This is exactly why I always recommend having your tax documents ready as a backup! I went through something similar last year - the IRS DRT kept timing out during peak application season. What saved me was having all my W-2s and 1040 forms organized beforehand. Even though manual entry takes longer, at least you're not at the mercy of system glitches. For anyone still dealing with this issue, don't wait too long before switching to manual entry, especially with school deadlines approaching. Better to have an accurately completed FAFSA than to miss your priority deadline waiting for the DRT to work!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been having the exact same IRS Data Retrieval Tool issue for the past 5 days and was starting to panic about missing my school's deadline. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been really helpful - it sounds like this is a widespread problem with the new FAFSA system this year. I'm going to try the suggestion about double-checking that my name matches exactly between my FSA ID and tax return, and if that doesn't work, I'll probably go with manual entry since so many of you had success with that approach. Thanks for sharing your solutions and making me feel less alone in this frustrating process!

@profile5 - For California specifically, here are some dates to keep in mind: 1. March 2: Cal Grant deadline (FIRM - no exceptions) 2. UC priority filing: Usually early March 3. CSU priority filing: Varies by campus (some as early as February 15) 4. California Community Colleges: Varies, but generally you want to file by March 2 And yes, your family's financial situation changing since 2023 is a big deal! You'll need to complete what's called a "Professional Judgment" or "Special Circumstances" appeal with each college after your FAFSA is processed. Each school handles these differently, but you'll need documentation showing the change in income. Start gathering things like layoff notices, unemployment benefits statements, or medical bills that caused the income reduction. You typically submit these appeals directly to each college's financial aid office, not through FAFSA.

As someone who just went through this process with my daughter last year, I can't stress enough how important timing is. We filed in mid-January thinking we were "on time" but discovered several of her target schools had priority deadlines in early February that we barely made. Here's what I wish I'd known: Create a spreadsheet with each college your son is considering and their specific financial aid deadlines. Don't just look at FAFSA deadlines - look for "priority consideration" dates for institutional aid. Some schools award 80% of their aid budget to students who meet priority deadlines. Also, since you mentioned this is your first time with FAFSA, make sure you have your 2023 tax return handy and create your FSA ID ahead of time if you haven't already. The parent FSA ID can take a few days to verify, so don't wait until you're ready to submit the FAFSA to create it. One more thing - if your son is applying to any private colleges, many of them also require the CSS Profile for institutional aid, which has its own deadlines that are often earlier than FAFSA deadlines.

As a newcomer here, I really appreciate all the detailed advice everyone has shared! This conversation has been super helpful in understanding the timing issues with FAFSA and gap years. It sounds like the consensus is to wait until your son has more concrete plans rather than filling it out now. The point about military benefits being separate from FAFSA really clarifies things too. Good luck with whatever path he chooses - both the Air Force and community college are great options!

As someone new to this community, I wanted to add that it's also worth considering that if your son does end up going the Air Force route, many service members complete their degree while active duty using Tuition Assistance, then save their GI Bill benefits for after service (maybe for a higher degree or to transfer to dependents). This could actually work out better financially than the traditional college path! The military education counselors are really good at helping map out these strategies once he's in. But like everyone said, definitely no need to do FAFSA now if he's taking the gap year.

I'm a financial aid counselor and I see this exact scenario SO often after divorces! The retirement account mistake is definitely the most common culprit - that $42k 401k being counted as an investment would absolutely cause your SAI to skyrocket like that. One additional thing to check that I haven't seen mentioned yet: make sure you're using the correct tax filing status. After divorce, you should likely be filing as "Head of Household" rather than "Single" if your daughter is your dependent. This can make a significant difference in the SAI calculation. Also, when you make your correction, be patient with the processing time - it can take 3-5 business days for the new SAI to be calculated and appear in your account. Don't panic if it doesn't update immediately! You're definitely on the right track now with everyone's help. The fact that your SAI was reasonable last year tells me your financial situation hasn't dramatically changed, so this is almost certainly a data entry error that can be fixed.

I went through this exact same nightmare two years ago! My SAI jumped from around 2,000 to over 80,000 after my divorce, and I was absolutely panicking. Just like everyone else has mentioned, it was the retirement accounts that got me - I had included my 401k and Roth IRA values in the investment section when they should have been completely excluded. A few additional tips from my experience: - When you submit your correction, print out a copy for your records before hitting submit - If you have any 529 college savings accounts, those DO count as parent assets (learned that the hard way) - Make sure your bank account balances are accurate as of the day you're filing, not some random date It took about a week for my corrected SAI to process, but it went back down to a reasonable number. The whole experience taught me to be extra careful with every single field on that form. You've got this - sounds like you've identified the main issues and have a solid plan to fix them!

I'm in a very similar situation! My son's FAFSA was processed on March 20th and we're still waiting to hear from all 5 schools he applied to. Reading everyone's responses here has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea the new FAFSA system was causing such widespread delays this year. It sounds like 3-4 weeks is pretty normal timing, but I'm definitely getting anxious about our May 1st decision deadline too. I think I'll follow the advice about waiting one more week and then reaching out to the financial aid offices with that specific script someone mentioned earlier. It's comforting to know so many other families are going through the exact same waiting game right now!

Just wanted to chime in as another parent going through this same stressful waiting period! My daughter's FAFSA was processed on March 19th and we're still waiting on aid packages from 3 out of her 4 schools. It's our first time through this process too and I've been checking my email obsessively every day! Reading through all these responses has been such a relief - I had no idea the new FAFSA system was causing delays across the board this year. It sounds like we're all pretty much on the same timeline and that 3-4 weeks is totally normal. I'm going to take the advice about checking her student portals more carefully (I'll admit I've been relying mostly on email notifications) and then plan to make some calls next week if we still haven't heard anything. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and timelines - it's so much less stressful knowing we're not the only ones in this situation! Fingers crossed we all start seeing some aid packages roll in soon.