Final update: GOOD NEWS! My appeal was approved! The financial aid office adjusted my SAI back down to $2,100 (slightly higher than the original but MUCH better than $8,900). They created an adjustment that excluded the retirement withdrawal since it was used for medical expenses. My aid package is nearly restored - I'll have about $900 more in loans than originally, but I can handle that. Thank you all for the advice and support!

This is such an inspiring success story! Thank you for sharing the final outcome - it gives hope to other students facing similar FAFSA verification nightmares. Your experience really shows how important it is to gather proper documentation and work directly with the school's financial aid office rather than giving up. The fact that they were able to exclude the medical-related retirement withdrawal makes perfect sense. Congratulations on getting your aid package restored and being able to attend your top choice school!

As someone who just went through this exact same nightmare last semester, I feel your pain SO much! The FAFSA correction loop is absolutely maddening - I submitted corrections 6 times before finally getting it resolved. What worked for me was similar to what others mentioned: I ended up using a combination of calling my school's financial aid office first (they helped identify that it was likely a backend system issue) and then using Claimyr to actually get through to FSA. The key thing the FSA agent told me was that there are often "phantom flags" in the system that don't show up on the student side but keep triggering the correction requests. They had to manually clear several flags on my account that weren't even related to the original issue. It's honestly criminal how broken this system is, especially when people's entire education depends on it working properly. But don't give up - there IS a solution, it just requires getting to the right person who can actually see what's happening behind the scenes!

This thread has been such a lifesaver! I'm a first-time college student and have been dealing with FAFSA issues for the past month - my application keeps getting flagged for "additional review" even though I haven't made any changes. Reading everyone's experiences here has made me realize this isn't just me being incompetent with forms, but actually a widespread system problem. The suggestion about using Claimyr is brilliant - I had no idea services like that existed. I've been trying to call FSA for weeks but always give up after an hour on hold. It's honestly reassuring to see that there are actual solutions and that other people have gotten through this mess successfully. Going to try the Claimyr route tomorrow and hopefully join the "finally resolved" club! Thank you all for sharing your experiences and solutions - this community is amazing for helping students navigate these bureaucratic nightmares.

One important thing to note about the December FAFSA delay: Early Decision applicants should contact the financial aid offices at their top choice schools directly. Many institutions have contingency plans for ED applicants given the FAFSA delay. Some are offering estimated packages based on prior year tax information or providing extensions to the binding ED commitment until after aid packages are available. Communication is key - don't assume all schools handle this the same way! And regarding Common App, there's a specific page where your son can monitor document submission status for each school. Have him go to "My Colleges" tab, select a school, then "Recommenders and FERPA" to see what's been submitted and what's still pending.

As someone who just went through this process with my daughter last year, I want to emphasize how important it is to stay organized with deadlines! Create a spreadsheet tracking each school's requirements - some want CSS Profile, some don't, and submission deadlines vary. Also, don't panic if the FAFSA delay means you don't have aid info by early decision deadlines. Most schools are being flexible this year given the circumstances. My biggest tip: have your son set up his Common App account NOW and add his counselor immediately. The earlier you get this ball rolling, the less stressful November will be. And yes, definitely stick with Early Action over Early Decision if financial aid is a major factor in your decision!

Hey Sean, don't worry - this is actually a super common mistake! I work in a financial aid office and we see this all the time, especially with families who are new to the college financial aid process. The good news is that this won't hurt you at all when you apply for the correct year. One thing I'd recommend is keeping a copy of your approval letter from this application. While it won't be valid for 2025-2026, it can serve as a good reference for the loan amounts and terms when you do your real application. Also, since you've already been through the process once, you'll be much more familiar with all the steps and requirements when it's time to do it for real. Think of it as a practice run that will make next year's application much smoother!

I'm new to this whole college financial aid process too, and reading through this thread has been so helpful! My son is also starting college in Fall 2025 and I was about to start the Parent PLUS loan application - thank goodness I saw this post first or I probably would have made the exact same mistake. It sounds like the key timeline is: complete the 2025-2026 FAFSA (available October 2024), then apply for Parent PLUS loan around May 2025. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it really helps those of us who are navigating this for the first time!

Update us when you're able to resolve this! And a pro tip for anyone reading this thread in the future: always add at least one school before submitting your FAFSA, even if you're not 100% sure where you'll apply. You can always add or remove schools later, but having at least one entered prevents this situation entirely.

So glad you got it resolved! That's a huge relief. For anyone else reading this who might be in a similar situation, another option is to check if your state has a financial aid hotline - many states have dedicated FAFSA help lines during peak season that sometimes have shorter wait times than the federal number. Also, if you're a first-generation college student, your high school guidance counselor or local college access program might be able to help navigate these technical issues. The most important thing is don't panic - these glitches are frustrating but almost always fixable with persistence!