That's great news that two schools are being accommodating! Just wanted to add for anyone else in this situation - make sure to keep documentation of all your communications with the schools about deadline extensions. I learned this the hard way when one school's financial aid office didn't have a record of the verbal extension they gave me over the phone. Having emails saved me from missing out on a scholarship. Also, some schools have separate priority deadlines for need-based aid vs merit scholarships, so double-check those dates too since they might be different from the general FAFSA deadline.

As someone who just went through this maze with my own kid, I can't stress enough how important it is to be proactive with school communications! Each financial aid office really does handle these situations differently. A few tips from our experience: When you call schools, ask to speak specifically with a financial aid counselor (not just the front desk) and get their direct email/extension. Some schools have online portals where you can submit documentation about your situation too. Also, don't forget to check if any of your daughter's schools have their own institutional aid forms that don't require FAFSA completion - these can sometimes bridge the gap for scholarships while you're waiting. The CSS Profile schools especially might have separate processes. Good luck with everything! The new FAFSA system definitely has a learning curve but it sounds like you're handling it well by being proactive with the schools.

I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now with my son's FAFSA application. We've been stuck on this SSN validation error for two days and I was starting to panic about missing deadlines. Going to try the cache clearing and start over method right now. It's honestly ridiculous that such a critical system has these kinds of bugs - how many students are getting delayed or giving up because of technical issues like this? Really appreciate everyone sharing their solutions and workarounds here!

I just went through this exact same nightmare last month! The SSN validation issue seems to be affecting a lot of people. One thing that worked for me that I haven't seen mentioned yet - make sure you're not using autofill or password managers when entering the SSN. The FAFSA system seems to have issues with auto-populated fields. I had to manually type each digit, wait a second between each one, and then it finally accepted it. Also, if you have multiple tabs open with FAFSA, close all of them except one - the system gets confused with multiple sessions. The whole thing is so poorly designed it's embarrassing for something this important to students' futures.

Going back to your original question - another option is to have your son request his aid summary directly from Federal Student Aid and share it with you. He can download a PDF from his account that shows all federal loans and grants. This way, you don't need his login information, and you'll have documentation you can keep for your records. Much easier than trying to remember multiple logins!

Just wanted to add - if you're planning to help with loan management after graduation, consider having your son set up a third-party authorization with his loan servicer now while he's still in school. This lets you access payment info and make payments on his behalf without needing his login credentials. Each servicer has their own process, but it's much easier to set up before the loans go into repayment. Learned this with my older daughter and it saved so much hassle later!

I'm going through something similar right now! My daughter is also a senior and we just got our SAI back at $12,800 which was much higher than expected. Like others mentioned, the new FAFSA formula really does seem to hit middle-income families harder. One thing that helped me was using the Federal Student Aid estimator BEFORE submitting to get a realistic expectation - I wish I had known about it earlier. Also, don't forget that many state schools have their own need-based aid programs that use different criteria than federal aid, so your actual out-of-pocket costs could still be manageable even with a higher SAI. Keep your chin up and definitely pursue that Professional Judgment review with documentation of your medical expenses!

As someone who just went through this process with my oldest child last year, I want to echo what others have said about not panicking over the SAI number. We had a similar situation - household income around $90k, single parent, and got an SAI of $16,500 which felt crushing at first. But here's what I learned: many schools ended up offering much better aid packages than that number suggested. My daughter received merit aid, institutional grants, and work-study opportunities that brought our actual cost down significantly. The key is applying to a good mix of schools - some that meet full demonstrated need, some with strong merit aid programs, and definitely your in-state public options. Also, start that Professional Judgment documentation process early if you have special circumstances. Don't let one number discourage you from pursuing all your options!

I'm in a similar situation! What really helped me was creating a simple checklist of all the documents we'd need before even looking at the form - tax returns, bank statements, investment records, etc. Since you mentioned your son's father struggles with technology, having everything organized ahead of time makes the actual online completion much smoother. Also, if you're planning to help guide them through it, you might want to practice with the FAFSA demo tool first (it's on the FSA website) - it shows exactly how the online form flows without actually submitting anything. The demo helped me understand which sections would be confusing for my ex-husband so I could prepare explanations in advance.

One thing I learned the hard way is to make sure you're looking at the 2025-26 FAFSA specifically, not an older version. The FSA website sometimes shows multiple years and it's easy to accidentally download the wrong one. Also, since you mentioned helping your son's father who isn't comfortable with technology, you might want to consider doing a practice run together using the demo tool first, then having all the documents ready when you tackle the real form. The new FAFSA is supposed to be simpler, but the contributor sections can still be tricky for divorced parents. Good luck!