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FAFSA is COMPLETE GARBAGE this year. My son's application has been "processing" for 5 WEEKS with NO SAI score yet. We called 16 TIMES and got disconnected EVERY TIME. The one time we got through, they said there's a "system-wide issue with signatures" affecting THOUSANDS of applications. They're supposedly fixing it but WHO KNOWS when. My son might lose his scholarship because of their incompetence. I'm LIVID.
Oh no, that's terrible! 5 weeks?? Now I'm really worried. Did they at least tell you if there's anything you can do while waiting?
NOTHING. Just "wait and see" while my son's future hangs in the balance. The FAFSA "simplification" is a DISASTER. I've contacted our congressman's office to file a complaint. That's literally the only thing that's helped - suddenly they're "expediting" his application. Try that if you don't get answers soon!
Just checking in - did you manage to resolve this issue? If it's been 72 hours, you should definitely see something in one of your accounts by now. If not, there are still options to fix it before deadlines.
the whole FAFSA system is designed to CONFUSE us normal people so we give up and just take private loans with higher interest its all a SCAM
While the system can definitely be frustrating to navigate, Federal loans like Parent PLUS almost always offer better protections and often better interest rates than private loans. They include options like income-contingent repayment plans and potential loan forgiveness that private loans don't offer. It's worth pushing through the confusion for these benefits.
Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I successfully completed both the credit check AND the MPN using my FSA ID. My daughter also completed her own MPN for her Direct loans. The financial aid office confirmed everything is now in order, and we should see the aid disbursed when classes start next month. What a relief!
@Justin Chang You re'definitely not alone in feeling overwhelmed by this process! I m'also new to navigating financial aid - my daughter is a high school junior and I m'trying to get ahead of the game. This thread has been a goldmine of information. @Khalil Urso, thank you for asking the exact question I would have asked! It s'such a relief to see that experienced parents like @Myles Regis and @Jacinda Yu are willing to share their knowledge. I m definitely taking'notes on creating FSA IDs early and keeping careful records of everything. The tip about Claimyr from @Ally Tailer is also something I m bookmarking for when'I inevitably get stuck somewhere in the process. This community really makes the whole financial aid journey feel less daunting!
@Khalil Urso Congratulations on getting everything sorted out! As someone who s'completely new to this process my (daughter is only a sophomore in high school ,)this entire thread has been incredibly educational. I had no idea that parents and students use separate FSA IDs for different parts of the financial aid process - that seems like such an obvious source of confusion! Reading through everyone s'experiences here has given me a much better understanding of what to expect when our time comes. I m'definitely going to follow @Hannah Flores advice about' creating our FSA IDs early and @Landon Flounder s tip about'saving screenshots of everything. Thank you for asking the question that I m sure many'of us parents would have, and thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge. This community is such a valuable resource!
UPDATE: after trying for 5 days straight i FINALLY got my contributor account working!!! what fixed it was using my PHONE instead of computer AND doing it at 4:30am when nobody else was on the system!! completed my part of both my kids applications. such a relief!!! if your still stuck try the middle of the night seriously it worked!!!
Congrats on getting it to work! The middle-of-the-night timing seems to be the key for a lot of people. My identity verification finally cleared this morning, and I was able to complete my contributor section. Such a weight off our shoulders! Now my daughter just needs to submit her final application. Thanks everyone for the help and moral support!
I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! My son sent me the contributor invitation 6 days ago and I keep getting stuck at the same step 7. It's incredibly frustrating knowing that there's a known glitch and they have no timeline for fixing it. I'm going to try some of the suggestions here - the Edge browser in incognito mode and creating the FSA ID separately first. Also going to attempt it in the early morning hours when the system might be less overloaded. Thanks to everyone sharing their workarounds and experiences. It's reassuring to know we're not alone in this mess, even though it shouldn't be this complicated to help our kids with financial aid!
Welcome to the nightmare club! I just went through this exact same thing last week. The combination that finally worked for me was creating my FSA ID first at studentaid.gov (completely separate from the invitation), then using Edge browser in incognito mode at around 11pm to accept the invitation. The early morning timing that others mentioned seems to be key - the system is just overloaded during normal hours. Also make sure your name/DOB/SSN match your Social Security card exactly. Don't give up, it will work eventually! And remember most schools are extending deadlines because of these FAFSA issues.
my sister had almost the same SAI last year an she got like $1200 in pell. her school also gave her some grant money that covered almost half of tuition so def wait for the full packages before worrying too much
As a newcomer to this process, I'm finding this thread incredibly helpful! My daughter is in a similar situation with her SAI, and I had no idea there were so many different types of aid beyond just the Pell Grant. Reading about the MAP grant for Illinois residents and how different schools might offer varying amounts of institutional aid is really eye-opening. It sounds like the key takeaway is to wait for all the financial aid packages before making any decisions, since the final cost can vary so much between schools. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's making this whole process feel less overwhelming!
Welcome to the community! I'm also new to this whole process and feeling the same way - everyone here has been so helpful in explaining things that aren't clear in the official FAFSA materials. It's reassuring to know we're not the only ones trying to figure all this out. The advice about waiting for all the aid packages really seems to be the consensus here. Good luck to your daughter!
Ava Williams
After dealing with this exact situation last year, I can confirm that you only need one FSA ID as a parent. However, I strongly recommend taking screenshots of the confirmation page after completing each twin's contributor section. The new FAFSA system sometimes doesn't send confirmation emails reliably, and with multiple applications, it's easy to get confused about which ones you've completed. Also, set calendar reminders to check both applications' status regularly. Sometimes one application processes faster than the other even when submitted on the same day.
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Amara Adebayo
•Great advice about the screenshots and calendar reminders! I'll definitely do that. Did both of your twins' SAI calculations come out the same, or were there differences even though you entered the same information?
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Ava Williams
•Their SAI calculations were identical, which makes sense since they're based on the same household financial information. However, their final aid packages from different schools varied significantly because each college has its own methodology for distributing institutional aid beyond federal assistance.
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Ivanna St. Pierre
As someone who just went through this process with my own twins this year, I can confirm what others have said - you definitely only need ONE FSA ID as the parent! The system is actually designed pretty well for this situation once you understand how it works. Here's what worked smoothly for me: After my twins each sent me contributor invitations, I logged in with my single FSA ID and could see both pending requests in my dashboard. I completed each one separately (took about 20 minutes each), and the financial information was the same for both since it's all about our family's finances. One tip that saved me time: Have your 2023 tax return handy before you start either application. Even though you're entering the same info twice, having everything organized made the process much faster. Good luck with your twins' college journey!
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