One other tip - keep a spreadsheet of all the financial aid offers your daughter receives. Break down each offer into categories: grants/scholarships (free money), loans (must be repaid), work-study (must be earned). This makes it much easier to compare the true cost of each school. Sometimes the school with the highest "total aid offer" actually costs more because the package is mostly loans rather than grants. Look at the net cost after free money is applied.

As someone who just went through this process last year with my twin daughters, I can't stress enough how normal this is! We authorized disbursement forms for 8 different schools between the two of them. It's really just administrative housekeeping - think of it like giving them your banking info for direct deposit at a job you're interviewing for. You're not accepting the job, just making sure the paperwork is ready if you do get hired. The schools know students are comparing offers and this authorization is completely separate from actually enrolling. Don't let the financial aid process stress you out more than it already does - you're doing great by asking these questions early!

UPDATE: We finally got through the ID verification!! Using the Claimyr service that someone suggested above, I got through to an agent in about 15 minutes instead of hours on hold. The agent said there was a mismatch between how my daughter's name appeared on her ID (with a middle initial) versus the FSA account (with full middle name). They fixed it on the spot and the verification cleared immediately. Now we're racing to complete the actual FAFSA before the priority deadline. THANK YOU everyone for your help and suggestions!

Congratulations on getting through the verification! This thread has been incredibly helpful - I've been lurking here while dealing with my own son's verification issues. Just wanted to add that after reading everyone's suggestions, I tried the mobile app approach mentioned by Matthew and it worked! Uploaded his passport through the FSA mobile app with a .edu email address and got verified in 3 days. For anyone still stuck: definitely try multiple approaches (different browsers, mobile app, different ID types) and document everything with screenshots. The system seems really finicky but persistence pays off. Good luck everyone!

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.

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! 🤞