I'm dealing with something similar right now! My SAI went from around 35k to 89k after we made what we thought were minor corrections to our FAFSA. Based on what everyone's sharing here, it sounds like business assets might be the culprit in many cases. One thing I learned from my financial aid counselor is that you should also check if your business income is being calculated correctly. Sometimes the system counts business income as personal income AND then also counts the business assets separately, which can create a double-counting situation. Also, if you haven't already, make sure to contact the financial aid offices at your daughter's schools ASAP to let them know you're working on correcting this. Many schools will hold off on finalizing aid packages if they know there's a pending FAFSA correction. Don't wait until the correction is processed - reach out now! The whole system is definitely buggy this year, but I've seen several success stories where families got it sorted out. Hang in there!

I went through almost the exact same thing last year! Our SAI jumped from 42k to 95k overnight and we were panicking. Turns out it was a business asset reporting issue - the system was counting my wife's small photography business assets twice in the calculation. Here's what worked for us: 1. Downloaded the detailed SAI breakdown (this was KEY - showed us exactly where the error was) 2. Called FSA using that Claimyr service someone mentioned above (honestly worth every penny to skip the hold times) 3. The agent found that business equipment was being counted as both business assets AND personal investments 4. Filed a correction that took about 2.5 weeks to process 5. Final SAI came back to 48k, very close to our original estimate The most important thing is to act fast and contact your daughter's schools immediately. We emailed all her top choices explaining the situation and asking for extended decision deadlines. Three out of four schools were totally understanding and held her spot while we fixed the FAFSA. Don't lose hope - the new system is buggy but these errors CAN be corrected. Focus on that business valuation section in your SAI breakdown - I bet that's where you'll find the problem!

UPDATE: Thanks everyone for the advice! I called three of her schools this morning and explained the situation. Two were super understanding and said they'd make a note in her file to wait for the corrected FAFSA. The third school (her top choice) actually gave me an email address to send documentation of our correct income directly to them while waiting for the official FAFSA correction! Now just waiting for the original submission to finish processing so I can make the correction. Thanks again for helping me not panic completely!

Hey Ethan! I'm so glad you got through to the schools and they were understanding! As someone who went through a similar FAFSA correction nightmare last year, I just wanted to add one more tip: when you do get the ability to make corrections, double-check ALL the financial information before resubmitting, not just the income error you caught. Sometimes when we're rushing to fix one thing, we miss other mistakes. Also, keep screenshots of your corrected FAFSA confirmation page - I had one school claim they never received my correction even though it showed as transmitted on my end. Having that documentation saved me weeks of back-and-forth! You're handling this really well under pressure. Your daughter is lucky to have such an advocate!

btw just wondering how long did it take for lakeside to give u their financial aid offer after the fafsa finally processed? my daughters still waiting on 2 schools and its been like 10 days since her fafsa went thru

I'm actually going through something very similar right now! My son's FAFSA was delayed until just last week, and we're now comparing offers that came in way after the May 1 deadline. The stress is real! Before making any decisions, I'd definitely recommend calling Lakeside's financial aid office first like Kennedy suggested. We tried this approach with my son's first choice school and while they couldn't match the competing offer completely, they did increase his aid by $3,500/year which made the decision easier. If you do end up switching, just make sure to get everything in writing - both the withdrawal confirmation from Lakeside and the acceptance confirmation from Mountainview. The whole FAFSA delay situation has been such a nightmare for so many families this year, but schools seem to be more understanding about late changes because of it. Good luck with whatever you decide! That $14k/year difference is definitely worth pursuing.

what ever you do DONT waste ur time trying to call the fafsa 800 number... legit was on hold for 2 hours and then they hung up on me lol. just submit online and pray i guess

Don't panic! You're not alone in this situation - the FAFSA delays this year threw everyone's timeline off. Here's what I'd recommend: 1. Complete your FAFSA this weekend as planned. Have all your 2023 tax documents ready to make it go smoothly. 2. Immediately after submitting, contact each school's financial aid office. Let them know your FAFSA is submitted and ask about their specific timeline for your daughter's aid package. 3. Many schools are being flexible this year due to the widespread FAFSA delays. If you're cutting it close to May 1st, most will work with you on timing. 4. Remember that her acceptance is secure regardless of when financial aid is processed - those are separate processes. The good news is that once you submit, processing usually takes 3-5 days, and then schools typically have aid packages ready within 2-4 weeks. You should have plenty of time before the May 1st deadline if you get it done this weekend. Breathe! This is totally manageable, and your proactive approach shows you're on the right track.

Update: My Student Aid Index calculation just came through! Only took 4 days, which seems really fast. And I was approved for the same Pell Grant amount as last year, so I guess not being routed to the IRS verification didn't hurt anything. Thanks everyone for calming my nerves!

Congrats on getting your SAI so quickly! This is really helpful to see how the new system is working. I'm a first-time FAFSA filer and was also confused about not getting the IRS verification step - I kept double-checking that I had completed everything correctly. It's reassuring to hear that the streamlined process can actually speed things up rather than cause problems. Thanks for sharing your update!