I'm dealing with the same issue right now! Been locked out of my parent FSA ID for over a week and my son's deadline is approaching fast. I tried the Chrome browser suggestion and early morning login times but still getting "incorrect login information" errors. One thing I discovered that might help others - I contacted my son's high school guidance counselor and she mentioned that some parents have had success by having their student initiate the "invite parent" process from their FAFSA dashboard again, even if they already did it once. Apparently this can sometimes reset the parent access permissions. Also, she told me that if we absolutely can't get in before the deadline, some colleges will accept a signed statement explaining the technical difficulties along with tax documents as temporary documentation while we sort out the FAFSA issues. It's not ideal but better than missing aid entirely. Hang in there everyone - this system is definitely broken but we'll figure it out!

I'm going through this exact same nightmare right now! My daughter's deadline is next week and I've been locked out of my parent FSA ID for 5 days straight. I've tried every browser, cleared cookies, reset passwords multiple times - nothing works. The most frustrating part is that I can see my FSA ID exists when I try to create a new one, but it won't let me access it. I'm definitely going to try the 5am login suggestion and having my daughter re-send the parent invitation. Has anyone had luck with contacting their child's college directly? I'm starting to wonder if I should reach out to her financial aid office proactively to explain the situation before the deadline hits. This whole system overhaul has been an absolute disaster for parents!

I'm new here but had to jump in because I just went through this exact same situation! My wife and I had a 401k rollover last year ($28,500) that got automatically counted as income on our FAFSA. Like everyone else mentioned, the system just pulls everything from your tax return without understanding what's actually income versus account transfers. Here's what worked for us: I contacted our son's school's financial aid office directly (skipped trying to call FSA after reading horror stories about hold times) and they had a "Professional Judgment Appeal" form specifically for situations like this. The key document you need is your 1099-R form - make sure it shows code "G" in box 7, which indicates it was a direct trustee-to-trustee rollover. The whole process took about 2 weeks once I submitted everything, and they were able to adjust his aid package. Our EFC went down by almost $8,000! Don't panic - this is definitely fixable, you just need to work directly with each school's financial aid office rather than trying to fix it through FAFSA itself.

I'm new to this community but going through the exact same situation! Just discovered that my 401k rollover from last year ($41,200) got pulled in as income on my FAFSA and my daughter's SAI is completely wrong as a result. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea that schools could make professional judgment adjustments or that this was such a common issue with the new FAFSA system. I'm definitely going to skip trying to call Federal Student Aid (sounds like a nightmare) and go straight to contacting my daughter's school's financial aid office with my 1099-R form. It's such a relief to know this is fixable and that other families have successfully gotten it corrected. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences, especially those who provided the step-by-step process and specific terminology to use when contacting the schools. This community is a lifesaver during such a stressful time!

just fyi my nephew tried the dependency override thing and got rejected even with tons of documentation so dont get ur hopes up too much. the system really sucks for middle income families

I'm so sorry you're going through this financial stress - it's heartbreaking to see parents sacrifice everything for their children's education. As someone who works with families in similar situations, I want to add a few practical suggestions: First, contact your state's vocational rehabilitation (VR) services immediately. Since your son has a documented ADHD diagnosis, he likely qualifies for VR support which can include tuition assistance, books, transportation, and even assistive technology. Each state runs this differently, but you can find your local office through your state's disability services website. Second, look into your state's developmental disabilities council - many have scholarship programs specifically for students with ADHD/learning disabilities that aren't well-publicized. Third, if your son is considering changing majors again, community college might be a strategic option for completing prerequisites while you sort out the financial aid situation. The credits transfer and it's much more affordable. Finally, document EVERYTHING related to his medical expenses and your financial hardship. Keep receipts for ADHD medications, therapy sessions, tutoring - all of this can support a professional judgment review or dependency override request. You're doing an amazing job advocating for your son. Don't give up hope - there are resources out there, they're just not always easy to find.

UPDATE: We got it working!! After trying basically everything suggested here, what finally fixed it was: 1. Waiting 24 hours with no login attempts (thanks financial aid office worker!) 2. Using my dad's phone instead of his laptop (thanks for that suggestion!) 3. Making sure he was on our home WiFi, not his cellular data Not sure which of these was the actual fix, but the combination worked. He was able to log in, get past the secure code screen, and complete his section of my FAFSA. My application is finally submitted! Thank you all for the help - this forum saved us from missing my deadline!

Wow, this thread is a goldmine of information! I'm dealing with the exact same parent login issue right now and was getting so stressed about it. Reading through everyone's experiences makes me feel less alone in this mess. The combination of solutions that worked for Andre gives me hope - I'm definitely going to try the 24-hour reset approach first since that seems to be a common theme. It's really frustrating that the FSA support line doesn't mention these technical details about security flags and soft-locks. You'd think they would know their own system better! Has anyone else noticed if this problem is worse during certain times of the year? I'm wondering if it's related to high traffic periods when everyone's trying to submit their FAFSAs at once.

I'm so sorry you're going through this - it's absolutely infuriating! My family is dealing with something similar. Our SAI jumped from 22K to 41K despite our income staying roughly the same, and now my son's college is asking us to pay nearly $40K more than we can afford. Based on what I've been learning from this community, here's what I'd recommend: 1. Start your appeals IMMEDIATELY at every school you're considering - don't wait for the next reprocessing 2. Emphasize that $24K income DROP in your appeal letters - that's huge and should definitely qualify for professional judgment 3. With your AGI at $68,500 for a family of 4, you should be getting Pell Grant money which often unlocks other aid too I'm actually in the middle of appeals myself right now. One thing that's helped is calling the financial aid offices directly to ask about their process rather than just submitting blind appeals. Most have been surprisingly understanding about the FAFSA disaster. Good luck - you're definitely not alone in this nightmare!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this nightmare! As someone who's been following the FAFSA disaster closely, I can tell you that your situation is unfortunately very common this year. The good news is that with a $24,000 income reduction, you have an extremely strong case for appeal. Here's what I'd recommend based on what's worked for other families: 1. **Don't wait for reprocessing** - Start appeals immediately at every school you're considering. The May 1st deposit deadline is approaching fast. 2. **Your income drop is HUGE** - That $24K reduction from $92,500 to $68,500 should absolutely qualify you for Pell Grant funds, which will likely trigger additional institutional aid. 3. **Contact schools directly** - Many financial aid offices have created special procedures specifically for FAFSA recalculation victims. They're often more understanding than you'd expect. 4. **Document everything** - Get your 2022 and 2023 tax returns, calculate your expected Pell eligibility, and write a clear timeline of what happened. The silver lining is that colleges have set aside extra appeal funds this year precisely because they anticipated these problems. Your case is exactly what professional judgment was designed for - don't give up hope!