This is such a stressful situation and you're definitely not alone! I went through something similar last year (though not quite this close to the deadline). A few additional tips that might help: 1. When you call the schools, ask to speak with a "financial aid counselor" rather than just whoever answers the phone - they tend to have more authority to make immediate changes. 2. If a school says they can't update before May 1st, ask them specifically about getting an extension on the decision deadline. Many schools are being more flexible this year because of all the FAFSA issues. 3. Document everything! Keep notes of who you spoke with, when, and what they promised. This has saved me multiple times when following up. Your new SAI of 6130 should definitely result in better aid packages, so it's worth the effort to get those updates. The timing is terrible, but don't let that school that "finalized" everything discourage you - keep pushing back through different departments if needed!

I'm in almost the exact same boat! Our SAI dropped from 8,950 to 5,620 just last week and we're scrambling to get schools to update packages before May 1st. One thing that's worked for me is calling early in the morning (like 8 AM when they open) - I've gotten through to actual counselors much faster than calling later in the day. Also, if you're calling multiple schools, batch your calls in the morning when your energy is highest because some of these conversations can be really draining. The good news is that your new SAI should qualify for substantial Pell Grant money - probably around $5,000+ based on what others have shared. That alone could make a huge difference in affordability between schools. Hang in there! This whole process has been a nightmare for so many families this year, but you're doing all the right things by being proactive and persistent.

This is really helpful information! I'm a newcomer here and just submitted my FAFSA last week. Reading through this thread makes me worried about adding more colleges later if my daughter gets off any waitlists. It's crazy that the system can change your SAI just from adding school codes - that seems like a major flaw. @Chloe Robinson thanks for following up with the resolution, it gives me hope that these issues can be fixed even if it takes some persistence. I'll definitely bookmark that Claimyr service someone mentioned in case I need to contact FSA.

As someone new to this community, I'm really grateful for all the detailed responses here! I just completed my FAFSA for my daughter last month and had no idea that adding college codes could potentially trigger these kinds of system changes. The fact that verification flags can be triggered by certain colleges is something I wish was more clearly communicated in the FAFSA instructions. @Chloe Robinson your persistence in getting answers and sharing the solution is so helpful - it sounds like working through the college's financial aid office rather than trying to fix it directly through FAFSA might be the way to go for these types of technical issues. I'm definitely going to take screenshots of our current numbers before making any changes, just in case!

This is incredibly helpful! I'll definitely aim to get everything submitted well before April 15th and will try calling GSFC first thing tomorrow morning. Really appreciate all this guidance - the financial aid process is so much more complicated than I expected!

Welcome to the FAFSA community, Jabari-Jo! I see you're getting some fantastic advice here. As someone new to navigating financial aid, I'd also recommend creating a spreadsheet to track all the different grants, their deadlines, requirements, and application status. It really helps keep everything organized when you're juggling FAFSA, state grants, and program-specific funding. One additional resource that might help - many Georgia community and technical colleges have dedicated healthcare program advisors who specialize in medical field funding. They often know about smaller, local scholarships that don't show up in online searches. Since you're doing a medical assistant program, they might also connect you with clinical site partners who offer educational support. Good luck with your applications! The medical field needs more dedicated people like you, and I'm sure you'll find the funding you need to make it happen.

Just to follow up on your question about whether this could happen again - the Department of Education has indicated that most recalculations should be completed by early May, but there may be additional targeted corrections for specific scenarios through June. If your twins' applications were recalculated once, it's possible but less likely they'll be adjusted again. To stay informed, I recommend: 1. Checking your StudentAid.gov account weekly 2. Reading all emails from Federal Student Aid carefully 3. Staying in contact with the financial aid offices at your twins' chosen schools Schools are being advised on how to handle these recalculations, and many are being flexible with financial aid deadlines as a result.

This whole situation is honestly a nightmare for families trying to make college decisions! I'm dealing with something similar - my daughter's FAFSA has been a rollercoaster. It was initially processed in March, then showed "pending" for weeks, then suddenly got reprocessed with a completely different SAI last week. No communication from FSA about what was happening during those weeks of uncertainty. What's really frustrating is that colleges are asking for deposit decisions while our financial aid picture keeps changing. I've had to reach out to three different schools to explain the FAFSA chaos and ask for deadline extensions. Thankfully most have been understanding, but it shouldn't be this stressful! At least your twins' SAI went down - that's a silver lining in all this confusion. I'd definitely recommend screenshotting everything and keeping records of all the changes, just in case you need to reference them later with the schools.

I went through this exact same nightmare in January! After weeks of frustration, what finally worked for me was discovering that the error was caused by a tiny discrepancy in how I reported my household size versus the number of people I claimed would be in college. Here's what I'd recommend trying immediately: 1. **Log into your FSA account and look for any orange warning triangles** - sometimes there are error messages buried in sections that aren't obvious 2. **Check the "household size" vs "number in college" numbers** - these have to align perfectly with your tax filing status 3. **Verify your state of legal residence matches your tax return state** - this was actually my issue! The good news is once you identify and fix the specific problem, the SAI usually calculates within 24-48 hours. Given your tight deadline, I'd also suggest having your son email the scholarship committee TODAY explaining the situation and asking for a brief extension - most are being very understanding about FAFSA delays this year. Don't give up! The error means there's something specific that can be fixed, it's just a matter of finding what's triggering it.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this stress right before a scholarship deadline! I just went through something similar with my son's FAFSA. The "SAI cannot be calculated" error drove me absolutely crazy for weeks. What finally resolved it for us was realizing we had made an error in the "parents' marital status" section. Even though we're married and file jointly, we had accidentally selected "unmarried and both parents living together" during one of our many correction attempts. This tiny mistake cascaded into calculation errors throughout the rest of the form. Here's my advice with your 5-day deadline: 1. **Print out your FAFSA and go through it line by line with your tax return** - look for ANY discrepancies, no matter how small 2. **Pay special attention to marital status, household size, and dependency questions** - these drive all the other calculations 3. **Contact the scholarship committee immediately** - explain the FAFSA processing issues and ask if they can accept the application with a pending SAI notation Also, if you submitted corrections recently, sometimes it takes 3-5 business days for the SAI to recalculate even after you fix the underlying issue. The timing might be tight, but don't lose hope! Good luck - I'm rooting for you and your son to get this resolved! 🤞