA early next year to avoid this stress again 😅

As someone who just went through this process with my younger sibling, I can add a few more insights! PHEAA's timing is frustrating but predictable - they almost always release between April 18-28. One thing that helped us was reaching out to current students at both schools through social media or the schools' admitted student Facebook groups. Many upperclassmen remember their PHEAA amounts and can give you real examples of what to expect with similar financial situations. Also, if you're really stuck, consider putting down a deposit at your safer financial choice and then switching if the PHEAA grant makes your preferred school affordable - yes, you might lose the deposit, but it's better than missing out entirely. Most schools are understanding about this situation since it happens to so many PA students every year. Hang in there - the uncertainty is the worst part, but you'll have your answer soon! 🤞

As someone who just went through this nightmare with my own kid, I can't stress enough how important it is to document everything when you have these technical issues! Screenshot every error message, note the exact times you tried to submit, and keep records of any phone calls or chats with FSA. If the glitches cause you to miss priority deadlines, most financial aid offices will grant extensions if you can prove you were actively trying to complete the application. Also, pro tip - if you're still having issues, try using an incognito/private browser window. Sometimes cached data from previous FAFSA attempts can interfere with the new application.

Just wanted to add another potential solution that worked for my nephew last month - if you're still having issues, try completing the FAFSA during off-peak hours (like early morning or late evening). The system seems to be more stable when fewer people are using it. Also, make sure you're not using any browser extensions that might interfere with the form submission - we had to disable his ad blocker and password manager before it would go through properly. The timing thing especially seems to matter with Step 4 since that's where the system does a lot of backend calculations. Good luck to anyone still dealing with these frustrating technical problems!

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! My son is 18, lives at home, and we claim him as a dependent on our taxes, but the FAFSA keeps flagging him as independent no matter what we do. It's so frustrating because this glitch could cost us thousands in aid eligibility. I tried calling the FSA number multiple times but gave up after being on hold for over 2 hours each time. Really hoping that system fix they mentioned actually works this weekend - we can't afford to wait much longer with all these deadlines approaching!

This dependency status glitch is absolutely maddening! I'm a college sophomore and my younger sister is going through this exact same nightmare right now. She's 17, still in high school, lives at home, and has never worked - literally the textbook definition of a dependent student. But somehow the FAFSA system decided she should file as independent?? Makes zero sense. We've been trying to fix this for weeks and it's causing so much stress for my whole family. The worst part is that if she gets classified as independent, she won't qualify for nearly as much aid since the system won't consider our parents' income. It's like the system is punishing students for a glitch THEY created. Really hoping that weekend fix actually works because at this point I'm starting to think the whole FAFSA redesign was a huge mistake. Thanks for posting about this - at least now I know we're not going crazy and it really IS a widespread system problem!

one more thing make sure ur ex isnt claiming ur daughter on taxes that really messed up our fafsa one year

I went through this exact situation two years ago when my child support ended. Here's what I learned: definitely start the process NOW, don't wait until December. I made the mistake of waiting and it created unnecessary stress. Most schools have a "Special Circumstances" or "Professional Judgment" form - ask specifically for this, not just general financial aid forms. One thing that really helped my case was creating a simple before/after budget showing exactly how the $14,000 loss would impact our ability to pay college costs. I included things like "Previous monthly income: $X, New monthly income: $Y, Gap: $Z per month." The financial aid counselor told me this made it much easier for them to see the real impact. Also, keep copies of EVERYTHING and follow up regularly. The squeaky wheel gets the grease with financial aid offices. Good luck - this is definitely something they can and should help with!