Thank you everyone for your helpful responses! I feel much better knowing this is common. I'll gather our documents and complete the verification process this weekend. I might try Claimyr to get through to FSA first, just to confirm exactly what they need from us. Really appreciate all the insights!

Just wanted to add that you should also check if your daughter's school has sent any emails about the verification process. Some schools will reach out directly once they receive the FAFSA and see it needs verification. They often have their own deadlines that might be earlier than the federal 45-day window, especially for priority consideration for institutional aid. My daughter's school sent a checklist of exactly what documents they needed which made the whole process much smoother than trying to decipher the federal letter.

Just wondering - has your daughter received all her financial aid packages yet? Sometimes schools will offer different amounts, and you can use a better offer to negotiate with your preferred school. My daughter applied to 6 schools and the aid packages varied by more than $8K between schools with similar sticker prices.

I'm in a very similar situation! Got divorced last fall but my son's FAFSA was based on our joint 2023 income. His SAI came back at $12,400 which is way more than I can handle as a single parent. I'm planning to submit a professional judgment appeal as soon as we get his aid package back. From what I've read, divorce is one of the most straightforward reasons for an appeal since it's such a clear change in financial circumstances. The key seems to be having all your documentation ready - divorce decree, current pay stubs, updated tax info, etc. Really hoping it works out for both of us! Keep us posted on how your appeal goes.

To apply for NYS TAP, follow these exact steps: 1. Wait 3-5 days after submitting your FAFSA for the data to transfer 2. Go to hesc.ny.gov and click on "Apply for TAP" 3. Create an account using the same email as your FSA ID 4. Complete the application (it's much shorter than the FAFSA) 5. Make sure to list SUNY Buffalo on your application With your income level, you should expect a significant TAP award. Combined with the Pell Grant, this should cover a substantial portion of the tuition costs.

I completely understand your stress about this! As a parent who went through this process two years ago, I want to reassure you that an SAI of 2658 with your income level actually puts your daughter in a very good position for aid. The FAFSA formula considers more than just income - it factors in family size, number in college, and other variables that can sometimes seem confusing. With your income under $32K, she'll definitely qualify for a substantial Pell Grant (likely around $6,000+ for the year) plus significant NY TAP funding. Make sure to also check if SUNY Buffalo has any need-based institutional grants - many SUNY schools offer additional aid beyond federal and state programs for students in your income bracket.

Coming from someone who works in financial aid - the contributor system is the number one issue we're seeing with the 2025-2026 FAFSA. The system is overwhelmed and these glitches are happening to thousands of families. If you're approaching a school's priority deadline, have the student contact that school's financial aid office directly to explain the situation. Most schools are being flexible with deadlines this year because of these widespread system issues. Don't panic if you're in this situation!

This is exactly what I needed to hear! I'm a new parent going through this process for the first time and I was starting to think I was doing something wrong. My daughter sent me the contributor invite over a week ago and I've been checking my email obsessively with nothing showing up. I'll start checking my studentaid.gov account directly like you suggested. It's so frustrating that such an important system has these kinds of glitches - you'd think they would have worked out the bugs by now. Thanks for sharing your experience and congrats on getting it processed!

UPDATE: We finally got it resolved! It took a combination of several suggestions from this thread: 1. We used Claimyr to get through to an actual person at Federal Student Aid (took about 25 minutes instead of never) 2. We asked specifically for a "manual FSA ID recovery" as suggested 3. The agent confirmed my husband did have an account from 2017 linked to an email he hasn't used in years The FSA agent was able to help us recover access to the old account AND update all the contact information. My husband has now successfully signed the FAFSA and we've submitted it! Thank you everyone for your help! For anyone else struggling with this issue, don't give up - and definitely use the advice in this thread to save yourself days of frustration.

So happy to see you got this resolved! As someone new to this community, this thread is incredibly helpful. My daughter is a junior so we'll be going through the FAFSA process next year, and now I know to check if my husband even remembers his FSA ID from when our older son applied years ago. The Claimyr service and asking for "manual FSA ID recovery" are great tips I'm definitely bookmarking. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's going to save a lot of families from going through weeks of frustration!