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If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
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Great news! This is exactly why in-person visits can be so helpful. One small tip for future reference - keep a folder with all your financial aid documents including verification forms, tax transcripts, SAR, etc. This will make the process much smoother next year, as many of the same documents are often needed again. Glad you got it resolved before the priority deadline!
As someone who just went through this nightmare last semester, I feel your pain! The verification process is so stressful when you're already worried about financial aid deadlines. One thing that saved me was setting up an IRS online account for my parents - if they can verify their identity online, they can get the tax transcript immediately rather than waiting 10 days for mail. You need their Social Security number, filing status, and some info from their previous year's return, but it's way faster than the mail option. Also, definitely keep copies of everything you submit! I learned the hard way that documents sometimes get "lost" in the system and you'll need to resubmit. Take photos of everything before you hand it over or upload it. Hope you get everything sorted before your deadline - sounds like you're on the right track now that you found those hidden forms!
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This entire thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I'm currently stuck in the exact same situation with my daughter's Parent PLUS application - empty dropdown, unhelpful customer service, the whole nine yards. Reading through everyone's experiences, it's clear this is a widespread issue that FSA should really address better. I'm going to work through the checklist that's emerged from this discussion: 1) Verify her school is actually listed on her FAFSA (not just submitted), 2) Check her enrollment status with the school directly, 3) Give it 3-5 business days for systems to sync up, and 4) Contact the financial aid office for the paper form backup plan if needed. It's frustrating that we have to crowdsource solutions like this, but I'm so grateful for everyone sharing their real-world fixes. This is way more helpful than anything I got from the official support channels!
This is such a comprehensive checklist - thank you for organizing all the solutions from this thread! I'm bookmarking this for when I inevitably run into FAFSA issues with my younger kids. It's honestly ridiculous that we have to piece together workarounds from community forums because the official support is so unhelpful. But I'm really impressed with how everyone here has shared their actual solutions instead of just complaining. This is the kind of practical help that should be in an official FAQ somewhere! Hope your daughter's application goes smoothly once you work through these steps.
I'm experiencing this exact same issue right now! My son is starting his junior year and I've been trying to complete his Parent PLUS application for two weeks. The school dropdown has been completely empty every time I try. After reading through all these responses, I realize I never actually verified that his school is listed on his FAFSA - I just assumed it was since he's been attending there for two years. I'm going to have him log in and double-check that tonight. It's so frustrating that the FSA phone support doesn't walk parents through these basic troubleshooting steps. This thread has been more helpful than three different phone calls to their helpline! I'll definitely try the financial aid office route if the FAFSA fix doesn't work within a few days. Thanks everyone for sharing your real experiences and solutions!
I'm in the exact same boat - assuming my daughter's school was on her FAFSA since she's been there for a year already! It's such a relief to find this thread because I was starting to think I was doing something fundamentally wrong. The fact that FSA customer service doesn't mention this basic troubleshooting step is mind-blowing. I'm definitely going to have my daughter check her FAFSA tonight too. If you don't mind me asking, how long has your son been attending his current school? I'm wondering if there's something about continuing students that makes this issue more common. Either way, fingers crossed that the FAFSA check fixes it for both of us!
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Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact nightmare last month! The spouse SSN bug is absolutely maddening. What worked for me was a variation of what others have suggested - I used Edge browser, cleared ALL cookies and cache first, then accessed the form around 6 AM when traffic was low. The key thing I discovered was to NOT use any autofill features - type everything manually, especially the SSN. Also, if you see ANY pre-populated information that looks wrong, exit immediately and try again rather than trying to correct it. The system seems to get stuck once it caches incorrect data. It took me 4 attempts over 2 weeks but I finally got through. Hang in there everyone - this system desperately needs fixing but there are workarounds!
Thanks for sharing your experience! The autofill tip is really helpful - I hadn't thought about that being part of the problem. It makes sense that the system might conflict with browser autofill data. I'm new to dealing with FAFSA issues (my oldest is a senior this year) and reading through everyone's experiences here is both reassuring and terrifying. It's good to know there are workarounds, but frustrating that we need them in the first place. Going to try your Edge browser + manual entry approach this weekend. Hopefully FSA gets this sorted out before next year's application cycle!
I'm dealing with this same exact issue right now! My son is applying for college and we've been stuck on this spouse SSN error for over a week. It's so frustrating because my husband definitely has a valid SSN but the system keeps defaulting to "spouse does not have SSN" and won't let me change it. I've tried Chrome and Safari but haven't tried Firefox or Edge yet. Reading through all these suggestions gives me hope that there's a solution. Going to try the Firefox + early morning + manual entry approach tomorrow. It's really disappointing that such an important system has these kinds of bugs, especially when families are dealing with tight deadlines for financial aid. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and workarounds!
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Make sure she actually submits it NOW for the 2024-2025 year! My son's friend thought he could wait until closer to his January start date and ended up missing out on a ton of departmental scholarships because those have earlier deadlines even though the FAFSA itself can be submitted later. The whole system is RIDICULOUS honestly.
Yikes, that's terrible! I'll make sure she submits it immediately. Did your son apply to multiple schools on his FAFSA even before being accepted?
Hi there! I went through this exact same situation last year with my daughter. She started her master's program in January 2024, and I was equally confused about the timing. Here's what I learned: Yes, she absolutely should submit the 2024-2025 FAFSA RIGHT NOW for Spring 2025 enrollment. Don't wait - I made that mistake initially and almost cost my daughter some funding opportunities. One thing that really helped us was creating a simple timeline: - Submit 2024-2025 FAFSA immediately (covers Spring 2025) - December 2024: Submit 2025-2026 FAFSA when it opens (covers Fall 2025 and beyond) Also, have her list ALL the grad schools she's applied to on the FAFSA - you can always remove schools later if she doesn't get accepted, but you can't go back in time if you miss a school's internal deadlines. The independent student status for grad school was actually a pleasant surprise - much simpler than when we were factoring in our family income for her undergrad applications. Good luck with the process!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It's really reassuring to hear from someone who went through this exact same situation. I love the timeline idea - that makes it much clearer than all the confusing advice I've been getting from different sources. We're definitely going to get that 2024-2025 FAFSA submitted this week. Did your daughter end up getting good aid for her spring start, or was there any disadvantage to starting mid-year?
Alana Willis
Don't give up hope! I went through this exact situation with my son two years ago. SAI of 8500, no Pell Grant, but he ended up with a great aid package. Here's what worked for us: 1) Applied to multiple schools (in-state publics were most generous), 2) Immediately contacted financial aid offices after getting packages to explain our SNAP/free lunch situation, 3) Most importantly - filled out every single scholarship application we could find, both through schools and external organizations. My son ended up with enough aid to cover most of his costs. The SAI is just the starting point, not the end of your story!
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Natasha Petrov
•This is exactly what I needed to hear! Your success story gives me so much hope. I'm definitely going to have my daughter apply to multiple in-state schools and we'll be aggressive about scholarship applications. Did you find any particular scholarship search websites that were especially helpful? And when you contacted the financial aid offices, did you call or email them?
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StormChaser
I'm in a similar boat with my daughter! We got an SAI of 7800 and no Pell Grant either, even though we're on SNAP and WIC. It's so confusing how these different programs don't align. Reading through all these responses is really helpful though - sounds like there's still hope for decent aid packages from individual schools. I'm definitely going to look into state grants and plan to appeal to schools with documentation of our benefits. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, this thread is a goldmine of information!
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Lily Young
•I'm so glad this thread is helping! It's frustrating how these systems don't work together better. Your SAI of 7800 is actually a bit lower than mine, so you might have even better chances at some schools. I'm taking notes on everyone's advice too - especially the part about contacting financial aid offices directly and documenting our benefits for appeals. We're all in this together! Good luck to your daughter!
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