Update: I tried again on my laptop with Chrome and selected "not required to file" instead of "will file" - and the untaxed income section appeared! I was able to report my SSDI benefits under the Social Security benefits section. The application is now complete and it gave me my SAI calculation. Thanks everyone for your help! Special thanks to those who pointed out the "not required to file" option - that was exactly what I needed to fix!

So glad you got this resolved! This thread is super helpful for anyone else dealing with disability income on the FAFSA. I've been putting off starting mine because I wasn't sure how to handle my SSI benefits, but now I know to look for the "not required to file" option and make sure I'm using a desktop browser. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's so much less intimidating when you know what to expect!

Quick update on processing times: The Department of Education recently announced they're working through a backlog of applications, with priority given to those submitted earliest. Applications from late November should be fully processed by mid-January at the latest. Here's what you can do while waiting: 1. Verify your daughter's studentaid.gov account has her current contact information 2. Check that the schools listed on her FAFSA match where she's actually applying 3. Start preparing any supplemental financial aid documents that schools might require (CSS Profile, institutional forms, etc.) 4. If any schools have specific financial aid deadlines approaching, contact them directly to explain the FAFSA processing delay Most schools understand the FAFSA delays this year and have contingency plans in place. They won't penalize students for delays outside their control.

I'm in a similar situation! My son submitted his FAFSA on 11/30 and we're still waiting too. It's so stressful watching other families get their financial aid packages while we're still in limbo. Reading through these responses is really helpful though - sounds like we should expect to hear something in the next week or two based on the 3-4 week timeline everyone's mentioning. I had no idea about checking the school portals separately, so thank you for that tip! Going to have him log into all of them today.

I spoke with my daughter's financial aid counselor yesterday, and she gave me some interesting insight. According to her, the Department of Education had an internal analysis showing how the formula changes would affect different demographic groups. They knew the elimination of the sibling discount would hit middle-income families hard, but they believed the increased income protection allowance would offset it. Clearly, that offset isn't happening for many families. She also mentioned that they're seeing unprecedented numbers of appeals this year specifically citing the formula change impacts. Her advice was to be extremely specific in appeals - don't just say "the new formula hurt us" but instead say "we have multiple students in college, which the new formula doesn't account for, creating an additional financial burden of $X per year compared to last year's methodology.

I'm new to this whole FAFSA process (my oldest is a high school senior), but reading through all these comments is absolutely terrifying! I've been using online EFC calculators for the past year to estimate what we'd need to pay, and now I'm realizing those are all based on the OLD formula? Can someone help me understand - if I'm a single parent with an income of about $75k and will have just one child in college next year, am I likely to see a big difference between what the old calculators predicted and what the new SAI will be? Or are the major impacts mostly hitting families with multiple kids in college simultaneously? I'm trying to figure out if I need to completely redo my college savings expectations or if families like mine might not see dramatic changes. This whole thread has me second-guessing everything I thought I knew about financial aid!

dont schools need the SAI score to make financial aid packages? so even if they get the fafsa soon they might not have time to put together the aid package before his deadline?

Update: I took everyone's advice and contacted the school's financial aid office this morning. They were really helpful and said they'll make a note in my son's file that the FAFSA was recently updated to include their school. They also said they typically receive FAFSA data within a week of being added, but can make accommodations if there are processing delays. Such a relief! Thank you all for your help!

Update: I followed everyone's advice and checked my top schools' portals. Two of them are requesting additional verification documents! I never would have known if I hadn't checked. Thanks everyone for helping this first-gen college student figure this out! I'm going to carefully compare all the offers when they come in.

So glad you're staying on top of everything! As a fellow first-gen student who went through this process a few years ago, I wanted to add one more tip: when you get your award letters, don't just look at the total aid amount - break down what's grants/scholarships (free money) vs. loans (money you'll pay back). Some schools might offer a bigger "aid package" but it's mostly loans, while another school might offer less total aid but more in grants. Also, if one school is your top choice but offers less aid, you can sometimes use a better offer from another school to negotiate - just call their financial aid office and explain the situation politely. Many schools will try to match competitive offers if they really want you! You've got this! The hardest part (getting FAFSA processed) is behind you.