Just wanted to add from our experience - we went through something very similar last year. We ended up doing a smaller cash-out refinance ($25K) and made sure to spend it all on documented home improvements before filing FAFSA. Keep ALL your receipts and contractor invoices! Our financial aid officer at my son's college said having that paper trail was really helpful when we explained the situation during our aid review. Also, don't forget that you'll be filing FAFSA again each year your daughter is in college, so you might want to plan the timing of any major financial moves around those annual filing dates too.

As someone who just went through this exact scenario with my daughter who's now a sophomore, I can tell you timing is everything! We did our cash-out refi ($35K for a new roof and HVAC) in January 2023, spent it all by March, and filed FAFSA in April. Her aid package was actually better than expected. The key things that helped us: 1) We kept meticulous records of every expense, 2) We communicated proactively with the financial aid offices at her schools about the situation, and 3) We made sure every penny was spent on legitimate home improvements before filing. Most schools were very understanding when we explained it was for necessary repairs, not luxury upgrades. Don't let the fear of affecting aid stop you from doing necessary home maintenance - just be strategic about timing and documentation!

This entire thread has been so helpful! I'm a new parent going through this process for the first time and was starting to panic thinking I was doing something wrong. My daughter's FAFSA has been sitting incomplete for two weeks because of this exact signature loop issue. Reading through everyone's experiences and solutions gives me a clear action plan to try. I'm going to start with the Firefox + ad blocker disabled + early morning approach that worked for Sophie, and if that fails, I'll try the dual session method with my daughter. It's frustrating that such an important system has these kinds of technical problems, but at least now I know I'm not alone and there are actual solutions that work. Thank you all for sharing your experiences!

Just wanted to add another data point for anyone still struggling with this - I had the exact same signature loop problem and what finally worked for me was clearing ALL browser data (not just cache and cookies) and then restarting my computer completely before trying again. I think there might be some kind of session conflict that gets stored locally. Also, make sure you're not using any VPN or proxy services when accessing the FAFSA site - I discovered my work VPN was causing authentication issues. The combination of a completely clean browser state + direct internet connection + Firefox during off-peak hours got me through on the first try after that. Hope this helps someone else who's tried everything else!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! Just submitted my FAFSA last week and realized I included our 401k balances totaling around $85k. My daughter's SAI came back at $28,000 which seemed way too high for our income level. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea home equity was also excluded! Quick question for those who've been through this: when you made the corrections and got your new SAI, did the schools automatically receive the updated information or did you have to specifically request they review the corrected version? I'm worried about missing deadlines while waiting for everything to get sorted out. Also, @Dylan Hughes - definitely follow the advice about emailing the schools. I called three different financial aid offices yesterday and got three completely different answers about how to handle this situation!

This thread has been so incredibly helpful! I'm a parent going through the same nightmare right now. We accidentally included about $120k in retirement accounts AND our home equity (house is worth way more than we paid 15 years ago). Our SAI came back at an absolutely insane $41,000 which is more than half our annual income! Reading everyone's experiences here gives me hope that we can get this fixed. The fact that @Dylan Hughes might see a $12,000-15,000 reduction is encouraging. I'm going to follow the advice about emailing all the schools immediately while we work on the correction process. One thing I'm wondering - for those who successfully corrected these mistakes, did you see the SAI change reflect immediately in your studentaid.gov account, or did it take several days? My daughter has some scholarship deadlines coming up that are tied to financial need, so timing is really crucial for us. Also, huge thanks to everyone sharing their stories. It's comforting to know we're not alone in making these mistakes, even though the whole system seems designed to trip families up!

One last thing to consider: most private lenders offer a 0.25-0.50% interest rate reduction if you sign up for automatic payments. This can save hundreds or even thousands over the life of the loan. And if you have excellent credit (which it sounds like you do), don't be afraid to negotiate! I actually called College Ave after getting approved and asked if they could beat a competitor's rate. They lowered our rate by 0.30%!

As someone new to this process, this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation with my son starting college next fall. Based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like the key takeaways are: 1) Apply annually rather than per semester to minimize credit hits, 2) Consider applying for the full annual amount even if you're not sure you'll need it all, and 3) Don't forget to explore all federal options first (including Parent PLUS) before going private. One question I haven't seen addressed - for those who went with private loans, how long did the approval and disbursement process typically take? I'm wondering if there's a deadline I should be aware of for getting applications in before the fall semester starts.

Update: It finally populated! Just checked this morning (Thursday) and all the tax info was there. Thanks everyone for the advice and keeping me from panicking. Now I just need to figure out how this contributor invitation works...

Great to see it worked out! For other parents reading this thread, I wanted to add that if you're still having issues with the IRS Data Retrieval Tool after 5-7 business days, you can also check if your tax return status with the IRS. Sometimes if there were any issues with your return processing, it can prevent the data transfer from working. You can check this on the IRS website or by calling their automated line. Also, make sure the names and SSNs on your tax return match exactly what you're entering in the FAFSA - even small differences can cause the tool to fail.