Just to add a bit more context about the beta testing: The Department of Education is specifically looking for feedback on the new Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation interface and the contributor permission process. If you do participate in the beta, there's actually a feedback form you can submit that might help improve the final version. While your data won't transfer, your feedback could help make the system better for everyone. That said, I still recommend most students wait until December 1st unless you're particularly interested in providing technical feedback.

As someone who's going through this process for the first time, I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences! It sounds like the consensus is pretty clear - wait until December 1st for the official launch. I was initially excited about getting ahead of the game, but losing all that data entry work would be so frustrating. I think I'll take KaiEsmeralda's advice and maybe just do a quick run-through of the beta to see what documents I need to gather, but I won't actually spend time filling everything out completely. Better to be prepared and do it once correctly than rush and have to do it twice!

One last tip: if your financial situation has changed significantly since you filed your taxes (which is what your current SAI is based on), make sure to inform all your schools' financial aid offices immediately. The 2025-2026 FAFSA uses tax information from 2023, so if 2024 was much different, that's relevant information. For example, if a parent lost a job, had medical issues, or if your family size changed, these can all affect your actual ability to pay regardless of what the SAI formula calculated. Schools have discretion to adjust your aid based on current circumstances. Best of luck with your college journey!

Your SAI of 7683 is actually pretty reasonable given your family's income! I had a similar situation - my parents made about $68k and my SAI was around 8100. Here's what I wish someone had told me: don't just focus on the federal aid. State aid programs can be huge! Depending on what state you're in, there might be need-based grants that have different income thresholds than federal programs. Also, community colleges for your first two years can be a game-changer - you can often get your general ed requirements done for way less money, then transfer to a four-year school. I ended up saving like $15k doing that route and still got my degree from the university I wanted!

Just wanted to add my experience for anyone still waiting - I was in the exact same boat with summer 2024 loans showing "accepted" but no disbursement. Mine finally came through yesterday (took about 10 days from accepted status). The key thing that helped was getting written confirmation from my financial aid office that my classes wouldn't be dropped due to the DoE delays. Also, my school's bookstore let me charge books against my pending aid once I showed them the email confirmation. Don't panic if you're still waiting - it seems like they're processing them in batches now. Just make sure you have that written protection from your school!

Just checking in - has anyone who was waiting seen their summer disbursements come through in the last few days? I'm still showing "accepted" status but no actual funds yet. My tuition deadline is this Friday and I'm starting to get really anxious. The financial aid office keeps saying "any day now" but I need to know if I should start looking for backup payment options. Also wondering if anyone has had success with that Claimyr service mentioned earlier - seems like it might be worth trying at this point!

UPDATE: We figured it out! My daughter logged into studentaid.gov and found her SAI score right on her dashboard under 'Your FAFSA Status.' We also confirmed which schools received her information. Turns out she was confused about the difference between the FAFSA results and actual financial aid award letters from schools (which will come separately). For anyone else with this issue - definitely have your student check their actual account rather than waiting for emails. Thanks everyone for your help!

So glad to see this got resolved! This is exactly the kind of confusion I've been seeing with families this year. The new FAFSA system really doesn't do a great job of explaining the difference between getting your SAI processed vs. receiving actual financial aid awards from schools. For future reference for anyone reading this - once you have your SAI, you can also use the Federal Student Aid estimator tools to get a rough idea of what types of aid you might qualify for while you're waiting for official award letters from colleges. The timing this year has been particularly challenging with all the FAFSA delays, so don't panic if things seem to be taking longer than expected!

I'm so sorry you're going through this nightmare. Reading through all these responses, it's clear you're not alone but that doesn't make it any less frustrating. Based on what everyone has shared, I'd suggest tackling this on multiple fronts simultaneously: 1) Use that Claimyr service to actually get through to Mohela, 2) File complaints with both the FSA Ombudsman and CFPB about the interest rate issue, and 3) Contact your congressional representative's office for help navigating the bureaucracy. The fact that your loan doubled despite 12 years of payments is absolutely unacceptable and suggests serious errors in how your account has been managed. Don't give up - you have more options than you realize, and there are people (like the financial aid advisors in this thread) who genuinely want to help you get this resolved.

I've been following this thread closely and wanted to add one more resource that might help. If you're still having trouble getting through to Mohela even with the queue services, try calling their "vulnerable borrower" line if you qualify (it's for borrowers experiencing financial hardship). The wait times are often shorter and the representatives tend to be more experienced with complex account issues. Also, when you do get through, immediately ask to speak with a "loan resolution specialist" rather than general customer service - they have more authority to investigate payment application errors and can put holds on your account while issues are being resolved. Document everything with dates, times, and rep names. Your situation sounds like it involves multiple systemic errors that should absolutely be fixable once you get the right person looking at your account.