my bro had this happen when he moved apartments but didnt update his adress with social security. if u moved recently thats another thing that causes the error

As someone new to the FAFSA process, this thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I'm helping my nephew with his application next month and had no idea there were so many technical pitfalls to watch out for. The browser compatibility issues alone seem like a major hurdle - it's crazy that something as important as financial aid depends on using the "right" browser. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and solutions. I'm definitely bookmarking this for reference and will make sure we have his Social Security card handy to double-check every detail before starting. It's reassuring to know this community exists to help navigate these frustrating technical problems!

As someone who just went through this process with my son last semester, I want to echo what others have said about documentation being key. One thing that really helped us was creating a simple timeline document showing "before job loss" vs "after job loss" income projections for the entire year. We included monthly breakdowns and it seemed to make our case much clearer to the appeals committee. Also, don't forget to mention any other changes in your financial situation - reduced 401k contributions, increased medical expenses, etc. These can all be considered as part of your special circumstances. The appeals process can feel overwhelming but most financial aid officers genuinely want to help families in situations like yours. Good luck with your daughter's appeal!

Just wanted to add - if you're dealing with unemployment benefits, make sure to include documentation showing the difference between your previous salary and current unemployment payments. When I helped my neighbor with her appeal last year, the financial aid office specifically asked for this comparison to show the actual income reduction amount. Also, if you have any other family members affected by the job loss (like if you had to reduce contributions to a sibling's education or elderly parent care), include that context too. The more complete picture you can paint of how the job loss impacted your entire family's financial situation, the stronger your appeal tends to be. Wishing you the best outcome!

This thread has been incredibly eye-opening! As someone new to the college financial aid world, I had no idea about this "financial aid cliff" effect where earning more money could actually leave you worse off. Reading everyone's experiences and strategies has been so valuable. I'm particularly interested in the retirement account strategy that several people mentioned - using 401k contributions to lower your AGI for FAFSA purposes while still building savings seems like such a smart approach. The idea of timing income strategically around the two-year lookback period is also something I never would have considered. One question I have - for those who chose NOT to take the second job and focused on scholarship applications instead, how much time did you typically spend on scholarship searches and applications? I'm trying to figure out if the time investment in scholarships might be more worthwhile than working extra hours, but I'd love to hear more about the actual time commitment involved. Thanks to everyone for sharing such detailed, practical advice. This community is amazing for breaking down these complex financial aid decisions!

This whole thread has been such a lifesaver! I'm in almost the exact same boat as the original poster - single parent, son heading to college next fall, and sitting right at that frustrating income threshold where we qualify for some federal aid but not much. Reading through everyone's experiences and strategies has given me so much clarity on what I need to do. The idea of calculating the exact break-even point really resonates with me - I think I was getting caught up in the emotional stress of "I need to work more to afford college" without actually running the numbers to see if that would help or hurt us. I'm definitely going to start by using that Federal Student Aid Estimator tool to model different income scenarios, and I love the suggestion about maximizing 401k contributions to reduce our AGI. The gig work idea is brilliant too - having that flexibility to control exactly how much I earn gives me so much more power over staying under the threshold. For those who went the scholarship route instead of extra work - did you find it helpful to set aside specific days/times each week for scholarship applications, or did you approach it more sporadically? I'm trying to figure out the best way to make this a manageable process alongside everything else. Thanks to everyone for sharing such practical, real-world advice!

FINAL UPDATE: We finally got through to FSA using that call service someone recommended. Took about 3 hours total but an agent was able to unlock my contributor section! I just finished redoing my portion and my son resubmitted. His SAI went back down to where it should be. For anyone else dealing with this - definitely DON'T create a new application, and be prepared for a long wait to get help. The agent said they're seeing this issue a lot with the new FAFSA.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm bookmarking this in case we run into similar issues. The new FAFSA system seems to have so many glitches this year. Really glad you were able to get it sorted out before the deadline - that must have been incredibly stressful with your son's college decision hanging in the balance. Thanks for sharing the solution and keeping us updated!

I'm so glad I found this thread because I was starting to think I was the only one dealing with this nightmare! I got my Corinthian borrower defense approval in September 2023 (about 18 months ago) for $31,200 in loans, and like everyone else here, they're still showing as active with zero communication about timeline. What's been driving me absolutely crazy is the inconsistent information from FSA reps - I've literally been told by one rep that my case doesn't exist in their system, then called back the same day and had another rep confirm my approval and say it's "in queue for processing." It's like they're working with completely different systems! Reading through everyone's experiences here is both comforting and terrifying. Comforting to know this is a widespread issue and not just my case being lost in the system, but terrifying to see people waiting 2+ years after approval. The administrative forbearance advice is something I definitely need to pursue - I've been stressed about whether to keep making payments on loans that are supposed to be discharged. Has anyone had success with the Congressional representative route that Miguel mentioned? I'm in California and wondering if certain representatives' offices are more effective at getting responses from the Department of Education. At this point I'm willing to try every possible avenue because waiting indefinitely with no real timeline is just not sustainable. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and tips - it's helping me feel less alone in this process!

I'm so sorry you're all going through this - I just joined this community after finding this thread through a Google search about Corinthian discharge delays. I received my borrower defense approval in June 2023 (about 21 months ago) for $19,800 in loans, and I'm still in the same nightmare as everyone else here. What really struck me reading through all these comments is how widespread this issue is and how the FSA representatives seem to have absolutely no consistency in their responses. I've had the exact same experience - one rep tells me my case is "processing normally," another says they can't find any approval, and a third told me to "just wait a little longer" when I mentioned it's been almost two years! I'm definitely going to try several of the suggestions mentioned here, especially requesting administrative forbearance and reaching out to my Congressional representative. The idea of contacting the Student Borrower Protection Center that Luca mentioned also sounds promising. One thing I wanted to add - I've been keeping screenshots of my StudentAid.gov account showing the loans are still active, just in case I need proof later that the discharge wasn't processed despite the approval. Has anyone else been documenting this way? I figure having a paper trail of the delays might be helpful if we ever need to escalate further or if there are issues with the eventual discharge processing. Thank you all for sharing your experiences. It's frustrating that we're all dealing with this, but at least we're not alone in the fight!