Just an update - I got my SAR today and reviewed it. The tax information they pulled from the IRS was actually correct! The reason my SAI is higher is exactly what @financialaidpro mentioned - the household size change made a big difference. I also learned the new formula treats some types of income differently. My school's financial aid counselor was able to explain the specific changes. For anyone else confused by the new form, definitely check your SAR and talk to your school's financial aid office!

Thanks for this thread everyone! I'm a parent helping my kid with their first FAFSA and was totally panicked when I couldn't find where to enter our tax info. Really reassuring to know this is the new normal and not a glitch. The direct IRS connection actually sounds more secure than manually typing everything in. Going to wait for the SAR and then reach out to the financial aid office if we have questions. This community is so helpful for navigating all these changes!

has anyone actually had success calling FSA directly? i tried three different times about my verification issue and couldn't get thru

I went through this exact situation two years ago! Had to correct my parent's retirement distribution that they initially forgot to report. Here's my timeline and what I learned: My correction took exactly 18 days to process, which was nerve-wracking but still gave me time before my school's deadline. The key things that helped me: 1. I submitted the correction on a Tuesday morning (avoid Fridays/weekends) 2. I called my school's financial aid office the SAME DAY I submitted the correction to give them a heads up 3. I checked my FSA account every 2-3 days for status updates The waiting was honestly the worst part, but most corrections do process within 2-4 weeks. Since you're being proactive about it now, you should be fine for May 1st. The financial aid offices are used to dealing with this - they won't penalize you for an honest mistake that you're fixing promptly. One tip: when you call your school, ask them to put a note in your file about the pending correction so they know to expect an updated SAI. Some schools will even prepare a preliminary aid package and just update it once the correction processes. You got this! The stress is temporary but getting it fixed properly is worth it.

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I'm going to get those FSA IDs set up this week and start gathering our 2023 tax documents. I'll also check out that Federal Student Aid Estimator to get a general idea of what we might qualify for. Looks like we need to mark October 1st on the calendar and be ready to submit right away. One last question - if my financial situation has changed significantly since 2023 (I got laid off earlier this year), is there any way to have that considered in the FAFSA?

Just wanted to add something that helped me last year - create a backup plan for October 1st! The system gets absolutely slammed that first day and the website can be really slow or crash. I recommend trying to submit early in the morning or late at night when there's less traffic. Also, save your work frequently as you go - nothing worse than losing all your progress because the site timed out! And regarding the Professional Judgment Review that Anastasia mentioned - definitely pursue that if your income dropped significantly. My neighbor got an extra $3,000 in Pell Grant eligibility after appealing due to job loss. Just make sure to submit the regular FAFSA first, then contact each school's financial aid office individually. Good luck with your daughter's senior year!

After dealing with similar signature glitches, I found a process that finally worked. After both student and parent sign, click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select "View Student Aid Report." If you can see an SAI number on that report, your signatures are actually validated despite what the main dashboard shows. The dashboard status indicators seem to be the most glitchy part of the system, while the backend processing might still be working correctly.

I'm dealing with the exact same issue! My daughter submitted her FAFSA in early March, and we've had to "re-sign" it THREE times now because the system keeps reverting our completed signatures back to draft status. What's really concerning is that some schools are saying they received incomplete applications while others got the complete version - it's like the system is randomly deciding which submissions to accept. Has anyone found a reliable way to verify that schools actually received the completed FAFSA beyond just checking the dashboard? I'm worried about missing deadlines because of these technical glitches.

Great decision, Eli! You've got a solid plan. Just to add one more tip - when you do reach out to the financial aid offices, try to contact them during their slower periods (usually mid-morning on weekdays) rather than right after aid offers come out when they're swamped. Also, some schools have specific deadlines for special circumstances appeals, so check those early. The documentation approach that Alice and others mentioned really does make a difference - schools want to help but they need clear evidence of the additional costs. Good luck with everything!

As someone who just went through this process last year, I can confirm that marking "married" is absolutely the right call! My parents had a similar situation - dad relocated for work but they maintained their marriage and filed jointly. One thing I'd add to the great advice already given: when you do submit your special circumstances appeals, make sure to be consistent across all your schools with the documentation and explanation. I created a standard packet with all the supporting documents (lease agreements, utility bills, employment verification letter) and a clear cover letter explaining the situation. This made it much easier to submit to multiple schools. Also, don't get discouraged if some schools can't help - it really varies by institution and their available funds. I had two schools that were able to make adjustments and two that couldn't, but it was still worth trying at all of them. The process isn't as scary as it sounds, and financial aid officers are generally very understanding about these kinds of legitimate circumstances.